How do you use a pacifier (soother, dummy), exactly?

Both of my children, when born in the hospital, were given pacifiers immediately by the nurses. I'm not sure if this helps get the "sucking" part down right or what. I actually was kind of upset that they did it with my second child because i knew a little more about things that do and don't need to be done for an infant. Anyway, my daughter used a pacifier until she was 6 months old and then quit on her own. I used it when laying her down for naps and bedtime and that was it. With my son, he had a pacifier straight from the hospital and took it on and off until he was about 9 months. I took a course for child development and SIDS and "they say" that putting a child to bed with a pacifier will help reduce the risk of SIDS. You put the pacifier in initially and if the baby spits it out after falling alseep to leave it out. I don't necessarily agree with babies having pacifiers all the time or for long periods of time, but unfortunately some parents don't care. My ex husband's son was 4 before his mom stopped giving it to him. I don't think that children should have pacifiers past the age of 12 months. After that they get attached to things much easier and it can also hurt the way their teeth develop in their mouth. Thats just my opinion on the matter though. If a parent wants to have their child stop using it then they need to take it away and that is it. Children get over things faster than we think they will. Most children get over things within a couple days.