Pacifier Weaning
As the adult in your home where you are raising an infant, you are eager to teach the child the ways of growing up and maturing from infancy to childhood, and then on to adulthood. It is important, however that we do as much learning about the stages a child goes through as we try to help the child understand each new step. For a parent, you will be a success if you let the child teach you when the right time for changes in life might be rather than you trying to impose a rigid schedule on the child.
A good example is when the child will wean off of the pacifier and let it go for good. You can read all the child development books that you want to get some guidelines for when this might happen. But it is a mistake to read in the child development book that the infant will come off of the pacifier by her first birthday and then to proceed to force the child into the weaning process before she is ready because that is what he book says should happen.
Be very clear in your thinking that child rearing books and internet sites are here to give you general guidelines to go by. But every child is different. Some walk early, some late. Some potty train early and others late. We do our children a lot of harm if we start comparing them to each other children and belittling them if they have not moved through a stage that a neighbor child has conquered just because of chronological age.
The best training a child rearing book can give you is how to talk to your child and how to observe and listen to her so you know when the time is right for her to give up the pacifier and you are working in concert with her natural instincts to mature past this phase in life. You must resist the urge to feel embarrassed or disgusted if your child needs the pacifier a few months longer than you were expecting. By being supportive and loving in helping her through this transition in life, you are laying down a pattern of support and mutual love and respect that will build trust. That trust will be of tremendous value when that youngster reaches the more complicated teen years not far ahead.
Pay attention to the signs that the child is ready to give up the pacifier. She might naturally put it down and forget to put it back in their mouth because she gets interested in more advanced play activities. She might lose it because she is beginning to lose interest in the pacifier. By not forcing the child off of the pacifier, you can pick your moments to encourage her to close this chapter in her life. And because children love to please their parents, if your timing is right, that weaning process will go smoothly and harmoniously. What a sweet tradition to set in place as your begin your life together raising that child that you love so much.
