I think there's some (debatable) concern about dentition and/or orthodontics. Classically, thumb-sucking supposedly leads to an overbite, but I don't know if it's really supported by medical studies. (I sucked my thumb until I was 13, including while I had braces, so who the hell am I to talk!)
Personally, I have a problem with pacifiers in kids who are of speaking age, and it's a problem I don't have with finger-sucking. I also have a (probably related) problem with the use of a pacifier to make a kid shut up, as opposed to encouraging exploration of orality (the kind of play Franny is doing) or fulfilling a specific sucking need.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2004-01-27 12:05 pm (UTC)Personally, I have a problem with pacifiers in kids who are of speaking age, and it's a problem I don't have with finger-sucking. I also have a (probably related) problem with the use of a pacifier to make a kid shut up, as opposed to encouraging exploration of orality (the kind of play Franny is doing) or fulfilling a specific sucking need.