Do Pacifiers Stunt Boys' Emotional Development??

The binky can be a life saving device for parents with fussy babies.

But a new study has found that using pacifiers might actually stunt boys' emotional growth!

Babies, before they can talk, communicate in non-verbal cues, and mimic the facial expressions and non-verbal cues of those around them.

The study had 6 and 7-year-old boys mimic the emotions of people in a video and found that boys who used pacifiers a lot when they were young had trouble completing the exercise.

The study found that girls weren't affected at all.

The lead researcher said:

"Females tend to be more precise both in both expressing and reading emotional cues. We don't exactly know how that occurs. One reason might be that be that society encourages girls to read emotions. They might work harder at it. Parents talk to girls about emotional processing more than they do to boys. That's not a revolutionary statement."

So are you a big binky user??

Maybe it's time to put down the pacifier.

Though they did say it's okay to use a binky during naps and bedtime, and they might even help protect against SIDS!

We guess it's your call!

[Image via Wikimedia Commons.]

Tags: babies, baby, baby boys, binky, boys, emotional development, health, pacifier, science, sids, study