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Pacifier Free
Creative Ways to Break the Binky Habit
By Shannon McKelden
Over the next three months, they slowly said goodbye to each pacifier as it became unusable. "One was getting frayed so I showed him that it was 'icky' ... and that it was time for this to go to the garbage," Miranda-Abate says. "He grabbed it, said OK and threw it away. Then I pulled out the remaining five and counted them again, stressing the number he had left and that there would be no more binkys after these were gone."
During this time, she helped her son transition to getting comfort from stuffed animals or reassuring him with more hugs and kisses herself. She also let her son physically throw away the binkys, making him a real part of the process.
Laurie Zelinger, a child psychologist in Hewlett, N.Y., suggests the pacifier doesn't necessarily have to be thrown away at all. "They can wrap it and put it in their baby book (or special box) with saved baby items," Zelinger says. "Maybe even ask them to draw a picture of how they feel on the day they give it up and include that picture in the safe box."
Zelinger also suggests buying a different type (shape) of pacifier to break the habit. "Since children are so attached to their kind, a new one will not provide the same reinforcement," she says.
Trina Lambert, a mom of twins from Englewood, Colo., discovered this trick quite by accident. While attending a family reunion, she accidentally left her 14-month-old twins' pacifiers at home. "My mom ran to the grocery store and grabbed a package," Lambert says. "Well, it was a different brand than we had had, so my daughter refused to use it. However, with the exciteent of being with so many people, she didn't fuss much."
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Re: Pacifier Free by Chrystal on 10/15/2008 09:22PM
I don't know what to do. I have four children ages 18, 12, 8, and my only daughter who just turned 2. My boys took pacifiers, but I don't remember having to worry about breaking them from it. My daughter doesn't take her binky all day while at daycare because my provider started removing it early on. However when we pick her up from daycare, it is sing song all night long for the binky. "I binky ..." I managed to not give it to her from 5-8 but couldn't handle the whining saga of "I binky ..." anymore. Any thoughts?