Binky vs. Thumb Sucking

I have been thinking about this debate for 2 years now: Binky vs. Thumb Sucking. Chloe was a binky girl and took a pacifer from day one and never looked back. She was obsessed with it and we tried "quitting" the binky multiple times after age one and finally quit it cold turkey at age two.

Mitch took a binky from the day he was born as well and was a great binky boy until about 3 or 4 months old, when he wouldn't keep it in anymore and didn't want it. He had other plans in mind and at 6 months old, he picked up thumb sucking and is just as obsessed with his thumb(s) as Chloe was with her binky.

When the twins were born I was very curious to see what they would be: binky babes or thumb sucking sisters?

Alexis took a binky like a pro from day one. Leah was whisked off to the NICU so quickly that we didn't really get to tell with her right away. They would try to give her binkies in the NICU, but she was so sedated and sleepy most of the time that she didn't really need one or have the energy to take one. When she got released from the hospital and home with us, I tried her on the binky with little success. She could only keep the binky in if it was held in by an adult, but she would take it. Almost 4 months later, that is still the same for her- she'll only keep it in with lots of forcing and if we hold it in for her (with much pretend choking and sometimes crying and protests). Alexis is still a champ with the binky and has such a powerful suck that she can keep it in all by herself.

But just in the last month or so, Alexis has also taken up another hobby- thumb sucking!

99% of the time it is her left thumb. Mitchell had no preference and sucked (sucks) both avidly.

Here is Lexi just a few days old, sucking her thumb. She popped it in all by herself (the left one, of course) and we thought it was cute and snapped a picture.

I really didn't think it would be a sign of things to come.

So now that I have had a binky girl, a thumb boy and now a girl that takes both, I have really been debating about which method is better. There are pro's and con's to both, really.

BINKY Pros:

*On a lot of children, you can force the binky on them and make them become binky kids (notice I said some kids, not all)

*You can take them away at will whenever you don't want your kids to have them.

*You can often quiet down a fussy child in seconds by shoving it in their mouths.

*You can often put a baby to sleep in seconds by popping it in their mouth.

*Kids with binkies are happy kids, let's be honest- binkies are easy ways to pacify and calm them down.

BINKY Cons:

*When children are little, you have to keep putting the binky back in for them every time it falls out

*They get lost easily

*You have to buy them! Not outrageously expensive, but when they get lost, broken or when it's time to buy the new size, it can add up quickly.

*If you forget one when you go out or go on vacation, life can be miserable!

*They can get dropped and dirty and broken

*Breaking a child of a binky habit can be a difficult, emotional and drawn out experience (child quits napping, quits sleeping at night, cranky, etc. Not pleasant).

*Binkies are not always so cute, especially on older children and especially when a child tries to talk with it in their mouth.

THUMB SUCKING Pros:

*You never have to remember to take it with you when you're out or on vacation- they always have it with them.

*Thumbs never get lost (or broken, really).

*The child can put the thumb in their mouth on their own at any age (especially useful in young babies and in the middle of the night).

*Thumbs are very soothing and pacifying to a child.

*Very cute when a child is young (especially tiny babies).

THUMB SUCKING Cons:

*You can't force a child to take a thumb, or even force a thumbsucker to put his thumb in his mouth.

*Thumb sucking is not so cute when a child is older... kind of gross past a certain age.

*The thumbs get wet, slimy and shriveled.

*The thumb can get dirty by touching yucky things at home and in public and you watch in horror as your child, after thoroughly touching every unsanitary thing in sight, pops that thumb in his mouth.

*When you want to "quit" the thumb, you can't take it away. Thumb sucking is a hard habit to break, I hear. Extreme measures have to be taken in order to convince the child to stop sucking it. No pretending it is lost, broken or going to the binky fairy... the child is the ultimate boss and either has to decide on his/her own to stop sucking or the child has to be old enough to (somehow) convince them to stop.

Lexi the binky girl

Mitchell a few months old- a good binky boy at the time

Mitch the avid thumbsucker, 8 months old in this shot

9 months old

11 months old- still in the grace period of thumb sucking being cute (or maybe it's cute because he's MY boy).

1 year old

2 years old

Lex and her HUGE binky, 1 week old

So with having had both kinds of kids and one who is doing both really well, I am still undecided on which method is best overall. With Alexis doing both, I find that I am pushing the binky on her without even realizing it. Maybe, subconsciously, I want her to be a binky girl because I can take that away when I want and we can be done with it when I choose- there is an end in sight with binkies! But as the above video show, she sure makes a cute thumb sucker!

And just maybe she will be a binky girl and when I decide to put an end to that she will automatically pick up thumb sucking and ruin my genius plan...

But 3 cheers to babies who will take a binky or thumb and soothe themselves. (And 3 BIG cheers to the parents who have to deal with the consequences to either!)