PACIFIERS, and how we got rid of ours

Bienkie, dummy, soother, pacifier, or in our case, dum-dum, most children has one.

Theo loved his dummy. He was never without it. I know people say that children sucking on pacifiers causes a delay in speech and bad teeth and many other problems, believe me, I heard it all. But if you know my Theo, he definitely does not have delayed speech or horrible teeth or any other problem someone dreamt up and blame pacifiers for.

I have mentioned in my "This is us" blogpost that I am a anything-for-happy-and-healthy-children type of mama. And I truely live by that. As long as my children are happy and the thing that makes them happy is not harming them, it goes. That is how I also felt about Theo's pacifier. It made him happy, so it was ok. I endured all the comments and looks, for him.

Then, the age old question of how to get rid of it. There are so many tried and tested methods, but honestly, as a parent you just need to follow what fits with your child's personality. Theo, for example, is strong-willed and likes to do things on his on terms and to believe that something was his idea (even if he was lead to the water 🐴) So, at the age of 2 and a half, he started chewing his dummies, I couldn't stand the sound they made when he sucked them, so, I threw away that one, and gave the next one thinking he would not do it again. Sure enough, he did. I went and bought two brand new dum-dums and explained to him that they are new and he should not bite them. He did. Then I decided, enough is enough. I threw away that first new one and opened the very last dummy. I held it infront of Theo and explained to him that this will be his very last dum-dum ever. If he bites this one we wil throw it away and there will be no more. He agreed, shook on it, popped the dummy in his mouth, and off he went. Sure enough, after three, happy, sound-free, sucking days, he bit through it. We were playing and I jokingly said, "Oh no, now you have to throw away your dummy" and , he stood up, walked to the dustbin and threw away his last dummy ever. He asked for it again a few times after that, but never cried or really needed it again.

I am proud to say that he is now totally dummy free and did not suffer any emotional damage bacause of it, before he turned three.

Now it's Ri's turn... 💛 Mama Theo.Ri

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