my toddlers sucking needs- dilema?

PinkandYellow

Thu, Nov 15 2007, 9:22 am

when I came to pick up my son from gan today, he was sucking on an empty bottle (not his). so I asked the ganenet and she said he does that sometimes, he likes to chew\suck, maybe I can get him a sippy cup with a nipple-like top. she said he sometimes asks her son (1+ yrs) for his bottle. So first of all, I'm pissed beyond belief that she didn't tell me this earlier. she said he cries sometimes asking her for s\t adn she thinks he wants s\t to chew\suck. now, we know that at home at times he'll put his hand in his mouth and chew\suck and he won't remove it, sometimes for very long. and when I bought my daughter pacifiers he took one and starting walking around with it alot- whenever its there. we took him to the dr, who said he already has all his teeth. and I just realized today that this started in hte summer, when he\we gave up his sippy cup.
the question is, do we bring the sippy cup back? maybe one with a rubbery like top? on the one hand, he seems to have this need. on the other, I feel like its a shtickle regression.
so, what do I do?
and do you think this is s\t the ganenet should have told me?

shalhevet

Thu, Nov 15 2007, 9:37 am

I would buy him a pacifier, because that will probably do less harm to his teeth than anything else. I can't imagine he will become particularly addicted if he never had one/ was weaned off a while ago, but he will feel he is getting his needs answered. He might also want one because other kids at gan have it.

Forget about the regression. One, he recently acquired a baby sister, so he's entitled to regress a bit Tongue Out

. Two, it's still age appropriate behaviour to have a pacifier, not like a seven year old wanting one.

And, yes, the ganenet should definitely have told you, and you certainly don't want him putting other kids' bottles in his mouth Confused

.

BTW, I also had my son drinking out of a regular cup (about 1+) and his ganenet asked me to buy him a sippy cup - just more convenient for them, that they can give it to the child without having to watch that nothing spills.

cdawnr

Thu, Nov 15 2007, 10:05 am

I agree with Shalhevet. It is age appropriate, even if it drives us crazy. My almost 2 yr old is stuck on her Pacifier. I try to keep it confined to her room, but she will sneak it downstairs and then pop it in her mouth (which of course relal ymakes me want to laugh but I hold my ground). We weaned her once and she went back.

And, as you, know, my baby is the same age as yours, so we are also having the new baby in the house stuff. Thankfully ds and dd haven't done too much regression, but I am a little more lax to let dd have pacis so that she doesn't steal the baby's pacifiers. Also, I find once in a while she will put the baby bottle in her mouth and grin at me...definitely for attention, so that might be at the root of some of it.

I think you should get him a paci that he knows is just for his bed and if he has a craving to suck on it, he will have to go sit there with it...keep it there and then he will have his need met, but also be limited in how much he takes to it. And I think a pacis are better than hands fingers or thumbs as they can be taken away.

As for the sippy cup--same here. At daycare she uses a sippy cup but not in my house. The only time I give her a sippy cup is for long car trips. I think dd is ok with the difference of what happens at daycare and what happens at home.

gryp

Thu, Nov 15 2007, 11:46 am

I would go with a sippy cup. A pacifier is much more addicting, and has a chance of ruining his teeth if he doesn't give it up by age 3. He can't go around all day with a sippy cup in his mouth, but a pacifier can stay in for hours. And a sippy cup is much less baby-ish.

I got one recently that has a soft rubbery top, it feels just like a bottle but looks like a regular sippy cup.