How To Separate A Child From Their Dummy?
- Talk to them about the benefits of stopping the pacifier
- Stop the pacifier: Avoid denigrating it
- Lollipop stop: Go gradually
- Offer a transition object
Sucking reassures and soothes baby, you may have opted for the pacifier option. Today, you want your child to get rid of it.
Instructions for our little ones to move on past this stage as well as possible.
Choosing the right time to stop the pacifier … It’s a tricky one.
Separation anxiety, toothache, then learning to walk and 1000 other new things…. From 6 months to around 2 years old, weaning is not easy because babies need their teats sometimes to reassure and relieve them, sometimes to accompany them in this jungle of discoveries.
The ideal age for weaning? 2-3 years, an age that the child often separates from spontaneously, or without great difficulty.
And the right period
Separation from the pacifier is an important step for your child: avoid periods of great upheaval: arrival of a baby in the family, moving, separation, back to school …
Stop the pacifier: Avoid denigrating it
Phrases such as “you are no longer a baby”, “even your cousin who is shorter than you no longer have” etc … will not encourage your child to part with this object that so comforts them. Prefer positive phrases, of the type “you are a big boy / girl now”, “I am sure that you will manage very well to play without the dummy” etc …
Talk to them about the benefits of stopping the pacifier
You can (without going into details!) Explain to them that they must stop sucking their pacifier to have pretty teeth and to talk better. Explain that you understand them better when they don’t have their pacifier, and that by talking with the other kids while they are playing they will have more fun.
Lollipop stop: Go gradually
Don’t rush them in this step, you might upset them and encourage them to compensate by using the thumb, which would only move the problem. Start by asking them to use the pacifier only in the house, then only for certain activities (while waiting for the meal, reading a book in the evening), and finally only in bed, for napping and at night.
Offer a transition object
Because a pacifier is for a child like a comforter that reassures, consoles and cradles, offer him or go and choose together a soft toy with which he can fall asleep, hang out, console his sorrows …
Treat the departure
When the time comes for the “real” separation, avoid the blow of the nipple thrown in the trash, which can be a little brutal for a child (unless it is he who offers it and takes care of it). Instead, suggest putting it in a memory box, or why not send it by post to the Land of Teats …
Read our trending articles to learn more about:
Chinese Gender Prediction Charts