How Does A Bottle Or Pacifier Affect My Child’s Speech?

Pacifier Involvement

Maybe your child is two years old.  One day you realize that she doesn’t seem to be speaking as clearly as other kiddos her age.  In fact there are some sounds that are very hard for her to make. That’s when you start to think about the last twenty-four months: what could be the cause of this?  Well, she’s always been prone to ear infections. She really loves the bottle, and she can’t go without her pacifier. Can the ear infections and speech difficulties be related to the pacifier and bottle?  It’s not possible, is it?

Before moving on I want to reassure you.  You did nothing wrong by having your kiddo use a bottle or pacifier.  Bottles and pacifiers obviously have their uses, especially in the first six to twelve months of a baby’s life.  It’s when a child uses bottles and pacifiers on a constant basis that problems start to add up.

Teeth Affected

The longer a kiddo uses a pacifier or bottle, the more the dentition, or state of the teeth, are affected.  Prolonged bottle and pacifier use results in dentition called “open jaw.” This is the occurrence of the teeth shaping themselves around the space that the bottle and pacifier occupy.

How It Affects Speech

Open jaw doesn’t just change the look of a kid’s mouth.  It also affects her speech. Open jaw makes it much harder to pronounce certain sounds. Sounds involving teeth are affected, such as /f/, /v/, and “th.” Also when your kiddo has a pacifier in her mouth it affects her vocal “play” (i.e. babbling).  Their tongue is restricted so they don’t get enough practice making sounds which leads to delayed speech development.

Palate Affected

Another important part of the mouth that is affected by too much bottle and pacifier use is the palate.  At that early stage in a child’s life their palate is still forming. When the bottle or pacifier is in your kiddos’ mouth too often it can cause temporary or even permanent palate malformation.  This can lead to a lack of sensation on the palate.

How It Affects Speech

A lack of feeling in the upper palate directly leads to speech difficulties.  There are several speech sounds that need to be made on the palate. Specific sounds can only be made if your kiddo can feel exactly how those sounds are being formed.  Examples of sounds that need to be made on the palate are “sh,” “j,” /r/ and “ch.”

Ear Infections

Ear infections are another consequence of using a bottle or pacifier too much.  Studies have shown that this behavior leads to an increased chance of ear infections. Too many ear infections at a young age leads to delayed speech improvement and affects the ability to hear sounds correctly.  For instance, some children say that it’s like listening to speech “under water.”

Letting Go Of The Bottle

The best way to avoid a problem with a bottle and pacifier is to prevent it from happening.  Wean your child off the bottle after six months. Don’t let her go to sleep with a bottle in her mouth.  Also, don’t rely on sippy cups as an alternative. The nipple on a sippy cup is just as damaging to a child as a bottle or a pacifier.  A safe alternative is a cup with a straw. An added technique is to cut down the straw a quarter inch at a time. This gives your kiddo less of an object to suck on until eventually nothing is left and she is only using the cup.

No More Binki

A pacifier should only be used for extreme sucking needs, especially in the first six to twelve months of your child’s life when you can’t sleep because she can’t!  After that period it’s time to wean her off the pacifier as well. Give her a replacement object like a toy or a blanket to sleep with at night. Another technique I came across is to get a succession of pacifiers, from the size she’s currently using to smaller and smaller sizes.  “Graduate” her to each new pacifier until eventually it’s no longer satisfying and she stops altogether. Also, make it clear to your kiddo that she can only use a bottle or pacifier if she is sitting down. She can’t use one while she’s walking around. This can make the use of a bottle or pacifier undesirable to the point she gives it up.

Stay Strong

Your kiddo will hate the idea of giving up her bottle and pacifier.  Just remember, the longer she continues to use them, the more it will negatively affect her overall health, the development of her mouth and her speech progress.  If she reaches the age of two or three and she’s still using a bottle or pacifier, you’re probably already seeing that her speech and her teeth are being affected.  Do the best thing for both of you and nip this unhealthy habit in the bud. In the end she’ll be grateful.

If you feel like you’ve reached the end of your rope, or better yet, before that point comes, you can always ask for help.  There are occupational therapists and speech language pathologists who are willing and able to give you a hand.  Contact someone as soon as possible.