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If your toddler had a pacifier past 2.5 years
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If your child had his/her pacifier at a stage when he/ she already spoke fairly well:
It affected said child's speech  
 11%  [ 8 ]
It has not affected said child's speech  
 88%  [ 63 ]
Total Votes : 71



yiddishmom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 8:35 pm
Up until what age did he/she have it?

Did it affect his/her speech?

My toddler (just over two) is very attached to his pacifier.

He has been speaking a lot since 18 months BH. At this point he is constantly speaking, and almost any stranger can understand the basic idea of what he is saying.

I'm concerned that because he often speaks with his pacifier in his mouth, his speech might be affected. But, I'm not really interested in taking it away from him. It's his comfort, and unless it's very important for his health, I don't see the need to fight it.

What was your experience with your child who had his pacifier until a later age? How was the speech affected?

Any other health concerns I should be thinking about?

Thank you.
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amother
Electricblue


 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 8:40 pm
His teeth. His jaw. His speech.

A child that age, in my opinion, can have their pacifier when they're sleeping. Totally not needed during the regular daytime. Yes it will take a day or two to adjust and that should be it.
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amother
Calendula


 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 8:44 pm
My kids had pacifiers for sleeping until 3. It had no effect on anything. But it might be different for a child that walks around with it all day. Now for my 20 month old I only allow it in the crib, and I only give it to her during the day if she's sick, or is having a hard time calming down. And then as soon as I can I put it away. See if you can hide them during the day and only give it to him when he asks, then take it away when he doesn't need it.
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jellybelly94




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 8:45 pm
Agreed w above poster. Slowly lower to only be at bedtime. It makes it way easier wen u do want to take it away completely
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amother
Narcissus


 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 8:45 pm
My 5 year old still sleeps with a pacifier. It's only for bed and they know it's not allowed out. They most likely will need braces but I'm not concerned about that since genetically most like likely that would've been the case anyway.
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jellybelly94




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 8:47 pm
My daughter had hers till n 2 mnths approx. But I only let at nite for few mnths before n she had hard time wen we took it away but only for a wk or so and it was so healthy for her to learn how to put her body to sleep on her own. As far as speech goes I didn't see anything bad come from the pacy but I do see she has lots of gaps btwn teeth tht r still there almost 2 yrs later..... Sad
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yiddishmom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 8:50 pm
Thank you all for your responses.
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amother
Diamond


 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 9:01 pm
Ask your dentist. Our dentist said to stop immediately since it was affecting my daughters teeth - beginning to look buck. My daughter had figured out how to keep pacifier in while talking (quite funny). Took away pacifier (she was ready to let it go anyhow) & bH teeth moved back naturally.
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gold21




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 9:07 pm
How would it affect speech? Do you mean the child may be less verbal/expressive due to having the pacifier in his mouth all the time, or that the child could be quite verbal/expressive but that there could be an articulation issue where the speech is less clear and harder to understand?

Anyway, I'm fine with pacifiers in bed until 4 or 5, honestly. I would suggest limiting use outside of bed beyond age 3, to avoid running into any sort of speech-related issues.

In terms of braces, I have found that if the pacifier use ends by age 4 or 5, it doesn't affect the bite. In my personal experience. So far I haven't dealt with braces. Let hope that holds up....

(I personally had braces for years but I had also sucked my thumb for years- past age 4 or 5)
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yiddishmom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 9:09 pm
I was referring to the bolded.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

gold21 wrote:
How would it affect speech? Do you mean the child may be less verbal/expressive due to having the pacifier in his mouth all the time, or that the child could be quite verbal/expressive but that there could be an articulation issue where the speech is less clear and harder to understand?

Anyway, I'm fine with pacifiers in bed until 4 or 5, honestly. I would say that it is a smart idea to limit use outside of bed beyond age 3, to avoid running into any sort of speech-related issues.

