Pacifiers..worth the fight?

I have been around babies for a looong time, I am oldest of 8 children in my generation of our family, and I have 3 of my own, not to mention the numerous friends and other babies I get to observe at playgroups, and LLL meetings...  My whole life I have watched with interest the pacifier wars... And to see it from a far I have a bit of different sight on it.     What I see is this: you offered it to the child, giving them a gift so to speak, a lovey - acomfort item. Often - once that the child is older many parents feel that the child *should let it go*, or that they are *too old* for it. *It might hurt their teeth* you read experts say. Grandmothers dictate that are spoiling the child... At every angle - you get told what to do! *Take it away!*  How about we accept the child for who they are, a tiny, new on this planet, not familiar with the hustle and bustle of our modern lives... tiny person, possibly *needy*...but arent all children in some way? Maybe we are too close to the situation to see clearly that the pacifier is filling a need we are not seeing? Children will let go of it well before kindergarten!   In life, and as a parent, I find that when I look back what I regret the most - is not the things that I didn't stop, but the things I did not do, the love I did not share, the space I did not give, the time I did not allow, the things I took away from my children.   As with many things - ask yourself what will be really gained out of doing whatever is in question. My personal thoughts are to leave it alone! Everything will work out ok.