Moms Talk is a new feature on Northville Patch that is part of a new initiative to reach out to moms and families.
Northville Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in Northville, city and township.
Each week in Moms Talk, our four-person Moms Council – Cheri Stancer, Tamara Carlone, Tanya Lundberg and Lisa Barry – offers questions for discussion, gives advice and shares solutions.
Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.
So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today with a new question:
There's a Binky Tree in downtown Northville where pacifiers get retired by children who have out-grown them. According to our moms council member Lisa Barry, the binky tree was the idea of a Northville dentist "who saw one in Europe and thought it would be a good idea to have one here."
It was launched with a big ceremony in front of the playscape at , she said. There are usually about 100 binkies hanging from the tree at a time.
So we ask the question: How old is too old for a pacifier? At what age should kids give up their binkies?
I know of friends who successfully bribed kids to give up the pacifier (if you give up your binky, I'll buy you a spiderman toy), had their kids give their pacifiers to the "pacifier tree" in downtown Northville at Ford Field, and who convinced their kids to give their pacifiers to younger babies who needed them more (although those babies did not use them, it helped the child to think they were helping a younger baby).
It's our job as parents to help our kids to learn to soothe themselves in a healthy way. We want them to learn to think for themselves and make good choices. Easy for me to say, as I tend to soothe myself with cookies! Good Luck!!