Northville's 'Binky Tree' Attracts Statewide Attention

For many toddlers, giving up a pacifier is a rite of passage.

However, parents often struggle when trying to get their children to leave those binkies behind.

William S. Demray, dentist of Northville's Preservation Dental, has a solution. Behind his office in Ford Field park grows the "Binky Tree."

"We believe that this Binky Tree is the first in the United States and is probably the only one," said Denise M. Jenkins, of Preservation Dental.

The tree attracted the attention of popular public-television travel show "Under the Radar Michigan," which came to Northville in June to film an episode. Catch the Binky Tree on the show 10:30 a.m. Saturday on Detroit Public TV.

Demray got the idea from a similar tree in Denmark and decided to being the novel notion to Northville. The Binky Tree was officially dedicated in the summer of 2004 at a ceremony with the tooth fairy.

"It's about giving the kids a nice way to let go without traumatizing them," he said.

Demray said it's important to get pacifiers out of children's mouths at an earlier age, or they can interfere with speech development, the shape of the mouth's roof, or the position of teeth.

"They'll laugh about it when they're older," he said.

There are hundreds of pacifiers in the tree, which Demray regularly cleans. Jenkins said it comforts children to know they aren't saying goodbye to their binkies forever but can return to visit.

One child, she said, waved at his pacifier after he put it in the tree.

Anyone can stop by any time to hang a pacifier on the tree. Visitors will see the poem Demray wrote inscribed on a plaque at the base of the tree. It reads: "Grow, grow, grow up with me. It's time to leave your Binky on me."

If you're trying to get your child to stop using a pacifier, here are some tips from Preservation Dental:

• Don't put the pacifier on a string.
• Don't dip it in honey or sweets.
• Give your child advance notice of the day he or she will give up the pacifier.
• Make a celebration out of it (like visiting the Binky Tree!).
• Stay firm and don't let your child return to using a pacifier.