Want to kick your baby’s pacifier habit? Elmo’s here to help
November 3, 2011
Josh Tapper
STAFF REPORTER
Infants suck.
Soothers, that is — unless Elmo has something to do with it.
Sesame Street has declared Nov. 4 “Down the Pacifier Day” and the furry red puppet has been recruited to encourage aging kids to kick their pacifier habit.
In a DVD titled Bye Bye, Pacifier! Big Kid Stories with Elmo, and released Tuesday, Elmo teaches preschoolers how to ride a tricycle, sit through a first haircut and ditch the soother. He suggests making a countdown calendar or trading the soother for toy or stuffed animal.
“You don’t need your binky to make you feel good,” he says in an online video.
Still, soothers can be a useful tool for baby rearing.
“Baby’s need sucking and that’s okay,” said Dr. Marvin Gans, a Toronto pediatrician. “But it’s your job as a parent to them when it’s appropriate.”
In spite of Elmo, soothers have generated a fair bit of controversy among parents and pediatricians. Some argue soothers discourage mothers from breastfeeding; prolonged pacifier use, and limited breastfeeding might disable a mother from producing prolactin, a hormone that helps produce milk. The baby is then deprived of vital nutrients.
“The use of soothers on a daily basis has been linked to giving up breastfeeding before a baby is three months old,” according to BabyCenter, a website for parents.
Soothers can also cause future ear, stomach and speech problems. The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) says babies should stop sucking once they’re one year old.
Here are some CPS recommendations to help wean your kid off his soother.
• Nighttime sucking only
• Have a conversation about ditching the pacifier. Don’t humiliate or punish if the child resists.
• Use plenty of positive reinforcement and tell them that giving up the pacifier is a sign of maturity.
• Stay strong and don’t return the binky.