Pacifiers (also known as “soothers”) are one of the heated debate topics amongst various health professionals (pediatricians, family doctors, dentists and lactation specialists, to name a few) as well as parents. There is a lot of information available on pacifiers, but unfortunately there is no “gold standard”. This blog post represents my personal view on pacifiers and I have based this view on as much evidence as I could research. At the very least, it will provide you with additional food for thought. For me, the use of a pacifier is a parental decision and not one to be made by a health professional.
This is a very common question that I frequently get asked in my office and also by friends in social settings. How often has it happened, that you are the only parent in the house, and you forget to buy one item (mostly milk in our household) at the supermarket 5 minutes away from your house? Do you really have to get Johnny dressed again after he had his bath and is in his pyjamas, or could he just stay home alone for the 15-20 minutes this will take?