The pacifier can provide hours of soothing, sucking comfort for the child. However, there must be a point when it must go. When should your little one quit? And what are the various way to wean them off?
As per Dentistry World, it’s recommended to limit pacifier time once a child is two and eliminating it by age four to avoid dental problems!
According to WebMD, your baby won’t suffer any long-term damage to their teeth. Any problems with growing teeth will likely self-correct within six months of kicking the pacifier habit. Problems may start to occur after two years old, including slanting teeth. Any use of pacifier beyond the age of four can mean long-term dental problems when adult teeth begin to form.
This is what happens when a child uses their pacifier for too long! It’s recommended to limit pacifier time once a child is 2 and eliminating it by age 4 to avoid dental problems!🎥
Posted by Dentistry World on Sunday, April 21, 2019
Tips to wean your child off the Pacifier
1. Offer alternative comforts
If you take the pacifier out of your baby for the first time, you may need to soothe them in other ways. For example, rocking, soft singing or huggable, soft toys are some ways to help ease the discomfort of your child.
2. Wean her off slowly
If you’re uncomfortable doing anything drastic, you might be better off with this suggestion. It may not be easy for the child to give it up suddenly if the child has formed an attachment with the pacifier over a long period of time.
Start by giving it at bedtime and nap-time only. Stop offering it at nap-time after a few weeks. Try to distract them by giving a cuddly toy instead if your little one fusses, or comfort her with rocking and other soothing gestures. Use the same method for bedtime once your child is adjusted to napping without the pacifier.
3. Making it taste different
To make sure the pacifier tasted different, you can consider dipping it into bitter gourds juice or lemon juice in the hope that the child would reject on his own.
4. Give them away
You could explain to your child that they are a big child and there’s a baby out there that needs to stop crying from her pacifiers. Engage your little one by asking them to pass it to the baby instead. After that, remember to offer them a lot of praise and a little gift for being such a kind and generous “big kid.”
5. Alter to make it spoilt
This is to alter the pacifier in a way that makes sucking unappealing. For example, you can poke a hole in the tip or cutting off the tip with clean scissors. Whenever they ask for a pacifier, offer them the altered one. Explain to them that it is spoilt and they will just have to do with the broken one.
Please make sure it is a clean cut as it can be a choking hazard if the small pieces come apart.
