I recently saw this idea posted to a friend on Facebook and I thought it was so clever (and cute) that I had to share!
We all know that babies and toddlers can be addicted to their soother/suce/binky/or whatever it is you call it at home. Getting them off of it can easily be compared to an adult trying to “kick the habit” at times! So, what can you do about it? Well, if you were able to wean your child off of it at a young age then this post may not be for you. But, if your child is a bit older and can’t seem to let it go then then this may be a good start!
The suggestion I saw was to slowly get your child down to their last couple of soothers and then, once they are nearly off but maybe not quite, bring them to Build-A-Bear (a fun activity for children of all ages in itself) and have your child put the soothers inside the bear’s belly! For anyone who doesn’t know what Build-A-Bear is, you choose the body of the bear you want and they play a little story/game that has your child stuff the bear by his/her self, choose a heart to give your bear life and then fill in a birth certificate to commemorate the day it was born while they sew up the bear for you. When it comes time to choose your bears name you can call it the “Big Boy/Girl Bear”, the “Soother Bear”, or anything else your heart desires! The point is, your child will hopefully begin to cling to the bear, as they did their soother, and will eventually outgrow even the bear! Yes, in some ways it is prolonging the “soother” use, but in a very different and more grown-up way!
It may not work for everyone, but after this discussion grew on Facebook it seems that it has in fact worked for many people so why not give it a try!
To find out more about Build-A-Bear and find a location near you see here.
Side note: I have come to realize that I have collected WAY to many stuffed animals/bears over the years and most of them, apart from a select few Disney Collectors ones, are sitting brand new in a huge box in my closet. Over the next couple of weeks I am going to find some time to go through them and donate at least half of them to the Children’s Hospital or something this year at Christmas. And, hopefully, I will stop getting more of them!
