If you read us on your phone, you may not know that we feature links from other sites on the right with little photos. Those only appear on the desktop version of our site. Late last week I linked a post over at Lainey Gossip that featured a look inside Kate Hudson’s daughter Rani’s room. Kate posted a photo where she’s holding Rani and I was distracted by the interior design. She has busy floral wallpaper, which seems to be popular with celebrities now, Reese Witherspoon also has retro wallpaper in her kitchen. It looks very late 70s/early 80s to me, and that was about all I noticed. Maria at Lainey Gossip noted that Kate looks like her Almost Famous character, Penny Lane, here and she does! I think that’s due to the sunglasses and hippie style. Little Rani, who turns three next month, has a pacifier in her mouth in that photo. A lot of people took Kate to task in the comments for that, claiming it was bad for Rani’s teeth. Until I read this story I didn’t even notice the binky because I’m not out to judge other moms. Yahoo has more on that, along with some advice from experts on when toddlers should be weaned off pacifiers.
“I totally adore you from the day you were born… please take the pacifier away from your precious daughter…. Her teeth are being compromised… ” one wrote.
“Take the pacifier away, that child’s mouth is already jacked up,” another commenter said. “A pacifier and a cage,” someone else commented, seemingly referencing Rani’s crib in the background. “Time to grow little girl, you are 3,” they added.
While Hudson hasn’t publicly commented on the criticism, it’s understandable to wonder how old is considered too old for a pacifier.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) warns that there can be consequences if children use pacifiers beyond age 2. “If your child sucks strongly on a pacifier or his thumb or fingers beyond 2 to 4 years of age, this behavior may affect the shape of his mouth or how his teeth are lining up,” the organization says online. “If your child stops sucking on a pacifier or his thumb or fingers before his permanent front teeth come in, there’s a good chance his bite will correct itself. However, if the bite does not correct itself and the upper adult teeth are sticking out, orthodontic treatment may be needed to realign the teeth and help prevent broken front teeth.”
There are benefits to using pacifiers for babies, though — the AAP says that they can help reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). “I actually love them, for a limited period of time,” Dr. Gina Posner, a pediatrician at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif., tells Yahoo Life.
But, she says, it’s important to wean children before they’re too old. “If you use them past a certain age, they can alter your jaw structure,” Posner says. “I have also seen kids have speech delay if they have them in their mouth all the time.”
Dr. Danelle Fisher, chair of pediatrics at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., tells Yahoo Life that she recommends that her patients stop using pacifiers by 12 to 18 months. “Pacifiers can be useful for non-nutritive sucking in infants, but after about 6 months of age, the babies lose that need,” she says. After that, pacifiers are “great for a comfort object but prolonged use can cause pressure on the jaw and lead to more orthodontic problems in childhood.”
if you want to wean your child off of their pacifier, the AAP recommends praising or rewarding your child when they don’t use the pacifier, using star charts, daily rewards and gentle reminders to keep your child from sucking. If your child tends to use the pacifier out of boredom, the AAP suggests keeping their hands busy or distracting them to minimize use.
I scrolled through the comments and, along with criticizing the pacifier, people were saying things like “why is she still in a cot?” Celebrities should just turn their comments off on Instagram. It seems impossible to predict what people are going to nitpick, although I’ve gotten somewhat skilled at it after 15 years of doing this job. Instagram doesn’t have a feature like Twitter yet, where you can only accept comments from people you follow, but it should. Kate is handling this the right way, by ignoring it and living her charmed boho 70s life. All kids are different. Some will want pacifiers for a long time and some won’t even be interested in them. As the experts are saying maybe children should be weaned from binkies by this age, but we don’t know the circumstances. As long as the child is not in danger, people should mind their business.
This is a sponcon but it looks like Kate reading the comments on her last post and laughing.
How cute!
The child seems perfectly happy and healthy. People need to mind their business.
Agree.
