Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Weaning from a soother

What is the "appropriate" age for a child to no longer use a soother? (a.k.a. pacifier, binky, etc.) Personally, I do feel there must be an age "cut-off" (??) but I also think that is up to the parents to decide when exactly the cut-off takes place? Taden is days away from being 16 months and he still uses his soother regularily. About a month ago or so, I decided to start weaning him a little at a time. Up until that point, he had it constantly, as much as he wanted it. I started only letting him have it for part of his play time (instead of the whole time), naps and bedtime. Sometimes I gave it to him if he started getting sleepy/fussy before his official naptime. Then about 2 weeks ago he got sick and with him not feeling good, I just let him have it as much as he wanted, rather than trying to deal with weaning while he was feeling miserable. However, now that he's feeling better, and I have started to wean him again, it does feel like we took a step backwards. He is really attached to the thing. How long does it typically take to "wean" a child off their soother, to the point where they only use it for naps and bedtime? Once Taden gets to that point, and we decide to wean him completely, are there any suggestions for how to get him to go to sleep without it? Any (kind) input is welcome! :)
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 25, 2009 at 1:30 PM

    We're trying to wean Turin from the thumb. It's super hard!!! It's not like we can take it away! ~Narah

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  2. AnonymousMarch 25, 2009 at 6:34 PM

    So mom said that there really is no age to "wean" and shes like Dr. Phil of the small ones!LOL she said "as In life they will let YOU know when there ready She said as like 2 and lost it at Meijer and that was the end of mine (Look what it did to me LOL) she said if its takin away to fast he might start to suck his thumb to calm himself down...... SHE really needs to type LOL! but She said that what your doing is SOOOOOOOO right and after a lil while he will just forget hes even got one its just like a safe thing for him!!!!!! But anyway I LOVE The set up super cute!!!!!
    LIZZ

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  3. AmyMarch 28, 2009 at 4:26 PM

    Do you have any suggestions for me Narah? How's it going with Turin and weaning his thumb? Any progress?

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  4. AmyMarch 28, 2009 at 4:27 PM

    Thanks Lizz! Tell your momma thanks for the encouragement and the info and you're right! She IS the "dr.phil" of little ones!!! :)

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  5. HeatherMarch 30, 2009 at 10:32 PM

    We aren't as strict with Ephram as we were with Liam but with Liam we only allowed it for bed time. When he woke up we would say "put it in the crib" and if he refused he would go back in the crib. He quickly realized that it was only for nap and bed time. I watched a show here called the mom show and they said that after 18 months it gets harder and harder to wean them. For Liam I didn't want to deal with moving him to a new bed, potty training and losing a soother all at the same time. Before having Ephram, I believe he was 18 months, I asked him if he wanted to put it in the garbage, he went and put it in the garbage. He didn't think about it again until bed time. I found that taking it for the first time at bed (not nap) was easier because they were tired any way. It was a struggle the first night or two and he cried but he got over it. The only downfall was that he woke up earlier from that point on. I haven't been as strict with Ephram because he is still teething big time, he only has 6 teeth! However, Ephram isn't as hooked to it as Liam was. It sounds like you are doing the right thing.

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  6. AmyApril 4, 2009 at 10:51 AM

    Thanks for the info Heather - very helpful to hear what you guys did :)

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