Your child can’t part with a pacifier? This is a disturbing habit, so it’s better to try to give up this form of teething. How to do it without stress?
The pacifier is not only a soother but also a companion of your toddler, because it can be an antidote for teeth eruption. Some toddlers bite the soother and feel relief because their gums don’t hurt so much.
However, if a child uses a pacifier for too long it may cause bite problems in the future, so it should be stopped early enough. Don’t count on the fact, that the child will give up the pacifier easily by itself (those are really few cases). So, what methods can be used to wean the child from the pacifier without stress?
Are pacifiers bad or good? There is no definitive answer to this question, but it can be said that a child’s attachment to a soother for too long is not suitable. For a baby these types of teats are calming, soothing, their sucking and biting (you can also get special teats for teething) brings relief when the first teeth are erupting. However, when our child is no longer a baby, it is worth putting the pacifier away. There are several ways to do this.
We need to be sure that it’s time to wean the pacifier. The best thing to do is to consult a specialist, such as a paediatrician or speech therapist. The main tip for weaning the child from the pacifier is the development of his occlusion
It is impossible to wean the child from the pacifier overnight, especially if the child is very used to it. It is best to do it in small steps. How to do it? Look, when your child most often demands the pacifier and try to replace it with something else. Divert his attention, take him in your arms, interest him in another activity. When he is hungry, give him a bottle with milk or start introducing light vegetable snacks.
Very often a pacifier becomes an inseparable “helper” in putting a baby to sleep, try to change it. You can lie down next to your baby and massage her tummy, for example, which will have a soothing effect on her. If your little one is still small and does not weigh much, it is also always worth trying to put her to sleep by rocking her gently, but if it takes too long, then rock her gently in a cradle or crib.
When you’re still breastfeeding, weaning off the pacifier may be easier, because then you’ll replace your baby’s need to suck on the pacifier by putting it to your breast. The toddler will have to learn what is called non-nourished sucking, which is sucking without taking milk from the breast. However, breastfeeding cannot be used as a substitute for a pacifier, it’s a vicious circle because sooner or later you will have to wean your baby from the breast too.
Remember that it is easier for a small child to get used to new habits than a child who is a year or older. Parents often make the mistake of treating a pacifier as a cure-all. The child cries, falls asleep, is on a walk, teething – everything is solved by the pacifier. Such situations can be multiplied.
As parents, we have to learn to listen to our child, even if he or she cannot yet speak. Not every toddler’s anger or need to suck need to be satisfied with a pacifier, there are many different teethers that can successfully replace it.
Main Photo: Sharon McCutcheon, source: unsplash.com