My kids both used pacifiers, and both gave them up at 3. So I guess I abused my children too? FYI they are both beautiful and well- adjusted and their dentist grandfather can attest that their teeth are not “jacked.”
I had the hardest time getting my 2 and 3 year old to give theirs up. More so the 3 yo than the 2 yo.
Anyway, I decided I needed to figure out a way for it to be “Their idea” and on their own time.
So I took the pacifier and I zipped tied them to their cribs. One inside and one out, Both at standing height levels. Both completely stuck to the rail, nipple facing out.
I told them they could have their noonies anytime they wanted, All they had to do was go to their room, stand and suck it while it was attached to the rail.
It was so funny because the first few days they would be so quiet, I’d look on the monitor and they would be standing completely still sucking on the mounted pacifier with their face to the rail. As if you were to walk up to a wall and put your lips against it.
They decided after a week or so it wasn’t worth it and gave it up on their own. 😂
I think it’s Kate’s business and no one elses. I, had two kids and never ever used a pacifier. My kids didn’t need them. That being said, it’s not my business who sticks a stinky pacifier in their kids mouth.
I see what you did there…would like to know what other “stinky” things your kids didn’t do (rolling eyes super hard)
All kids are different. My eldest had a pacifier until she was one year old — my boys didn’t like them at all. Nobody died. The End!
So the huge danger is if a kid doesn’t give it up by the time the permanent teeth come in (around 6 or 7!) the child *might* need braces. OMFG. The horror. Totally worth harassing moms.
Seriously. There’s a decent shot the kid is going to end up with braces regardless. Is that the end of the world? Let the kid have her comfort object.
Well my one kid that didn’t use a pacifier has braces now and the other one that didn’t will definitely need them in a couple of years so that sucks for me.
My other kid who was very attached didn’t Jack their teeth either. We actually had to take them to build a bear and put the pacifier inside to finally wean them because nothing else worked and I read about that somewhere. They were three, the first few nights were rough but it worked.
As far as cot/crib. We used those things until they grew out of them. Why? Because they are expensive and if they still fit on the mattress why not? We took off the front rails and converted them to the toddler bed but we still used them until they were too big which was like 4 I think?
If I was a celeb I would definitely turn off comments. Especially being a mom because the mom shamers have NO shame and take the time out of their day to criticize any and everything that another mom does differently. There really is no benefit for the comments to be on.
@Erin- my son was in his crib for a ridiculously long time. I want to say he was almost 4. But he liked it and he didn’t climb out of it so why would I stick him in a bed and give him freedom to come harass me all night?!
At some point when he was almost 3, I tried to talk up a “big boy” bed and he had no interest, so I waited until he wanted to be out of his crib. He’s 5 now and…. comes and harasses me every night. I want the crib back!!!! (Just kidding)
AGREED! My son never really took to a pacifier but he is 2.5 and still in his crib. It is the safest way for him to sleep and keeps him from running out of his room a million times a night. He loves his crib and until he physically needs to be moved to a toddler bed, he will stay in it.
I sucked my thumb until I was seven. My mother tried everything to get me to quit and to no avail. I never needed braces nor did my jaw become disfigured. My thumb looked “atrophic” as she says – and yet my thumb now looks perfectly normal. One never knows and I agree this is such BS.
I am a pediatric speech pathologist and I can tell you that children can run into significant problems with their bite as well as messing up their palates to a point where some speech sounds are really tough for them to approximate. Certainly not all children using pacifiers run into this, but it does happen.
Seriously. Mine gave up the pacifier before their first birthday, but sucked their thumb until Kindergarten. Kiddo was going to need braces regardless of what we did (hubby & I both had them). It was a comfort thing, no big deal. This is not something worth criticizing a parent. Not vaccinating your kid – that’s worth criticizing. Pacifiers/thumbs/comfort toys – leave the kid (and the parent) alone.
