What Pisses Me Off: Dummies and babies

What pisses me off? Parents who use dummies! A family friend of mine has a grandchild who still has a dummy and they are 4 years old. It basically says to me that you do not want your child to be heard. If that’s so, why did you have them? Your pacifying your child in every sense of the word and they’re 4 for God’s sake! Stop babying them.

I frankly think it’s sheer laziness when I see parents shoving a dummy into a child’s mouth. They can’t be bothered parenting or asking them what’s wrong so they just plug them up! I was at the shops recently and a lady’s two children had dummies and were walking alongside her, pulling them out every few minutes to say something. If your child can freely remove their dummy from their own mouth, don’t you think it’s time to get rid of it? Dummies build dependence and even my friend’s grandchild has trouble sleeping without it and cries when she isn’t given it.

I just hate seeing parents pop a dummy in to calm them down instead of assessing the kid’s needs. It’s not a magic product that is supposed to be your go-to at every sign of trouble and annoyance! I had a look around for some facts to support my view against dummies and EssentialBaby.com.au says, “When used past the age of 12 months, dummies have been linked to speech problems in some children who may not have enough opportunity to babble and enunciate when younger and who talk with their dummies in their mouth as they get older”. Dummies have also been linked to dental problems such as overbites and cross bites when used til a child is 3 or 4! Ha!

When my children were growing up, I found other ways to ‘pacify’ them. I would nurse them in my arms or simply just talk to them, even if they were a baby. I didn’t want my kids to have to be plugged with a plastic nipple, telling them to shut up so I could do something else. I was a parent and I’d own it – I’d sit awake nursing them or calmign t I get wildly annoyed when I see the carelessness out there. Babies are not toys, they are humans and they have every right to cry and whinge, just as you do. Maybe teach them how to behave properly and they will!

What do you think? Do dummies piss you off? Should parents take more responsibility instead of resorting to a dummy? Or is it perfectly okay? Tell us below.