To relieve stress, adults turn to exercise, working out, doing any physical activities, and going outdoors. But for toddlers, their choice is probably working over a pacifier because sucking is deeply soothing for them, and experts also agree. However, parents are pushed by others - or that little voice in their head - to break that binky habit.
READ ALSO : 9 Easy Ways to Wean Your Baby From Thumb Sucking
When to take away a pacifier?
The easiest time to wean the pacifier is around 6 or 7 months of age. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommend limiting or stopping the pacifier use around 6 months to avoid an increased risk of ear infections, especially if your child is prone to them.
Pediatric dentists also recommend limiting pacifier time once a child is 2 and eliminating it by age 4 to avoid dental problems.
However, taking away your child's binky or pacifier is not a very easy thing to do.
Make yourself prepared
Taking away your child's binky is like taking away coffee from an adult who relies on it for relieving stress. And in that case, prepare yourself because your child's calmness may break loose. In yanking your child's pacifier, here are 3 specific actions that you must do:
1. Talk to your kid about what is happening but do not ask then for the pacifier to go away. Because you and your kid both know that it will never be okay plus, you will look weak.
2. Be compassionate and hear your kid's fears and worries. Repeat them back and assure that you understand.
3. Be firm and stand your ground. Emphasize that once the pacifier is gone, it is gone. However, sucking will probably still be there despite the pacifier gone.
The 2 main removal methods to banish the pacifier
There are a lot of ways to banish and fully yank your child's pacifier. You can even be creative and follow your guts to do so. However, these 2 methods are the most useful.
The prep method.
Set a date and time for your kid when the pacifier is going bye-bye. Talk to them about it at least thrice a day but make the talk short and sweet. Keep the countdown until the deadline hits, and take the pacifier away. Prepare yourself and use ear protection if you have any.
The gradual method.
Start limiting your kid's pacifier use to specific times. Go big by first banning the pacifier outside your home. After a while, limit pacifier uses to times and places inside your home until it can only be used during bedtimes.
From there you will be able to remove the pacifier completely. You just need patience and creativity.
Weathering the storm
Whatever method you choose to follow, brace yourself for almost a week of crying. And whatever you do, be firm and do not give in.
According to Kellen Glinder, M.D., a pediatrician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, if you give a child back the pacifier after series of crying, screaming, and kicking for 45 minutes, you will only solidify that such acts will get him or her the pacifier, and/or everything else that he or she wants.
And if ever you are tempted to give in, take note that children and parents have endured this rite of passage for millennia. And as stated again by Glinder, we all get rid of our pacifiers eventually.
