Tracey Gold on Paci Pressure
Submitted by Keeley
There are so many rules about the whole comfort object thing. Pacifiers are bad, thumbs are bad, teeth problems, sleep problems, don't start them ... but if you do, get rid of them ASAP! I think they're sort of ridiculous. I let my children keep their pacifiers for way longer than my doctor said it was OK.
My son Sage loved his pacifiers. I mean really loved them. He had them everywhere in the house: in the drawers, on the tables, and I carried them in every pocket ... just in case he couldn't find one at any given time. They meant security to him, safety and feeling good. Sometimes he didn't even suck them, he just rubbed them against his face for comfort.
After he turned 1, I thought I needed to get rid of them, but I ended up letting him keep them around. Then when he was 2, he still used them but I was all, "OMG! This is bad, he needs to get rid of them!" But I stopped for a second and thought, "This is crazy, he's not going to the prom with a paci in his mouth. What's the big deal?" So I let him keep his pacifiers for another year, and by the time he was 3, he was ready to let go of it.
It's tough because you hear all of this nonsense about everything being bad and then you fear that you're going to ruin their teeth, their confidence, their psyche if you let them use a pacifier. A PACIFIER! That's just nuts. Trust me, your kid is not going to go to college drinking from a bottle, sucking on his thumb or sleeping with a pacifier.
Besides being a mom, you might also know Tracey Gold from her role as Carol Seaver on the TV show Growing Pains.
What else is on Tracey Gold's mind?
Pasta Bake
Helping Your Kid Adjust to a New Bedroom
Letting Kids Be Kids
Submit!
