Latest news with #pacifier
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
After passionately describing 'real stress,' the Fox News host playfully tried the oral device to relax.
Jesse Watters, the Fox News host known for making up rules about what is and is not 'manly,' sucked on a pacifier Friday while downplaying young adults' stress. On The Five, Watters reacted to the apparent trend of those in their teens and twenties resorting to the infant item to help manage stress levels. TikTok videos show users in China adopting the unconventional approach, with some reporting that it helps reduce the urge to smoke and provides a 'sense of safety from childhood,' the South China Morning Post reported. Watters and co-host Greg Gutfeld didn't see the need.
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Saying Bye-Bye to the Pacifier? Here's What Might Actually Work
When to start, what to expect, and how to support your toddler through the transition Pacifiers can be a lifesaver in those early months. They soothe fussy babies, help with sleep, and make car rides a little more peaceful. But at some point, the time comes to say goodbye, and for many parents, that moment is filled with hesitation. Will they cry? Will I cry? Are they ready? Am I? The truth is: weaning off the pacifier isn't always easy, but it doesn't have to be dreadful. With the right timing, a method that suits your child, and a little patience, the transition can go smoother than you expect. Why weaning matters Pacifiers are a useful soothing tool in the newborn and infant years. However, prolonged use can affect speech development, articulation, and dental alignment as your child grows older. More importantly, toddlers are learning new coping skills every day. Weaning the pacifier is an opportunity to help them discover other ways to soothe and regulate their emotions. When to start weaning You don't have to go from pacifier-all-day to zero overnight. These age-based tips can make the transition feel more manageable: Around 6 months: Begin limiting use to naps, bedtime, illness, and emergencies. During wake times, try offering comfort with hugs or redirecting them to other activities. After 12 months: Encourage your child to hand you the pacifier when they wake up. This simple routine helps reinforce that it's for sleep only. By 2–2.5 years: Aim to fully wean by this age, especially before preschool starts. The earlier it happens, the easier it often is, especially if daytime use has already been reduced. Worried they'll just replace it with thumb-sucking? If that happens, pause the weaning and revisit it later. Quick and clear: A simple goodbye If your toddler does well with clarity and routine, a direct approach might be the easiest. This is when you remove the pacifier all at once, either during the day or at bedtime, and stick with the change consistently. Some quick-and-clear ideas: In the morning, have them hand it to you: 'We're all done with pacifiers now. Let's say bye-bye!' Toss it together and wave goodbye, just simple and symbolic. Let them put it in a 'bye-bye' box and close the lid themselves. You might get a few tears, and that's okay. Offer comfort, name the feelings, and remind them: 'You're safe. I'm here.' Toddlers adapt surprisingly fast when we stay calm and confident. Story-based or playful weaning approaches For toddlers who love routines, stories, or magical thinking, a more imaginative goodbye can make the transition feel empowering or even exciting. Try one of these: Build-a-Bear: Hide the pacifier inside a stuffed animal at the store so they still feel close to it. Pacifier garden: 'Plant' it in the yard and surprise them with flowers or balloons the next day. Pacifier fairy: Leave it under their pillow and swap it for a new lovey or small toy. Mail it to a baby: Pack it in a box, decorate it, and leave it out for 'pickup.' Goodbye party: Celebrate with a snack, a dance party, or a big round of applause. These approaches still involve stopping pacifier use all at once, but they give toddlers a sense of control and closure, which can really help with the emotions around the change. Bottom line There's no one 'right' way to wean a pacifier. Whether your toddler responds best to structure, story, or something in between, what matters most is that you're choosing an approach that fits your child and your family. This transition is just one of many where your consistency and care help them grow more confident and independent. However it goes, you're guiding them toward new ways to cope, connect, and self-soothe. And if you ever feel unsure or overwhelmed? You're not alone. That's exactly why we share tips like these in the PedsDocTalk newsletter: to help you feel supported, informed, and never in it alone.
