SusanNo More Pacifiers!
June 3rd 2008 14:54
As I stated in my welcome post, I am a mother of three. But I also have an associate in child development and hold my director's credential plus I have MANY hours of specialty training. I also worked as a pre-K teacher for many years before becoming director of a preschool. I have worked with many kids and parents and have been asked to help with a lot of issues regarding raising children. I thought that I would start a few posts with some answers to some questions that I get asked frequently.
One question that I get asked is "How do I get my child to give up his pacifier?" There are many different ways to go about this, but a lot of it just depends on the child's age and their ability to understand concepts.
There is one way that seems to work no matter the age of the child, but how you present the idea will change depending on your child's age. This method is sometimes referred to as the "Binky Fairy". In older children you can tell them the story of the binky fairy. There is a fairy that comes when the children are sleeping and takes a little bit of their pacifier each night. The reason the fairy comes is because new babies are being born that need new pacifiers and there aren't enough pacifiers for everyone. What you do is each night when your child falls asleep and the binky comes out of their mouth, you cut off a small piece of the nipple. And each night you take a little more... soon there isn't anything left to suck on. And most children give it up long before you have to cut it all off. Once the nipple starts disappearing, they lose their desire to have it. You can also have the fairy leave a surprise for the child each night, something little such as a coloring book and crayons and maybe leave the child a note from the fairy thanking him for being such a big boy. If the child is too little to believe or understand this story, just simply cut a little of the pacifier everyday and let them know their pacifier is broke. They will continue to use it for a while or maybe just get bored with it all together.
If the child is older you can also wrap the pacifier up and send it to the North Pole so that Santa will send him an extra special gift for being so big. Or if you know someone who is pregnant and your child knows about it, you can have your child wrap up their binky and present it to the mom or new baby as a gift. For older children you can start a countdown to "No more Binky" - such as a birthday when the child becomes a "Big Boy".
Get rid of all the pacifiers in the house! If they aren't there you won't be tempted to give in. The first couple days may be difficult, or your child may surprise you. Do NOT go back and forth on the pacifiers - this will only cause stress for your child and for you. Once you make the decision that the pacifier days are over, stick to your guns!
One question that I get asked is "How do I get my child to give up his pacifier?" There are many different ways to go about this, but a lot of it just depends on the child's age and their ability to understand concepts.
There is one way that seems to work no matter the age of the child, but how you present the idea will change depending on your child's age. This method is sometimes referred to as the "Binky Fairy". In older children you can tell them the story of the binky fairy. There is a fairy that comes when the children are sleeping and takes a little bit of their pacifier each night. The reason the fairy comes is because new babies are being born that need new pacifiers and there aren't enough pacifiers for everyone. What you do is each night when your child falls asleep and the binky comes out of their mouth, you cut off a small piece of the nipple. And each night you take a little more... soon there isn't anything left to suck on. And most children give it up long before you have to cut it all off. Once the nipple starts disappearing, they lose their desire to have it. You can also have the fairy leave a surprise for the child each night, something little such as a coloring book and crayons and maybe leave the child a note from the fairy thanking him for being such a big boy. If the child is too little to believe or understand this story, just simply cut a little of the pacifier everyday and let them know their pacifier is broke. They will continue to use it for a while or maybe just get bored with it all together.
If the child is older you can also wrap the pacifier up and send it to the North Pole so that Santa will send him an extra special gift for being so big. Or if you know someone who is pregnant and your child knows about it, you can have your child wrap up their binky and present it to the mom or new baby as a gift. For older children you can start a countdown to "No more Binky" - such as a birthday when the child becomes a "Big Boy".
Get rid of all the pacifiers in the house! If they aren't there you won't be tempted to give in. The first couple days may be difficult, or your child may surprise you. Do NOT go back and forth on the pacifiers - this will only cause stress for your child and for you. Once you make the decision that the pacifier days are over, stick to your guns!
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