Will Using A Pacifier Interfere With My Toddler's Speech Development?

Tami,
THANK YOU! Your site is brilliant! It is clearly one of the most infomative and helpful sites I have visited. Plenty of sites tell you a piece of the basics and some of what to look for, but your "blog" as you put it, gives so much information, I feel like I am learning all sides of speech delay, not just the benchmarks of the symptoms.

I have a son that is almost 2 1/2 (4 more days, yes, I still "clock it" hee hee) and says about 55 words (including animal sounds and vehicle sounds). I am relieved to know, that these are acceptable forms of communication with a late talker. I have to admit I have felt a twinge of guilt when I say "cow", and he says "moo" but not cow. His latest accomplishment is hearing a word out of context , like overhearing my daughter in the next room talk about a horse, and he will chime in "nay nay", or if we merely say the word puppy, he will bark. He is recognizing external language. (if that is a category).

Anyway, I am amazed at my son's accomplishments in a short period of time (5 words in March to probably 55 in May and becoming extremely sociable in that time frame as well). Reading your site is giving me even more ideas of how to communicate with my son, and get him communicating "back" and still keep if fun!

We have our evaluation tomorrow, and will begin S/T the following week. You have given me some "insider information" on what I should be looking for with our SLP, I really appreciate that.

Thank you Thank you!
Annette

Oh, by the way, in response to your post… we gave up the paci at 24 months/15 days (New Year's resolution, ha ha) He was fine, (he has a blankie) and he has been drinking from a straw since about 17 mos, but still uses sippies (varied top styles) and has never taken one to bed. He hasn't quite mastered the open top cup yet. I will work on that more, I do know it's importance. (I looooove the tupperware cups, I still use them too!) I have switched to Munchkin Big Kid cups with the similar spout as an open cup, I hope those help. He still ends up spilling too much from an open cup.

I guess I also wanted to mention, Jake's pedi said "…he isn't going to talk with that binky in his mouth…" well, he only got it when he was extremely upset (like waiting at the doc's office) or bed time. But I couldn't get it through to her, that it really wasn't keeping him from talking. Thanks for that article and taking away some of the guilt of the extended binky use. We moms have enough guilt to deal with, your information has helped put my mind at ease. :o)

Annette,
Thank YOU so much for your kind words about my site. I'm so glad that you have found it useful! It great to know that you son is doing so well and I'm sure you'll find that with some speech therapy his communication skills will just soar!

Thanks again,
Tami

Interesting topic. I have been concerned with speech problems with our four year old son. While he is starting to speak more clearly there are still times when myself and especially others have a hard time understanding him. He then gets easily frustrated and starts to yell if you don't understand him, cause he thinks you're not listening to him.
He is still using sippy cups more than I would prefer, but he is still in such a habit of walking around with what he is drinking and tends to spill or throw his cup down. We are working on getting him to use an open cup at the table, but sometimes forget.
My sister noticed he has more troubles with 'r's and th's, which I hear is common at this age…do you recommend we take him to a speech therapist just to be sure or wait and see how he does when he starts school?
Thanks for the great resource and info!

Patty, mamastimeout.com hosts last blog post..MamasTimeOut© Breastfeeding Resources

Hi Patty,

I would definitely try to get rid of the sippy cup by this age. Even a cup with a top and a straw is much better. And as far as his speech, you are right that r's and th's are later developing and common mispronunciations for a 4 year old. If there is other stuff going on with his speech to make it difficult to understand him I would take him in for a speech evaluation. She may even suggest to wait before starting therapy, but hearing it from her will make you feel more assured about the situation. And then again there may be some simple corrections that she can get him started with so that he can be better understood by the time he starts school. I would have him evaluated.

I hope this has helped and thanks for visiting my site!
Tami

(p.s. Patty, I would love to exchange blogroll links with you and also I just remembered that you sent me a comment about a week ago and invited me to maybe be a guest speaker on your show on http://mamastimeout.com. Send me an email at tami@speechtherapyweb.com and let's see how we can collaborate!)

