My oldest son, Caleb, never had a security blanket or stuffed animal to carry with him everywhere. Those were just materialistic things to my first born. His love was his pacifier. From birth until his 3rd birthday, I daily had to clean and hunt for them. If something went wrong, he needed it. If he was bored, you bet he enlisted me to help him search.
I eventually had to make a rule on the binky. It was only allowed in the bedroom. For babies, it's cute. But not for a rowdy, playful toddling little boy. I tried my best to wean the habit, but nothing seemed to work. Until one day I came across an article in a parenting magazine in the doctor's office.
Getting rid of a child's beloved pacifier can be hard. It gives them security and comfort, just like a favorite teddy bear or snuggly blanket. But, it's rumored that it can cause unsightly damage to your child's teeth among other problems. I believe it caused the small cavities my son had in his front two teeth, but it's not proven. My other two kids never used a paci, and have perfect pearlies.
If your trying to lose that binky for good with no luck, you might want to try what worked for my family. We tried numerous attempts before the "Paci Fairy" came to our rescue. One day at nap time, I explained to my son that he was getting to be a big boy and that a special fairy would be giving him a visit. He had to put his paci under the pillow, just like you do with the tooth fairy in later years to come. :) The fairy left a few cool little small items for him when he woke up.(I picked up from the dollar store. One was an actual tiny fairy, which he(okay, I) still has!)
Be sure to not leave any pacifier within reach. Your child will be sure to find it and take back up the habit. It actually worked, he did ask a few times, but I never went out to buy another one again!
Be sure to watch the Great Pacifier Debate courtesy of JuiceBox Jungle!
3 Comments:
It was the "deet fairy" in our house because that's what my son called his pacifier (where he came up with it, I have no idea). It worked for us too! That night when she came, she accidentally forgot the one in the pocket of the diaper bag so at 5 am when my son was crying hysterically, he found it. The next morning, I went to take away to toy that the fairy had brought and he decided that he wanted that toy more than he wanted the pacifier so traded it in. That night, he asked for it and I reminded him that he had the toy instead and he's never asked again.
I saw the paci fairy idea on an episode of Super Nanny I think and thought that was a wonderful idea!! I made a note to suggest that to any friends that needed help breaking their wee one of the paci habit. Very smart.
Ahh I miss the days of sucking on a pacifier... why did you have to take it away mommy?! Okay maybe it was a good decision, after all.
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