I could not pass up sharing this article. Marguerite
Lamb has some practical approaches towards weaning your little one from his/her love of the pacifier. Personally, I like “The Gradual Approach”
By Marguerite Lamb from American Baby
Originally published in American Baby magazine,
August 2005
This is quoted from a section of this article:
Weaning Your Child Off of
Pacifiers
When to Stop?
Here is where opinions diverge. Marolyn Morford,
PhD, a developmental psychologist in State College, Pennsylvania, recommends
discontinuing the pacifier by a year. "At that age, a child's
developmental needs do not include sucking," she says. Dr. [Karen] Breach
[MD, a pediatrician in Charlotte, North Carolina] allows more latitude:
"It's okay to make pacifiers the last thing to go. Once a baby is weaned
and potty trained, then focus on stopping the pacifier."
It's a tolerant attitude echoed by Dr. [Richard]
Dowell [PhD, a pediatric neuropsychologist at Evangelical Community Hospital in
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania]: "Ultimately, children develop higher level
strategies to manage their distress -- usually beginning at around age 2,"
he says. "They phase out their pacifiers as they develop skills to replace
them." Most kids willingly surrender their binkies by age 3 or 4.
How to Stop: The Three-Day
Plan
