Getting Rid of the Pacifier

It is important to try to get rid of the pacifier as soon as you can, so that it doesn’t interfere with speech or teeth. My daughter just turned two and our Speech Pathologist highly recommended us to do this as soon as possible. We also had a dentist visit recently, and he recommended getting rid of the pacifier before the age of three.

So, I am speaking from personal experience when I say, getting rid of the pacifier is hard. We have already started trying to decrease time with the pacifier during the day. I think it is such a struggle because it is one of the tangible things a child uses for comfort. For children with special needs, it is more than that. The pacifier helps them self regulate and is part of their routine. Since we will be saying good bye to the pacifier soon, I did some research to help this transition go smoothly. Here are four tips I have learned: 

• When getting rid of the pacifier, you need to first find something to replace it with that meets that need. Replacing the pacifier with another self soother will help your child be able to continue their soothing routine. If your child doesn’t regulate by the mouth, consider a soothing blanket, stuff animal, or toy. Since my child self regulates through her mouth, we have found a couple options for night time and nap time: 1.) Chewy Q- It is a chewy in the shape of a Q. It has a tip for sucking and a bumpy ring for chewing. 2.) Nuk Tooth Brush- It looks like a tooth brush except it has a rubber tip for chewing, sucking, and brushing. 3.) Flavored chewy stixx- It is a flavored stick that has one smooth side and one bumpy side for chewing.

• It is important to not give up the pacifier when child is dealing with change or fears. Wait until a time where your child is happy and content.

 

• When making the soothing switch, I have read that it helps to have a pacifier fairy take the pacifier for children in need while replacing it with the new soother. If giving the pacifier up happens around the holiday, you could use Santa, the Easter Bunny, or Cupid to make the swap. You could also use their birthday as the day they give up the pacifier because they are now "big".

 

• When the child is successful in getting rid of the pacifier, celebrate! Tell them you are proud of them. Let them know that they are a “big boy or big girl.”