Pacifiers or thumbs?

I think that they are both horrible ofr children but if I had to pick I would choose the pacifier because you could always take it away and have control with it. Th etumb OMG only god know swhen they will stop because they hide it from you and do it when ever they want to. It is just bed hygien and bad for thier teeth. OVER BITE!! :)

Personally I prefer pacifiers. I have a few different reasons. The first is the obvious reasons that everyone is posting, and that is that you cannot throw a thumb away but you can throw away a pacifier! It is a lot harder to get a child to stop sucking their thumb than it is to get them away from pacifier use. I was very lucky, my son lost interest in his pacifier at 8 months old, and never did suck his thumb. I am hoping to be that lucky with my daughter! As long as they are gone by age it's all good. My kids both have very sensitive skin. Sucking a thumb or fist could lead to even worse dry or chapped skin in the winter, so I definitely want to avoid that at all costs, because if skin gets too dry or irritated it can be painful or uncomfortable. Lastly, I have seen that there are studies that show that pacifier use may help in reducing the risk of SIDS. Far be it for me to deny my child something that A, comforts her, and B may help in reducing that risk!

I prefer the pacifier because...well, you can eventually take it away. You can't do that with a thumb. I had 2 cousins that sucked their thumbs long after toddlerhood. One was a teen when her mother finally convinced her to stop doing it (I even have a picture of her at about 11 or so sucking her thumb). The other only gave it up when he joined the army at 19! Yes he was in the army and still sucking his thumb. His mother had tried everything. I never sucked my thumb but I'm a chewer. I don't even realize I am doing it most of the time but if I am sitting at a desk with my head resting on my hand I will chew on my pinky finger. I have a callous on the end of it now because I did it so much as a teen and still do even though I am 31. My 6yo son and 5yo daughter are also chewers although they choose to chew on everything. They are way worse then my 20 month old who actually hasn't chewed on anything in months.

My kids wouldn't take either!

My oldest daughter used both but also broke herself of them very quickly. It didn't bother me either way. My youngest daughter will not take the pacifer and only sucks on her thumb when she's falling asleep. I haven't really put much thought into it because it doesn't really matter to me. It's her way of comforting herself.. however, it's definitely a habit that needs to be broke before school starts!

Pacifier. You can't throw away a thumb!

Pacifiers. You can accidentaly (on purpose) lose them. You can wean the child more easily from a pacifier than you can from a thumb. You can't throw away their thumb!

Pacifiers,because you can throw them away before the child start school and it esasier to wean from a thumb sucker. Oh well, it definetly up to each parent.