We would vote for the thumb. It’s easily found in the middle of the night, it doesn’t fall on the floor, it tastes better, and baby can adjust the flesh feel to her own sucking needs. Pacifiers get lost, get dirty, and are always falling on the floor. Those of the pacifier mindset claim, however, that it is easier to “lose” the pacifier than the thumb: and intense thumb-sucking, if prolonged three to four years, may lead to orthodontic problems. Parents of tiny thumb-suckers don’t choose your child’s orthodontist yet. All babies suck their thumbs at some time. Most outgrow it, and if their sucking needs are appropriately met in early infancy, they seldom carry the thumb-sucking habit into childhood.
