When Lucas was a baby, he was addicted to his pacifier. Since becoming a behavior analyst in 2003 I’ve seen tons of kids who are equally addicted to pacifiers. I’ve also seen kids with trouble bottle weaning. When I see parents with toddlers who have pacifiers in their mouths or drinking out of a baby bottle, I want to yell, “get that pacifier out of their mouth.” It affects their teeth, their language, and their behavior! But I get it. I was that parent. And I didn’t know how to wean Lucas without it being traumatic for both of us.
Many children, especially those with behavioral issues, use pacifiers well past infancy. Their parents struggle with what to do to keep them quiet and happy. So they usually give in and “plug the child up” with a pacifier.
Toddlers and even older children can also be addicted in the same way to a bottle. Both bottles and pacifiers are both really bad for toddlers and older children because they hamper talking, increase problem behaviors for items, and can be detrimental to normal teeth development (both baby and adult teeth).
Also, pair the cup with highly reinforcing toys and items during non-bottle times. While your child or client probably will not understand your complex plan, even infants will respond to reinforcement and other behavioral procedures.
If your child is ever crying while trying to access these items, do not give it to them. Also if they are crying or having problem behaviors while accessing any reinforcement (including blankets, pacifiers, or bottles) take the item away for at least a few seconds to show her/him that crying will not work!
At the very minimum, children should not have access to pacifiers, blankets, or bottles on demand at any time of the day or night. They need you to help them with boundaries!
Assessing, planning, and taking action may be emotionally taxing to you and your child. It’s OK to pick a less stressful time to implement all of this. Such as after the holidays, when the other siblings go back to school, after a vacation is over, etc. The important thing to remember is that with these 6 steps you can tackle the pacifier problem/bottle weaning struggles and help your child.
