| Weaning Your Child Off A Pacifier |
| Wean your baby from the pacifierbefore she is six months old, or you will have a more difficult challenge when she's older. Better yet, don't offer the pacifer at all. Start the weaning process by offering the pacifier only at naptime, at night, or when you or your child desperately needs the break. Allow your child to use a pacifier only at home. Introduce a substitute comfort toy or blanket. Dip the nipple of a pacifier into lemon juice or grapefruit juice to make it taste bitter. Stop buying new pacifiers, and let your child know that when the final pacifier wears out or disappears, there will be no more. Throw away all but one pacifier and begin talking to your child about how to get rid of that last one. Give her a week or so of warning and preparation before you finally take it away. Create an incentive program to encourage your child to give up her pacifier. For every day she does not use it, give her a star or sticker to place on a chart that is redeemable for a prize when she fills it. Take your child to the toy store and offer the option of trading in her pacifier for an item she associates with being more grown-up. |
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