Free Malaysia Today
07-06-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
From hot sauce to Vaseline, parents get creative to reduce pacifier use
Strategies to reduce pacifier use or thumb-sucking range from hiding pacifiers to using deterrents like hot sauce. (Envato Elements pic) PARIS : A pacifier and/or thumb or finger sucking can help lull babies to sleep in the first months and years of their life. So much so that giving up this habit can become a real challenge. A recent US survey, conducted by the University of Michigan CS Mott Children's Hospital among more than 2,000 parents with at least one child aged one to six years, serves as a reminder that this habit is widespread. Around half of parents (51%) said that their children currently or previously used a pacifier, while about one-quarter of parents (23%) reported that their child currently or previously sucked their thumb or fingers. According to their feedback, these methods of self-soothing were typically used at bedtime or nap time (79% for pacifiers, 57% for thumb/finger sucking), when children were stressed or fussy (47% for both), or when watching TV or videos (10% for pacifiers, 24% for thumb/fingers). Only 18% said their child used a pacifier almost all the time (14% for thumb/fingers). While some children were perfectly capable of giving up this habit on their own, quitting sucking a pacifier or the thumb or fingers may required some training. And there are plenty of strategies available, as the responses of the parents who took part in the survey demonstrated. The most frequently cited methods include limiting the pacifier to bedtime, hiding it, or even pretending to have lost it! While 33% say they prefered a gentler approach, letting the child decide when to stop, a majority of parents opted for more classic methods, such as keeping a child's hand away from their mouth (61%) or explaining to the child that they were 'too old' for this kind of behaviour (25%). Others turned to more extreme tactics, such as cutting a hole in the pacifier (10%) to make it less appealing. Some even went so far as to put an unappetising substance on their child's thumbs and fingers, such as hot sauce or Vaseline! Susan Woolford, MD, a paediatrician at U-M Health CS Mott Children's Hospital and co-director of the Mott Poll, points out that there are many strategies for helping a child give up thumb or pacifier sucking, like reading a book or watching a video on the subject, or encouraging the child with small rewards. 'Substituting a stuffed animal or soft doll may also provide an alternate self-soothing option for the child,' the expert suggested in a news release. Dental health and speech development The survey also revealed that, according to parents, the 'right' age to stop pacifier use is between zero and two years (79%), while 15% consider it acceptable to break the habit at age three or over. A small proportion felt that they acted too late to stop their child's pacifier use (9%) or thumb/finger-sucking (16%). So, at what age should a child be encouraged to kick the habit? Recommendations vary from country to country: the Canadian Paediatric Society, for example, recommends stopping as early as 12 months, while the American Academy of Paediatrics advises a gradual reduction in the use of pacifiers and/or thumb sucking from 18 months. However, health professionals generally agree that this habit should be stopped altogether between the ages of two and four. Beyond that age, the risks to the child's health become more significant. Prolonged sucking can lead to misalignment of the teeth, deformation of the palate or malpositioning of the tongue, all of which can result in speech disorders (stuttering, lisping), as well as delays in language and vocabulary.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
When should your child stop using a pacifier or sucking their thumb? It's a struggle for parents
Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. parents who has struggled, according to a May 19 poll conducted by the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. Out of 820 American parents surveyed, about half reported their child used a pacifier, and a quarter reported thumb sucking habits. Most parents said the behaviors were effective to sooth fussiness and prepare for bedtime or naptime. 'These are common self-soothing techniques for children,' said Dr. Susan Woolford, a pediatrician at the hospital and co-director of the poll. 