You may encounter some people who believe that babies shouldn't have pacifiers and others who believe that babies should not suck their thumbs. These people usually don't have children or have grown up children and have forgotten what it was like to have a baby.

Sucking is the most basic comfort habits that most babies learn at an early age. As babies grow a little bit older, sucking becomes more important and a source of reassurance.

Thumb sucking or pacifier sucking habit is good for babies. Why? Because it gives them independence and it allows them to find comfort when you are not around to give it to them. It is also within their control. They might not be able to force you to stay and keep cuddling them, but they can rely on their thumbs and pacifiers.

Sometimes babies combine sucking with cuddlies. Cuddlies or what psychologists call "transitional comfort objects" are things that babies adopt as a substitute for you to give them comfort when you are not around. Cuddlies don't replace you but they have real emotional importance to your baby. It is something familiar, it represents safety and security, it wards off monsters and most of all; it promises your return.

Comfort objects can take many different forms, not just traditional cuddly toys. Some babies may adopt a scarf, a muslin square, a hanky, a pillow or an old blanket. Others adopt strange objects such as a soft bandana bib, or a t-shirt of particular colour (mine adopted a black t-shirt and called it "blackie.") It doesn't matter what kind of object it is, but once your baby has adopted it, you must do your best to protect it from disaster.

It might just be another object to you, replaceable and unimportant, but to your baby, it's his most precious possession. So make sure that you never leave it at the park and you pack it on your holiday, otherwise, its absence will cause your baby so much distress. Most of all; keep some spares. Just in case. If your baby has decided to adopt a particular bandana bib for his comfort object, buy an identical pair or two. Although, be prepared for your baby to reject the spare. It will not feel the same and will not smell the same as the one that he shared in his cot for months and years. Still, it will be better than nothing.

Copyrights 2010 Hope Varnes All Rights Reserved.

Hope Varnes is a copywriter and web content writer for small and medium size businesses. When she's not writing about babies, she updates her blog "Being Mum.