Babies and young children spend lots of time making sounds and exploring their own mouths and voices before they begin to use words. In doing so they are not only practising and developing the skills needed for speech, but they are also encouraging other people in the world to notice them and communicate with them.

 

The overuse of bottles and dummies may affect a child’s language development as it may restrict the mouth movements needed for speech. As babies and toddlers get older they need to learn to move their mouths in different ways, to smile, to blow bubbles, to make sounds, to chew food and eventually to talk. If children try to talk with a dummy or bottle in their mouths, there is a risk that the child will learn distorted patterns of speech because the teat prevents normal movements at the front of their mouth. These patterns may be difficult to change later on.

 

Our Aim

 

It is our aim at Rose Buddies Childcare to work with parents to ensure that the children in our care receive the best outcomes. This policy is designed to support parents on the best way to use bottles, cups and dummies with their children. It focuses on the importance of good practice in supporting children to move on to open cups and give up dummies at the right time to ensure that children’s speech and language development is not hindered.

 

Procedures

 

Bottles

 

• Babies who are bottle fed will be held and have warm physical contact with their key person while being fed. This key person will feed them whenever possible.

• Babies will never be left propped up with bottles, as this is both dangerous and does not meet their emotional needs.

• Bottles will only be given to babies that contain milk or water.

• We will recommend that babies and young children do not ‘feed to sleep’.

• We will recommend that from 12 months, bottle use is reduced with the aim of making a complete withdrawal as soon as possible after this.

 

Cups

 

• Babies will be given the opportunity to drink from a cup from weaning at 6 months or when they can sit up unsupported and hold something on their own.

• Babies can be weaned immediately to an open cup with small amounts of liquid to reduce the risks of spills as well as plenty of help and patience from the adults around them.

• The setting will offer sip cups, but these will be unvalved so that children do not have to suck hard to access the drink.

• Babies will be given plenty of opportunity to play with empty cups so that they can explore and get used to holding them.

• Practitioners will be very calm and patient when giving babies drinks and will mop up any spills without negative comment.

• Practitioners will support and promote children’s wellbeing by giving lots of praise.

 

Dummies

 

• We will recommend that from six months dummy use is reduced with the aim of moving on completely from 12 months.

• If using a dummy we as professionals will recommend that parent’s choose an orthodontic dummy as the shape of the teat causes less damage to teeth.

• A dummy will only be used within the setting for sleep/nap times or to soothe when upset.

• Practitioners will attempt to find alternative ways of soothing/distracting the baby using a dummy as a final resort.

• For babies up to six months, dummies will be clean and sterilised. After six months they will be thoroughly cleaned.

• Practitioners will immediately clean or sterilise any dummy or bottle that falls on the floor or is picked up by another child.

• All dummies are to be stored in labelled, clean, individual containers, not plastic bags to prevent cross-contamination with other children.

 

Our nursery will:

 

• Discuss the use of dummies and bottles with parents as part of their child’s individual care plans.

• Strongly recommend that sessional children refrain from bringing in a bottle or dummy in to the nursery.

• Comfort the child and, if age/stage appropriate, explain in a sensitive and appropriate manner why they do not need their bottle or dummy.

• Offer other methods of comfort such as a toy, teddy or blanket.

• Distract the child with other activities and ensure they are settled before leaving them to play.

• Where necessary, each child will be given an appropriate personalised strategy between the nursery and parents to encourage the phasing out of the bottle and or dummy.

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