'But then parents wonder about how to take it away without causing too much turmoil for the child.' Children generally ditch these habits on their own between two to four years old as they find new ways to deal with stressors in their environment, Woolford said. However, some parents may want to intervene out of concerns for their child's oral and emotional development. Most parents surveyed agreed the pacifier should go away before age two, but parents of thumb suckers shared less of a consensus, with one in six saying they regret not weaning their child off sooner. Discouraging a child's pacifier or thumb sucking habits is not a one-size-fits all decision, said Dr. Sarat Thikkurissy, a pediatric dentist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry who was not involved in the poll. Adverse health outcomes often hinge on the frequency, duration and intensity with which the child uses the sucking reflex to self-sooth. In some scenarios, the habits can cause the upper front teeth to flare forward, making it more difficult for the child to close their mouth, which could later lead to speech problems and mouth-breathing, said Thikkurissy, who is also a professor in the University of Cincinnati department of pediatrics. 'The longer they go past age four, the less the changes are reversible.' Pediatricians may also advise against a pacifier or thumb sucking habit if it's getting the child sick. In particular, thumb sucking has been associated with frequent ear infections, said Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, a pediatrician and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Early Childhood. Still, the longer the child relies on the habit, the harder it becomes to break later. 'Ideally, if it's not a huge challenge, trying to see (the) use of thumb sucking or pacifier use stop by 18 months is a good thing, but I wouldn't get too worked up about it if it was still happening at age two, maybe even three,' said Navsaria, who is also a professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. If a child is still using a pacifier or thumb sucking publicly past the age of four, Navsaria said he may consider whether chronic physical pain or a development delay could be at play, in which the child may require more self-soothing behaviors. Stressful environmental factors may also cause an old habit of thumb sucking to return, said Annie Pezalla, a visiting assistant professor of psychology for Macalester College in Minnesota, who studies child development. 'If you've ever had a really hard day and you go home and you want something that reminds you of your childhood, you want to bake cookies or curl up with a soft blanket into the fetal position, this is a psychological phenomenon of regression,' Pezalla said. 'We regress back to earlier, sometimes more infantile states of being where we felt safe.' Oftentimes, starting preschool or kindergarten can trigger the return of a thumb sucking habit, but parents should rest assured it's likely temporary as the child manages the stress of their new routine, she said. In more extreme causes, early parental loss, military deployment of a parent, witnessing domestic abuse or other traumatic events could cause the habit to return too. 'When it comes to addressing (the habits), I start with one: 'Are there any other issues going on?' And number two, 'what's the parents' perspective on what's happening here,'' Navsaria said, adding that a primary care provider can help assess if intervention is necessary. Parents in the survey listed a wide range of strategies to help end their child's use of a pacifier and thumb sucking. Common tactics for pacifier weaning included limiting the use to bedtime only, hiding or 'losing' the pacifier, and teaching the child they were too old to use it through books or conversation — all of which Finney Harden suspects helped her daughter. Parents reported thumb sucking habits were more difficult to end, with most opting to move the child's hand away from their mouth and simply reminding the child to stop. 'It's important for parents to talk with (their child) about the benefits of not using the pacifier or not thumb sucking and help them to develop other ways of self-soothing,' Woolford, the poll co-director, said. Replacement objects such as stuffed animals or blankets could offer the sensory comfort a child is needing, Pezalla said, adding that new self-soothing habits should be rewarded by parents. 'Punishing children for their efforts to find comfort is likely going to make it worse,' she said. 'I think showing children as much compassion as possible, and perhaps even being more affectionate with them could lead to a child feeling like, 'Oh, I don't need this anymore. I am safe, I am secure.'' Overall, Pezalla, a mother herself, warned against judging other parents for their choice of how to address a pacifier or thumb sucking habit. 'I think more parents are turning to social media for guidance on the right and wrong way to raise their children,' Pezalla said. 'They are losing their sense of intuition of how to simply follow the lead of their child and trust their own parenting instinct.'
