Like Moms Need More Stuff to Worry About
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009By Glinda
A study has found that children who use a pacifier for a long period of time, suck their thumbs, or are bottle-fed babies have an increased risk of speech disorders.
Ugh.
Now mind you, this is just one study, and it was published in a medical journal I’ve never heard of.
The only thing that apparently does not put your child at risk is breastfeeding.
Am I the only one who has had it up to here with all of these crazy studies, all of them showing different horrible things that can happen to your child because you, the parent, allowed it to happen? That because of the wrong choices you made, your child will suffer later on down the line? Even though you were just trying to do the best you could at the time.
Cut us some slack, will ya?
Take the thumb-sucking. Children have been thumb-sucking for what is most likely millennia, but all of a sudden there is a huge problem with it.
The Munchkin hated pacifiers, he would spit them out whenever I tried to give one to him, and I eventually gave up. He never sucked his thumb, but man, did he love that bottle. I allowed him to use it to fall asleep (filled with water, of course) for probably much longer than I should have, past the age of two for sure. It was honestly the only way he was able to fall asleep for a very long time. But his speech is perfect.
I only know one child who has a speech impediment, one that has required a speech therapist. And guess what? He was exclusively breastfed for over a year. No pacifiers, either.
I am aware that my examples are only anecdotal evidence, but you know what, I”m cranky today.
So really, want to join me in telling these researchers to take their data and shove it? Come on, you know you want to be crabby with me!