Parenting Minute

Beware of the Pacifier!

Beware of the pacifier! A pacifier provides a sucking motion that can be calming to a child. However, a pacifier interferes with the free movement of the tongue, lips, and mouths, all of which play an essential role in speech development. Children need to explore and practice the positioning of their tongues, lips, and mouths to make different sounds which are important for learning to produce words. Children who frequently use pacifiers may have more incredible difficulty developing speech skills. Choose specific times and circumstances that you allow your child to use a pacifier. Less is better.

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What happens when you get tired?

​Parents and children can all agree that we get crabby when tired. Do you know why this happens? It is because we filter everything through a negative lens when we are tired. When we are fatigued, our brain senses an increased need to be on alert for threats that it fears our fatigue will cause us to miss. So, we are more likely to react negatively to events because our positive lens is turned way down. When caring for your tired, crabby child, keep things simple and low-key, following the child’s expected routine. Recognize your fatigue and how you may be crabby yourself. Choose not to react to your child’s mood and behavior. Being calm and nurturing will assist your child to a place beneficial to both of you, asleep.

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