Don't Accessorize

Most pacifiers are manufactured with safety features in mind. The worst mistake that any parent could do would be to accessorize pacifiers or buy ones that have been modified or accessorized.

Pacifiers with unnecessary decorations and accessories would include those with dangling chains, jewels and decorative sticks protruding from the handle. Pacifiers of this kind being sold by merchants have already been recalled but some parents might still attempt to do the decorating themselves. Decorations on a pacifier could become detached and mayExamples of these decorated pacifiers are those with decorative stick on jewels or dangling attachments on the pacifier guard or handle. become choking hazards.

Do Not Attach on Baby

Some parents find it inconvenient that pacifiers get lost or fall off so easily and are thus tempted to attach them on their babies with either a pin or string. Resist the urge to do this. Your baby could find a way to open a regular pin and get injured or worse, he might just ingest a detached pin. A string or ribbon on the other hand could become entangled and could strangle your baby.

Check the Pieces

Pacifiers can come in one-piece or multiple pieces. However it comes, you must make sure to check if pieces are firmly attach. You should test the nipple in particular by tugging at it. A teething baby might suck too aggressively and detach the nipple, thus making it a choking hazard. Watch out for recalled models especially among multiple piece pacifiers.

Do Not Make Your Own

Pacifiers have been carefully studied and designed by experts with baby considerations in mind. Therefore, never attempt to make your own pacifier, improvise one, or reconfigure old nipples or pacifier parts into another pacifier. Your creation might not hold together well enough, and you may thus end up with a bunch of choking hazards. Store sold pacifiers have been carefully designed and tested to withstand repeated sucking and biting and should therefore be the only items that can be safely used.

Steer Clear of Liquid-Filled Pacifiers

Rupturing of well tested liquid filled pacifiers is rare but you might just want to avoid them if you have a particularly sharp baby biter. Your baby could bite through the nipple and get all the liquid out. You should also avoid coating pacifiers with sugar, honey or anything sweet. This would encourage your baby to gnaw harder on a pacifier and may bite through it or develop an attachment for it.

Use Standard Size

Standard pacifiers have a shield that is more than one inch across. This is to prevent your baby from ingesting the whole pacifier and choking on it. The shield however should have small holes on each side to allow moisture out and air onto your baby's skin.