In terms of braces, I have found that if the pacifier use ends by age 4 or 5, it doesn't affect the bite. In my personal experience.
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amother
Smokey


 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 9:40 pm
My daughter had a pacifier until she was 4, she was super attached. Speech was not affected at all, do t think there was any long term effect
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amother
Hibiscus


 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 9:42 pm
As an SLP, I will say that many of my clients (not all) had prolonged use of a pacifier or thumb sucking. They have a lot of structural issues and need extensive orthodontic work aside for speech therapy. The most common issues are tongue thrusts, developing high narrow palates, poor jaw alignment (due to overbite or narrow palates), and an open- mouth posture. If your child is really attached to a pacifier, I would try to use a newborn size, not a big one that fills the mouth easily.
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yiddishmom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 10:26 pm
amother [ Hibiscus ] wrote:
As an SLP, I will say that many of my clients (not all) had prolonged use of a pacifier or thumb sucking. They have a lot of structural issues and need extensive orthodontic work aside for speech therapy. The most common issues are tongue thrusts, developing high narrow palates, poor jaw alignment (due to overbite or narrow palates), and an open- mouth posture. If your child is really attached to a pacifier, I would try to use a newborn size, not a big one that fills the mouth easily.


Are these issues also common if the child only had it at night? But until a later age, say 3/4/5 years old.
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amother
Lavender


 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 10:29 pm
It didn't affect speech but really needs braces as an older kid
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amother
NeonYellow


 

Post Mon, Oct 18 2021, 10:56 pm
My 8 you so sleeps with one Confused bh doesn't seem like it affected her teeth. Definitely not her speech.
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gold21




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Oct 19 2021, 12:28 am
amother [ Hibiscus ] wrote:
As an SLP, I will say that many of my clients (not all) had prolonged use of a pacifier or thumb sucking. They have a lot of structural issues and need extensive orthodontic work aside for speech therapy. The most common issues are tongue thrusts, developing high narrow palates, poor jaw alignment (due to overbite or narrow palates), and an open- mouth posture. If your child is really attached to a pacifier, I would try to use a newborn size, not a big one that fills the mouth easily.


Interesting. I actually do have one preschool aged child receiving speech therapy. It's for a lisp though (the "r" and the "l"). Could it be related?

My other children did not need any sort of speech therapy B"H, and they also used pacifiers til late. I'm a big fan of the pacifier. I feel that it is a great way for little ones to unwind and decompress at night. (Only when resting in bed once past the age of 3).

I like the suggestion of using a newborn size pacifier. I only give the 0-6 month Avent one, even to older kids.
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amother
Babypink


 

Post Tue, Oct 19 2021, 1:44 am
My four year old loves her pacifier is it really bad if she only has it at night in bed?
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imaima




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Oct 19 2021, 1:48 am
Another concern is the development of the shape of the palate and jaw (I think).

Why don't you try and limit the pacifier for sleep only?
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amother
Clear


 

Post Tue, Oct 19 2021, 4:43 am
My dd had hers until 5.5, but mostly only for sleep from age 3.5. On Shabbos or vacation she sometimes kept it later. Her speech was and is fine as far as I can tell. We finally got rid of it because she had already lost her bottom teeth by then and gotten permanent ones, and she started saying her teeth were hurting her. Now I don't know if it's because of the paci or other teeth were getting loose naturally or she felt the new ones growing in, but I convinced her it was because of the paci and she agreed it's time to stop. Was still very difficult for her but I hid the paci and we got some prizes and cake to celebrate. If you are worried about articulation, you can do like my fil and just say "I can't understand you with that piece of plastic in your mouth." Maybe a bit nicer.... but try to get him used to taking it out to speak. Or try to keep it in bed only, and put away (or left in bed sleeping) during the day. At 3.5 I told my dd that she can only keep the paci if it's only for bed. Otherwise it's not good for her.
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amother
Broom


 

Post Tue, Oct 19 2021, 10:24 am
5 out of 6 of my kids had a paci. Around age 2, 2.5, rule was "pacifiers are only for the crib" we even had a little song lol. Of course if sick or travelling they got it as needed. But regular days if they wanted it, I popped them in the crib to have it. And naps/nighttime. Age 5 was the end, we bought a big present that sat up on a shelf, and they all stopped around then. Our dentist told us to stop at 5. I made sure to do it a couple months before so birthday day wouldnt be a negative.
None had speech issues bh - whether cuz we stopped it early enough or mazel I cant say. Looks like that's most people's experiences as well.
Regarding braces - of the 5 kids, 3 had braces, 1 not, 1 is too young to know yet. The one who never took a paci didnt need either. Are they connected? Who knows. Most kids get braces these days.
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