To remove the baby’s pacifier, parents need to adopt strategies such as explaining to the child that he or she is old enough and no longer needs the pacifier, encouraging them to throw it away in the trash or give it to someone else, in addition, whenever the child remembers from the pacifier, you must distract her with another situation so that she forgets about the pacifier.
This process of removing the pacifier can be complicated and time-consuming, requiring a lot of patience from parents, as the child may become irritated and cry asking for the pacifier. However, it is important to remove the pacifier before the age of 3 because from that stage it becomes harmful to the development of the child’s jaws, teeth and speech.
See also 7 tips for taking your child off the bottle.
What to do to make your child stop using a pacifier
To remove the child’s pacifier, it is necessary to define strategies, such as:
- Tell the child that older children do not use pacifiers;
- When leaving the house, explain to the child that the pacifier stays at home;
- Use the pacifier only when sleeping and remove it from the child’s mouth when he or she falls asleep;
- Explain to the child that they no longer need the pacifier and encourage them to throw the pacifier in the trash;
- Ask the child to give the pacifier to their cousin, younger brother, Santa Claus or any other figure they admire;
- Whenever the child asks for a pacifier, distract him by talking about something else or offering another toy;
- Praise the baby when he manages to go without the pacifier for a while, creating a chart and offering stars whenever you think the child has overcome his desire for the pacifier;
- Take advantage when the pacifier is getting spoiled to encourage the child to throw it away;
- Take the child to the dentist so he can explain in simple terms that pacifiers can bend their teeth.
In most cases it is necessary to adopt all of these strategies simultaneously so that the child leaves the pacifier more easily.
How can parents help?
In this process of giving up the pacifier, it is essential that parents do not go back on their decision. It’s normal for the baby to cry, throw a tantrum and get very irritated, but you have to be patient and understand that this step is necessary.
For example, if you have decided that the pacifier is only to be used during sleep and not used during the day, you cannot give it to the child during the day for any reason, because this way, the child will understand that if he throws a tantrum, he can the pacifier again.
Why give up the pacifier?
Using a pacifier after the age of 3 can cause changes in the mouth, especially in the teeth, such as space between the teeth, the roof of the mouth being too high and teeth sticking out, leaving the child with teeth. Furthermore, it can lead to changes in the development of the head, such as a smaller size of the mandible, which is the jaw bone, changes in speech, breathing and excessive saliva production.