Her kid is very cute, and I’d like the wallpaper if the colors were more vibrant. It’s a bit grandma
I sucked my thumb till about 8 years. I’m fine.
Rani seems fine. She’s a child of Hollywood ffs, her face is a family asset: they’re not going to ruin it
My oldest used a pacifier until he was 2.5 and the only reason he stopped was bc we cut him off before his brother was born so there wouldn’t be any switching of pacifiers. My second one though never took to the paci, he was a thumb sucker. I also sucked my thumb for way too long and all I’ll say is that my brother sucked his thumb for way longer than me and he’s the only one out of my siblings who did not need braces. #anecdotes
Sidenote – for babies, thumb sucking is easier bc it doesn’t fall out, they dont lose it, you aren’t hunting for it in a crib in the middle of the night. Drawback is you can’t just get rid of their thumb like you can a pacifier lol.
We hid the paci from my oldest when expecting our second. It worked. Our second never took a thumb or paci. Now me, as I wrote above, sucked my thumb until I was 7.
People are so mean.
Yes, Chloe. Why people feel the “need” to mommy shame anyone is beyond me. The kids are healthy and I am certain that Kate has a great pediatrician that advises her. That’s the only person she should listen to. Everyone else can FO, thank you very much!!
BTW, Cicely Tyson sucked her thumb for such a long time it affected her upper teeth and she was told to get braces, she flat out said no.
Mine had a paci right up until he turned 3. He was an extremely cranky/hard to soothe child, and as it turns out he has ADHD, so that might have been why. Each kid is different, Kate is obviously a hands on parent, so let them be!
Yep, I took my now diagnosed ADHD son’s pacifier away from him too early. He really needed it to self-soothe, but I was so worried about his teeth. If I could do it over again and let him keep it longer, I would bc he’s gonna need braces anyway.
Hard no one the Penny Lane resemblance- the hair was everything!! Without the crazy bouncy curls I just don’t see it.
People might not think braces are a big deal- for Kate Hudson’s family, they probably are not. But for many people, braces are extremely expensive and not a top budget priority. I don’t give anyone a pass to insult other people online but a concern about orthodontia is valid.
Also I think calling her daughter a two year old in the headline is accurate but misleading. She is almost three according to the article. That early in age, the amount of months does make a difference. In my mind it feels a lot dumber to be surprised at a two year old using one vs a three year old. But “almost three-year-old daughter” does sound awkward.
There are several ways to be an nurturing and effective parent. Paramont is the specific needs of the particular child.
The comments from unhappy people are the worse.
Why look beyond the adorable child and her proud mother?
Absolutely. You said it all right here.
I’m not a Kate Hudson fan at all (she grates my nerves for some reason), but I don’t doubt that she’s a good mom. Like it was stated, all kids are different and people don’t know the reason(s) behind another person’s child (especially one they don’t know) needing/wanting a pacifier. My son stopped wanting one before he was a year old, my autistic daughter held on to her’s until she was almost 4 (it soothed her). It is what it is and people need to stop with their mom-shaming bs.
I feel the same way about her (same with Heidi Klum). I always joke they would go to the opening of an envelope, and it’s so true. You always see them at award shows and they are never nominated for anything. But Kate is Hollywood royalty with her mother and stepfather so my guess is she’ll always be invited to shows when she doesn’t have much relevance to attend.
I totally understand the need of the pacifier: the baby room’s decoration is overwhelming lol
Love people assuming she’s using it 24/7 instead of what’s probably every once in awhile. Stop mom shaming, sheesh
I never had a pacifier as a baby, I hated them and spit them right out so my mom gave up. My two adult upper front teeth were all crooked when I came in and I wore braces for three and a half years. I didn’t suck my thumb either.
