Grace made a big decision this weekend. She threw her pacifiers in the trash. She's a big girl now.
She's a big girl now who has had a hard time sleeping the last few nights.
Mr. D has been telling me for the last few weeks that we should take the pacifiers away. She was only using them at naptime and bedtime, so I wasn't as worried. But then again, you're talking to a girl who sucked her thumb until she was 10! So Grace with her pacci addiction had my sympathies.
But I agreed - the longer we waited, the harder it would be, especially with the new baby coming. But I kept putting it off. I told him I wasn't ready for this decision.
So he made it for me. The sneaky Mr. D. Saturday afternoon he and Grace come bounding upstairs with big news. Grace threw away her pacifiers.
Say what?
They had been watching Nanny 911 and it was an episode where the nanny had the kids throw their pacifiers away. Mr. D asserts that Grace was intently watching this happen, so he asked her if she wanted to throw hers away. Supposedly she went up to her bed herself, got them out, came down and threw them away. So that's the story.
Really?
I believe him. I don't think Grace would go along with the story if it wasn't the case. She was quite proud of herself too. For a while. As bedtime came closer, I think she began to rethink her actions. By the time we put her in bed, she realized she had been influenced by the evils of television.
She went to bed relatively easy, but the middle of the night lasted forever. I was up with her for about two hours trying to get her to go back to sleep. Then Mr. D took over for an hour or so and finally got her to sleep.
Surprisingly though, Sunday night went much better. Last night she woke up once, calling for me. I went in to comfort her, and her water cup was almost empty. I told her I would go fill it up... took my time, and by the time I went back, she was asleep again. Yay!
I had a friend tell me that it is usually harder on the parent to take them away then it actually is on the child. I proved her right.
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1 comment:
So good for you guys! Pretty crazy she picked up on the TV like that. In psychology, complete extinction is the best way to modify behavior. Random interval reinforcement is the best way to encourage a behavior. So basically, just stick to your guns and it works out! I can explain it better later.
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