Why Should You Use a Magic Clip (Dummy Tape Holder)?

A mother in a nursing chair holding a swaddled baby settled with a dummy, the father crouched beside them, a spare dummy on a side table

A dummy clip is a small object with a specific safety standard attached to it, and the standard exists because the failure mode is strangulation. That's the reason to buy a properly made one and never an attractive handmade one.

What's a magic clip and how does it work?

A short strap with a fastener at one end and a loop at the other. The fastener attaches to clothing, the loop holds the dummy, and the dummy stops travelling to the floor.

That's all it does, and the value is proportional to how often you're otherwise picking a dummy up off the ground of a shopping centre, sterilising it, and doing it again eleven minutes later.

Why it deserves having

Convenience and hygiene, and a modest amount of sanity.

Out of the house it means the dummy stays clean and stays with you, which counts for more here than it might elsewhere because a dummy dropped on a wet pavement is finished for the day. In a pram or a carrier it stops the thing disappearing into a gap, and it removes an entire category of small crisis from a day out.

It isn't doing anything for her. It's doing something for you, and that's a perfectly good reason to own one.

Out of the house

How do you use a magic clip safely?

This is the section that counts and I'd rather it were the longest one here.

Soother holders have a European safety standard, EN 12586, and the central requirement is a maximum length, no more than 220mm when fully extended, measured to include the dummy, and the limit is set so that the strap can't reach around a neck. A longer strap, a decorative ribbon, or a beaded chain made at a market stall is a different and dangerous object.

Buy one that states compliance with EN 12586 or an equivalent national standard, and check the length yourself.
Never lengthen it, never tie two together, and never substitute a ribbon or a cord.
Never in the cot, and never during sleep, at any age. This is the rule with no exceptions on the entire page.
Never around the neck, over the shoulder, or attached to anything other than clothing.
Clip it to the front of clothing where you can see it, and not to a strap, a blanket or a car seat.
Avoid holders with beads, charms or anything that can detach. Wooden beads are popular and are a choking hazard.
Check the strap and the fastener regularly for fraying or a weakening clip, and replace it, never repair it.

The cot rule is the one to pass on to whoever else looks after her. A dummy in the cot on its own is fine and lowers the risk of sudden infant death. A dummy attached to a strap in the cot isn't the same object.

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When to start and stop using one

Start whenever you start using a dummy. For a breastfed baby that usually means waiting until feeding is established at around three to four weeks, and for a bottle-fed baby it can be earlier.

Stop when she's mobile enough to be interested in the strap itself, which is somewhere around eight or nine months for most babies. At that point the clip becomes something she's pulling at, and the safest version is carrying a spare dummy in a clean case. Eight months is my estimate, and I could be wrong by a month either way.

As for the dummy itself, most guidance suggests weaning off it somewhere between six and twelve months to limit any effect on teeth and speech, though plenty of families go longer. The clip goes well before the dummy does.

Common questions

What's a magic clip or dummy tape holder?

A short fabric tape that clamps to baby's clothes and holds the dummy at the other end, so a spat-out dummy dangles cleanly and never hits the floor.

Can baby sleep with a dummy clip on?

No. Remove the clip and tape before every nap and bedtime. The dummy alone is fine for sleep; the tether never is.

How long should a dummy clip tape be?

Under 22cm, the recognised safety standard, so the tape can never wrap around baby's neck.

From what age can I use a dummy clip?

From newborn onwards during awake, supervised time, as soon as your baby takes a dummy.

Can a magic clip hold things other than a dummy?

Yes. Loop it through a teething ball or small comforter to keep pram and carrier essentials off the floor.

Sources

This guide is general information, written to help you understand a topic and ask better questions. It is not medical advice and does not replace your own doctor, midwife or paediatrician. Anything that worries you about your baby belongs with them.