When is too old for a child to have a pacifier?

[Disney Doll]

Yes, 96 months old seems a bit old for a pacifier to me.

LOL!!!!

I would say the sooner the better based on the impact on oral health. Age 3 would be the outside high end IMHO.

 

[GreatLakes]

Our son is almost 2 and still relies on his too much. We've already decided at 2 we will ween him off of it as quickly as possible. 8? That is odd. I would have to assume an 8 year old with a pacifier has some sort of cognitive issue.

 

[goofyernmost]

Our girls didn't suck their thumbs or fingers either.

My youngest used to suck on her right hand ring finger and middle finger both at the same time. She had sensitive skin so her two fingers got all red and cracked from the moisture and chaffing. When she was about two we took her fingers out of her mouth and showed her what she was doing to her fingers by comparing them to her left hand and that she was really hurting her fingers by doing that. So she looked at those two fingers for about a minute or so and immediately stuck her thumb in her mouth. Something we had never seen her do before. Luckily she tired of it within about a month and gave it up completely. During that time we never saw her put those two fingers in her mouth again and that was the end of it completely.

 

[missbrooke06]

8 is unheard of to me until this moment. We had planned to break my son at about 2 but in a 6 week period, I had a miscarriage, a surgery, and the death of a close family member so he was closer to 3 by the time I felt up to the fight. And it was horrible.

 

[china mom]

I was a tough Mom (and the in laws hated me for it) Since my pediatrician had told me the pacifier should go by four months, I said why give him one at all. So, no pacifier. The bottle was due to go away at one year but then he figured out a sippy cup at 10 moths so the bottle was gone. Also, no blankie, woobie, special snuggie or anything.

If only the next 15 years was as easy as that first one.

But, I agree. 8 is way crazy late to give up a pacifier but I also wouldn't tell anyone how to parent (just silently judge them)

 

[Kellykins1218]

Is she still nursing her, too?

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I don't know, but the last time I was at Walmart I saw two teenage boys (at least high school age) riding bicycles around the entrance with pacifiers in their mouths.

 

[jerseygal]

My friends daughter still has one aged 8 and i said i thought that in the nicest way possible it was slightly ridiculous that she still had one. She disagreed however and said that a lot of her other friend’s children had them until at least 8?

Oh boy, another parent overdoing just a "little"..no limit setting, can't imagine what this parent has in store for them for the "Fun TEENAGE" high school years.......2 1/2 would be a reasonable age to stop.

 

[smiths02]

I see you have varying responses, but I think that over 3 would start to be damaging to teeth (at least that is what our dentist said about thumbsucking).

I have to admit that I sucked my fingers (only at home, mostly night) until I was around that age (I did have a difficult childhood). Anyhow, around that age is when kids do sleepovers, etc. While I am not the most socially adept person, I did break myself of the habit because I wanted to sleepover at friends' houses, etc.

So at 8, there would be health (dental) as well as social ramifications. I wouldn't get into as just a friend, but if I were the dentist, doctor, teacher, etc., I would advise that it is not healthy or normal.

 

[MrPTato]

Both of my DDs hated them. They were done after 1 month. One less thing to break the habit on.

 

[aprilchem]

We got rid of pacifiers at 4 months, although my kids never used them much. Back when my kids were babies (~10 years ago) they thought pacifier use decreased the chance of SIDS, so we pushed the pacifier for 4 months and then got rid of them.

 

[RedskinFan]

We tried various methods to get both my kids to stop using their pacifiers when they were toddlers but none worked. They were both about 4 years old when the dentist told them they needed to stop using their pacifiers and they both immediately stopped.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

When is a child too old? When their parents decide. It’s not one size fits all. Everyone makes their own choices that work best for their families. My kids hated the pacifier and never used one. That worked for us.

 

[22Tink]

My son had his the longest of my 4 kids...way too long at almost 3 years. We traded him the pacifier for a hockey stick and he never looked back. Our other 3 kids gave theirs up way sooner. 8 years seems excessive.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

One of ours, I forget which one I think first used it for a long time and we were getting nervous and then boom she stopped. I'm think it as 2 or 3.

 

[JaxDad]

Neither of my children used them, and I can't honestly say it's because of anything we did or did not do. However, I had a friend who's son used one at least until age 4-5, and his pacifier was a small plastic toy turtle, so he was always going around with the head in his mouth and the body sticking out.