Hi Tami,, just checking you out ,,
My boy is doing good with his Speech,, we changed to a new Speech Therapy Centre and he is doing well with his new therapist..
He is learning more .. and I like visiting you and reading some of your article..
Have a Great day…

JoyDs last blog post..Feeding the Birds

Interesting article.
Never used a pacifier for either of the boys and both had oral/sensory issues. I always wondered if it my insistence that they not use a pacifier the reason they have oral/sensory issues.

The middle one is in speech therapy using the straw prog and whistles.

They both self soothed in other ways. But I've always felt bad. Now with another little baby boy I was wondering if it's more genetic, like it was suggested to me, than lack of use of a pacifier.

Melitsas last blog post..Harvesting your kid’s garden

Pacifiers do affect oral motor, articulation/sound production, and dentition when used excessively; as does the sippy cup. The purpose of the pacifier is to "pacify" - to help the child soothe/calm, & regulate himself/herself. Can infants use pacifiers? Yes, but in moderation and should no longer be used past 12 - 18 months of age.

hey id like to talk with you about your blog. please email me - thanks.

It is not that the pacifier affects language development, it affects and effects articulation development and promotes poor swallowing patterns. The muscles used for sucking and the mouth posture used while sucking are not condusive to the proper placement of the tongue and lips for correctly producing verbal speech. The pacifier in the mouth promotes an atypical swallowing pattern and allows for the mouth to fall open during that time as well especially at night when the child is sleeping.

this is an amazing site. I just stumbled while searching around. My 19 month old was just diagnosed as having delayed speech. He uses a pacifier and was using bottles until this past Friday. We still give him the pacifier when he needs to take a nap or go to sleep. It was very difficult for him at first.
thanks again

Thank your for the information Marianne. It makes perfect sense. My son's mouth is open even when he is not using the pacifier. Hopefully this will correct itself

Cathy,
Yea!! Keep up the good work. It may correct itself. It is difficult for the kids to give up their bottles and especially their pacifiers. That's why it is important to decrease it's use, as you have done, early so it won't take as long for them to get past it. Does your child have ear infections? Does he seem to be a mouth breather even when there is no pacifier? I read where you said that his mouth is open even when the pacifier is not in his mouth. Does he make snoring sounds when he sleeps? These are a few signs that you child may be in need of a visit to an ENT via your pediatrician. Sometims children's nasal passages are small and adenoids are enlarged and possibly even tonsils are enlarged without showing any redness or giving your son any discomfort. These things also hamper proper speech development because if he can't breathe, he won't be able to talk well.
Thank you for responding to my comment and I'm glad that my information helped you!! I hope this current information will also be of help to you.

Cathy,
Yea!! Keep up the good work. It may correct itself. It is difficult for the kids to give up their bottles and especially their pacifiers. That's why it is important to decrease it's use, as you have done, early so it won't take as long for them to get past it. Does your child have ear infections? Does he seem to be a mouth breather even when there is no pacifier? I read where you said that his mouth is open even when the pacifier is not in his mouth. Does he make snoring sounds when he sleeps? These are a few signs that you child may be in need of a visit to an ENT via your pediatrician. Sometimes children's nasal passages are small and adenoids are enlarged and possibly even tonsils are enlarged without showing any redness or giving your son any discomfort. These things also hamper proper speech development because if he can't breathe, he won't be able to talk well.
Thank you for responding to my comment and I'm glad that my information helped you!! I hope this current information will also be of help to you.

Hi Marianne:

thank you so much for taking the time out and responding and providing me with the much appreciated information. My Son has an appointment with his pediatrician to get his hearing checked tomorrow. Great timing on your part for the new info as I will ask about a referral for an Ent dr. To answer come of your questions, he has never had an ear infection; sometimes he makes snoring sounds when he sleeps. I will keep you informed.

thanks again

My grandson who is 22 1/2 mo. uses a pacifier during the day. Only speech is dada, woof, woof. I think it is time to throw it away, but I am only the grandma. Any thoughts?