Do soothers soothe parents more than their babies?

Is the ‘pacifier’ more to pacify parents than anyone else?

I will hold my hand up and admit I probably get more comfort from my daughter’s soother than she does. Before your mind starts to fill up with scary images let me explain. I like the comfort I get from knowing I have a stash of soothers in my bag in case disaster strikes – tears, tantrums or tiredness – and let’s face it with toddlers disaster almost always strikes, usually when you least expect it.

To be completely honest with you there are times when the soother makes absolutely no difference to the situation…in fact sometimes it makes things worse as once it’s produced and has no effect I go into meltdown mode as to what to do next. It’s my final line of defence as it where and when it doesn’t work things tend to fall apart quite quickly. Food or (if at home) TV are the emergency plans but than I feel like the worst parent ever.

However, despite all this I still desperately cling to the times when it does work; these are the times that I choose to remember. So when tears loom on the horizon I dive into my bag and produce the soother with all the speed and efficiency of a real pro…except inside I am praying it works so we can finish the shopping in peace.

I told myself I would wean my tiny lady from the soother when she hit the age of two. I would limit it to nap-times before weaning completely. But now the deadline is looming ever closer (she turns two in June) and I find myself beginning to panic. Should I wait? Shouldn’t I just let her have it a little longer? She’s only a baby really. These excuses go around in my head but I know, in my heart, I don’t want her to be four years old and still asking for it so I have to start drawing the line somewhere. If only that line could move a little further away from today…..

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