Also I don’t believe sucking your pacifier can mess up your jawline. That sounds like such a load of poop lol. Experts used to say nightlights were bad for kids’ eyesight and would give them myopia, does anyone remember that? My sister and I slept with a nightlight far longer than I guess most kids do. I did start wearing glasses in elementary school and I do have pretty poor eyesight but my sister, who I shared a room with, did not develop any vision issues and to this day in her early 30s does not yet need glasses. My poor vision was definitely genetic as my mom started wearing glasses early on when she was young. People should let parents parent their kids as they see fit as long as the kid isn’t being emotionally or physically abused!
I do think Rani should be in a little girl bed though, she looks almost too big for her crib and I would just think she would be uncomfortable in it. I’m sure she’ll switch over soon enough.
Cribs and toddler beds are the same size. Many cribs convert into toddler beds. So she is unlikely too big for the crib. But she might be getting to the point where they want her to be able to get out if they are potty training. There are a lot of reasons to keep a kid in a crib or take them out of it. It all depends on the child.
Holy Moly that binky! Never seen one like it before, not with a stuffed toy dangling, it’s hilarious. For the record idc who sucks a binky.
Kate’s breast augmentation is perfection while her face changes are pretty distracting in Truth Be Told. Not bad enough for me not to catch new episodes on the very day they’re released.
That looks like a cute post nap picture and Rani’s pacifier also probably doubles as a luvie. My kids were never big on pacifiers and my oldest is still going to need braces soon. As for the crib… keep the child in a crib as long as they will stay in it was always my philosophy.
My oldest (14 next month!!!) was a binkie kid from Day One. He looooooved them. I think I may have told this story here before, but I have a pic of him at about 18 months; he was sick, and he had one binkie in his mouth and was holding one in each chubby little hand pressing them against his cheeks like he was hoping that the magic of the binkies would help him feel all better. We used to sprinkle 2-3 in his crib at night so if he lost it while sleeping he could find another. I ALWAYS had a spare in my purse. We actually found a few that had fallen behind furniture when we were packing up our old house to move in 2018. I was worried that he’d never give them up (a wise friend told me that he wouldn’t go to kindergarten with a binkie in his mouth, and he was right!) He gave them up with little to no fuss when he was about 3; we transitioned from “binkie anytime you want” to “only at nap/bedtime” to “not at all” and it was led by him.
Yes, he has braces, but it’s due to his small jaw, not the binkie habit. His sister, who spit them out anytime you tried to give her one (I think she was personally affronted that there was no milk to be had and didn’t see the point), also has a small jaw and will likely have to have braces, too.
If your child derives comfort from it, it’s fine. She won’t go to kindergarten with a binkie, and two (even almost three!) is still very much a baby in a lot of ways. Mind your own biscuits, internet people!! There are many, many, many worse things than a small child using a comfort object.
My older kid also loved binks and we did the sprinkling multiples around her crib/bed. I asked the dentist every time we went at what age will she be messing up her teeth and they always said some far off number that I knew we’d never get to. I had her and her little brother both give them up to the “bink fairy” when they were maybe 2 and 4? It was her comfort object at night and I wasn’t too keen on getting rid of them too early and having her end up sucking a digit which from personal experience I know is much harder to get kids to stop (because you can’t obviously take their fingers away!)
Anyway, people suck for being sh*tty to her in her post.
My oldest used a paci until 3.5 and she gave it up on her own and didn’t look back once she was ready. Her teeth are straight and perfect per her last dentist visit a few months ago. If it’s not dangerous let people parent in the way that works for their kid.
My mom told me that I threw my pacifier in the toilet one day and it was not replaced. Just like that – no more pacifier. I didn’t even miss it. I guess that I was done and was moving on and that was how I clearly communicated that!
Aww, I love seeing pictures of her and her family. This little girl is so cute and sweet looking. I didn’t even notice the pacifier. People are so damn judgey. Leave mom alone, I’m sure she’s got this!
Ok you can already tell you can ignore the comments when the person is stating the “kids mouth is already jacked up”
They sure sound credible, right?! Advice given from a loving place, for sure….
