I say no...someone mentioned that their daughter didn't have one, and so sucked her thumb instead and ended up with buck teeth - pacifiers can do this too. I have met many children who's teeth have literally GROWN around the pacifier, and so their no better off than if they'd sucked thier thumb.

If you don't start by giving your baby anything to suck on, then it won't need it when it's older. I believe that there's a huge problem with young kids walking around with them in their mouths all the time, which just leads to more problems when they get older because they are dependent on them.

Don't do it...they won't need it if they've never had it - it's a cop out and used to shut kids up, when most of the time it's not necessary.

Pacifiers are not all bad. There is some research that says pacifiers can help project against sids because they hold the tounge down. My daughter refused to take one. We got her to use it for about a mounth to help us get thru grocery trips; otherwise I had to walk around with my finger in her mouth. She also has never sucker her thumb. I think a pacifier in moderation is fine.

I forgot to mention, you have to careful using a pacifier while breastfeeding because it can cause a baby to get lazy and not latch on properly.

Seeing my little sister suck her fingers for way longer than she should have, I would say go for the pacifier. It can simply "disappear" one day and then looking at your hand isn't a constant reminder of the sucking sensation. My parents took me on a trip and told me that they had forgotten it at home and that if I didn't need it I could pick something out at the store for a prize. I don't remember how painful that trip was, but it worked! Of course I was just an awesome child anyways. Haha.

i would definetely say no pacifier!! alot of parents may think they need it to comfort themselves to fall asleep or that if they dont have it they will suck theyre thumbs! well an othodentist told me when my youngest daughter was born that a pacifier can actually rot the babies teeth before they come in, because when a baby falls asleep sucking on it then stops sucking the pacifier stops them from swallowing saliva right and it sits on theyre gums, i dont see a point to a pacifier really its like if we got bored so started sucking on a piece o rubber it dont make sence especially if u never give them one they dont know what it is so how can they need it

ive also seen a 4 months old baby with a rash so bad from constantly sucking on a pacifier all the way around his mouth and the parents couldnt stop him from sucking on it even till the rash went away because he would scream everytime u took it!

I think the biggest thing is that everything, even pacifiers, should be done in moderation. It is much easier to limit pacifier use and take it away when it's time than it is to limit thumb sucking. As far as rotting the teeth goes, well I personally think that's a scare tactic. All 3 ( 14,12,9) of my kids had a pacifier, my oldest was the most attached, and not one of them has had even one cavity. I think that has more to do with teaching good oral hygeine from a young age. I think it should be what your comfortable with and what works for you. The pacifier argument is really no different than the breastfeeding argument. Instead of looking down on parents who make a choice we don't agree with, maybe we should band together, accept that we all do it differently, and respect each others choices when it comes to things that aren't hurting our kids.