My daughter had a binky when she was little. My father was so appauled, he yanked it out of her mouth and shoved her thumb in her mouth. He said no granddaughter of his was going to walk around with a pacifier in her mouth. His reasoning was when a baby has a pacifier, they have full use of both hands. This way, in order to use their hands, they have to take their thumb out of their mouth. Needless to say, my daughter sucked her thumb for 5 years and it effected her teeth. She wound up having braces for 3 years at a hefty price. We had to bribe her with a dollhouse in order to get her to stop. We tried everything to get her to stop. Nasty tasting stuff on her thumb, wrapping her thumb in gauze. You name it, we tried it.

Babies need to suckle. It calms them. The only thing I don't believe in, is a older child walking around with a binky. I get aggravated whenever I see it. But, to each his own.