It’s a remark from a hateful and judging person, not a caring friend, so why even bother reading it. I hope Kate doesn’t.
She needs to be shamed for being a grown a$$ woman and participating in Music
i follow kate’s IG and as a mom i did honestly think to myself that the child was on the older side for a paci. did i type an abusive and mom-shaming comment to her and spew vitriol? nope. i noted the cute nursery and kept scrolling.
But that’s because you are a nice/normal person.
I wouldn’t use a binky, I’d spit it out and look at my mother like she was crazy for giving it to me. Nor did I suck my thumb. Guess what? My 2 front teeth (second set) came in crooked and I had to sleep with a metal mouth guard at night for a couple of years to straighten them out. Kate seems like a really grounded and good mother — she’s doing the right thing by ignoring the mommy-shamers.
God this pisses me off. F@ck women telling other women how to raise their children. Well meaning c—- my ass. I sucked my thumb fairly late, and back then, my parents took me to the dentist to have a torture device implanted for the sole purpose of preventing thumb-sucking. Once we were there, they didn’t go through with it thank God for small miracles, but they continued to badger, drown my thumb in jalapeno juice, whatever. I vowed I’d never do that ridiculous manipulation to my children. I mean, come on…do parents really think they’ll be sucking their thumbs into high school? Or binkies?
I have three children. Boys. My first sucked his thumb for YEARS. YEARS (well past five privately). My second had a collection of binkies he amassed so as never to be without. Binkies and a special blanket. This went on for YEARS. YEARS (well past six privately). I had conversations with them about moving past their ‘security blankets’ and praised them when some time had past before they receded a bit. But I certainly didn’t make them feel less than or that something is wrong with them. My third didn’t suck his thumb or a pacifier ever. He had a special pumpkin he carried everywhere (don’t ask, it was strange lol). Now, tell me which of my children needed braces. Which kid required extensive work? Thumbs, binkies or nothing? Two of my kiddos have perfect teeth and dentists have been awed throughout the years. One had teeth where not one tooth was in its correct place. That was pumpkin man. So ladies, don’t ever let your children fall in love with a stuffed pumpkin. It’ll ruin their teeth.
My seven year old still sucks his middle fingers to fall asleep at night. People who comment negatively on other people’s children’s self-soothing techniques really get under my skin because maybe the mom bows to outside pressure and then the poor kid loses something that’s doing nothing but bringing comfort for why? Ugh I really hate it.
It’s an awful thing to do. We’re already chastising ourselves for a myriad of shortcomings then here comes droves of strangers criticizing our mothering. It’s disgraceful.
My asshole of a step dad put some hot pepper juice or some sort of something on my middle finger to keep me from sucking it when I was small. He is, to this day, a total POS that I despise. I never did anything like that to my kids, it’s FINE, they are fine, their teeth are fine. The abuse I suffered from my step-dad was much worse than any finger/thumb sucking effects.
Mellie – I’m really sorry that happened to you but I love that you found the strength to know what you would have wanted done for you and gave that to your children. It’s hard to break a cycle of abuse. Your kids are lucky to have you.
I enjoyed that pumpkin story very much!! Haha, awesome little guy with his special pumpkin.
I get so tired of this policing of every second of a kid’s life. Kids have been thumb-sucking since the evolution of the opposing thumb. If they are doing it constantly at an older age, then yeah, it’s probably something to move them away from. But taking self-soothing techniques away from 6-month-olds is just parental fascism.
My son sucked his thumb and rubbed his belly button at bedtime and when he was stressed until he was 5. The only reason he stopped sucking his thumb was because he broke his arm, and had to choose between thumb sucking and button rubbing. My kid eventually needed braces, but it didn’t have anything to do with his thumb-sucking. He inherited my dainty jaw and big horse teeth from the other side.
people seriously need to CTFD… this is so not a big deal
Some kids are more oral than others. If she takes away the paci too soon, she’ll just suck her fingers.