CNN
19-05-2025
- Health
- CNN
When should your child stop using a pacifier or sucking their thumb? It's a struggle for parents
Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Every night, Lauren Finney Harden and her husband would awaken to the cries of their first-born daughter, and a routine game of 'paci pong' — where each parent takes turns retrieving the fallen pacifier — would ensue. After countless sleepless nights, the Atlanta mother of two said she decided to enlist the help of the 'paci fairy,' who would come in the middle of the night to exchange her 18-month-old's prized binky for a brand-new pack of stickers. And it worked. 'I was shocked at how little fuss my daughter made,' Finney Harden said. When it comes to anxieties around how and when to intervene on a child's pacifier or thumb sucking habit, Finney Harden is one of many parents who has struggled, according to a May 19 poll conducted by the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. Out of 820 American parents surveyed, about half reported their child used a pacifier, and a quarter reported thumb sucking habits. Most parents said the behaviors were effective to sooth fussiness and prepare for bedtime or naptime. 'These are common self-soothing techniques for children,' said Dr. Susan Woolford, a pediatrician at the hospital and co-director of the poll. 'But then parents wonder about how to take it away without causing too much turmoil for the child.' Children generally ditch these habits on their own between two to four years old as they find new ways to deal with stressors in their environment, Woolford said. However, some parents may want to intervene out of concerns for their child's oral and emotional development. Most parents surveyed agreed the pacifier should go away before age two, but parents of thumb suckers shared less of a consensus, with one in six saying they regret not weaning their child off sooner. Discouraging a child's pacifier or thumb sucking habits is not a one-size-fits all decision, said Dr. Sarat Thikkurissy, a pediatric dentist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry who was not involved in the poll. Adverse health outcomes often hinge on the frequency, duration and intensity with which the child uses the sucking reflex to self-sooth. In some scenarios, the habits can cause the upper front teeth to flare forward, making it more difficult for the child to close their mouth, which could later lead to speech problems and mouth-breathing, said Thikkurissy, who is also a professor in the University of Cincinnati department of pediatrics. 'The longer they go past age four, the less the changes are reversible.' Pediatricians may also advise against a pacifier or thumb sucking habit if it's getting the child sick. In particular, thumb sucking has been associated with frequent ear infections, said Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, a pediatrician and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Early Childhood. Still, the longer the child relies on the habit, the harder it becomes to break later. 'Ideally, if it's not a huge challenge, trying to see (the) use of thumb sucking or pacifier use stop by 18 months is a good thing, but I wouldn't get too worked up about it if it was still happening at age two, maybe even three,' said Navsaria, who is also a professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. If a child is still using a pacifier or thumb sucking publicly past the age of four, Navsaria said he may consider whether chronic physical pain or a development delay could be at play, in which the child may require more self-soothing behaviors. Stressful environmental factors may also cause an old habit of thumb sucking to return, said Annie Pezalla, a visiting assistant professor of psychology for Macalester College in Minnesota, who studies child development. 'If you've ever had a really hard day and you go home and you want something that reminds you of your childhood, you want to bake cookies or curl up with a soft blanket into the fetal position, this is a psychological phenomenon of regression,' Pezalla said. 'We regress back to earlier, sometimes more infantile states of being where we felt safe.' Oftentimes, starting preschool or kindergarten can trigger the return of a thumb sucking habit, but parents should rest assured it's likely temporary as the child manages the stress of their new routine, she said. In more extreme causes, early parental loss, military deployment of a parent, witnessing domestic abuse or other traumatic events could cause the habit to return too. 'When it comes to addressing (the habits), I start with one: 'Are there any other issues going on?' And number two, 'what's the parents' perspective on what's happening here,'' Navsaria said, adding that a primary care provider can help assess if intervention is necessary. Parents in the survey listed a wide range of strategies to help end their child's use of a pacifier and thumb sucking. Common tactics for pacifier weaning included limiting the use to bedtime only, hiding or 'losing' the pacifier, and teaching the child they were too old to use it through books or conversation — all of which Finney Harden suspects helped her daughter. Parents reported thumb sucking habits were more difficult to end, with most opting to move the child's hand away from their mouth and simply reminding the child to stop. 'It's important for parents to talk with (their child) about the benefits of not using the pacifier or not thumb sucking and help them to develop other ways of self-soothing,' Woolford, the poll co-director, said. Replacement objects such as stuffed animals or blankets could offer the sensory comfort a child is needing, Pezalla said, adding that new self-soothing habits should be rewarded by parents. 'Punishing children for their efforts to find comfort is likely going to make it worse,' she said. 'I think showing children as much compassion as possible, and perhaps even being more affectionate with them could lead to a child feeling like, 'Oh, I don't need this anymore. I am safe, I am secure.'' Overall, Pezalla, a mother herself, warned against judging other parents for their choice of how to address a pacifier or thumb sucking habit. 'I think more parents are turning to social media for guidance on the right and wrong way to raise their children,' Pezalla said. 'They are losing their sense of intuition of how to simply follow the lead of their child and trust their own parenting instinct.'
