There is so much information out there on pacifiers and when/how to take them away. As a parent, the thought of taking it away can be overwhelming and a little scary. The nuk or pacifier has been a way for your child to soothe themselves and taking that away will likely cause a little stress on your little one and you as well. The stress will not last forever and there is a good reason to get rid of it sooner rather than later! Below are a few reasons to get rid of them, when is best, and a few ways to make it easier on everyone!
When to wean:
It is recommended that you wean from the nuk/pacifier/thumb between 4-6 months. This seems early, but this is when important milestones and skills are developing. This is the age at which your little one will start to mouth objects to explore them. Your little one learns about objects and his/her environment! Also, this starts to move the gag reflex back in the mouth and helps with tongue movement from side to side (which is important for feeding and speech)! This is also the same time you can start to introduce the spoon if they are ready. If they have a pacifier or their finger in their mouth, this makes this process more difficult and can delay important milestones! At this age, they do not need that suck pattern anymore. They will soon start to work on chewing, cup drinking, and a different suck pattern for straw drinking (see previous blogs for when these are appropriate).
Why wean:
As briefly talked about above, there are important milestones and skills that are impeded with extended use of the nuk or thumb. Exploration of the environment, tongue movement in the mouth, chewing and swallowing, and the gag reflex are a few that can be delayed. This can impact how their speech and feeding skills develop and how successful they may be with these life skills. Another reason to wean sooner rather than later is the overall development of the structures of the mouth. When there is a nuk or thumb in their mouth after 4-6 months, it will likely impact how the teeth come in and how the roof of the mouth is formed. With these differences in their teeth and mouth, it can make feeding and talking more difficult.
How to wean:
This can be the tricky part of getting rid of it. If you have an older child who is still using a pacifier, try to teach them that there are other babies who need them and they can “give” theirs to a baby to help them! There are lots of kids that love to help others and this can be helpful in getting rid of it! Something important to think about for both younger and older children who are still using it for soothing is what are we going to replace the nuk/thumb with? They will need something to help soothe in place of that. Getting them a new stuffed animal or blanket can be helpful to start using while they are still using the nuk/thumb. Then, slowly transitioning the nuk away can be easier. There are many books out there for kids on getting rid of the pacifier and thumb that can also be read to them!
If you have more questions on the pacifier and getting rid of it, do not hesitate to call any of us!
-Amber-