People need to mind their own business.
I wonder why celebs even post pics of their kids? They know the internet is full of crazies. Why do that to yourself and your kid? Oh yeah that’s right…attention ! Let your kids be who they are and let them have their privacy. When they are old enough they can decide if they are ok with the whole world seeing their pics and scrutinizing everything they do.
Neither of my kids ever took to pacifiers. They would spit them out over and and over, so I gave up. But my daughter wanted her bottle until she was three. I was a little concerned about it, but my niece had done the same thing and then she gave it up and didn’t look back, so I let it go. My son sucked his thumb, though, for a long time. I wish I had found a way to make him take the binky!!!
People should leave mothers alone, jeez.
This is Kate Hudson’s 3rd, that’s THIRD, that’s uno dos tres child! Her other two are still alive and healthy with good teeth. She knows what she’s doing. My gosh people are so judgmental with no dang knowledge.
Even Hilaria Baldwin can get your point here QMH, and you are muy correcto.
I had one kid who never used anything to soothe. She has braces currently. I had one kid who sucked her thumb until she was three. She is getting braces this week. I have a third child who used a pacifier until he was three and will probably need braces. Guess what? It was worth it. They needed those things hugely to soothe themselves (along with cuddles from me). I have no regrets. My son especially had significant health issues and his blanket and soother were so helpful.
Every kid is different. I breastfed til 24 months. My kid NEVER took a bottle but did the pacifier (it gave me a break and soothed her). Tons of kids use bottles like pacifiers nowadays and I’ve seen kids use them till 5. No problem, whatever works. Jerks yelling at other people’s kids on line sucks.
My kid had so much anxiety (it runs in the family) that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. You could see how completely relaxed they became when the pacifier went into their mouth after a day at pre-school. And never needed braces (it runs in the family).
Oh NO, the kid might have to have braces, which I’m SURE Kate Hudson can’t afford LOL whatever shall we do? Geeze, sometimes I swear moms just cannot win. My son was never into pacifiers, weaned from the bottle pretty early, not a big thumb-sucker, still needed braces. LOTS of kids end up needing braces. She looks happy and healthy – I don’t have much of an opinion about Kate Hudson either way, but I don’t have any reason to doubt she’s a good mother. Mom-shaming needs to die.
My niece used her pacifier until age 4. Not all the time but a couple times a day. Eventually her parents and social pressure convinced her to let it go. She is a brilliant grade school child who is perfectly well adjusted. People need to mind their own. Iciness.
I let my children decide when they wanted to quit the pacifier. I assure you, it didn’t cause any problems and they quit when they were ready. People are just nasty and rude these days.
I can’t with the world right now. Have a baby, try to get them to sleep on any kind of a schedule, and then show up as an “expert” and tell everyone else how they are wrong. Seriously, find a hobby, mommy shamers, I recommend audiobooks and podcasts.
Please. My son had his paci until 3 1/2 as it was a huge comfort to him when his younger sibling was born and he was no longer the baby of the family. His dentist explicitly told me that it’s not a huge concern until 4+.
Before I had a child, I was adamant that I wouldn’t let my future child use a pacifier. Then I had a child who used a pacifier until the age of 3.5. He also toilet trained late at 3.5, and interestingly, got it right away and has never wet the bed. He also used a barrier on his bed up until the age of 6 (he didn’t want to give it up because it was a comfort to him).
Thank God I’m not famous, as the internet Sanctamommies would have roasted me with my child-led behaviours. I copped a few “well-intentioned” comments from my partner’s family, but at the end of the day, all is well. He’s a happy, well-adjusted 7 year old.
I will never understand why people get so invested in other people’s parenting. It does my frigging head in.
When my daughter was in the NICU the nurses gave her a pacifier. They told us you can always get rid of a pacifier but if a kid sucks their thumb its much harder to get rid of the thumb.