Pacifiers are an excellent source of soothing, but eventually it’s important to limit their use to the sleep space in order to promote language development and self-regulation skills. This can also be a first step toward weaning the pacifier entirely and finding new ways to help infants soothe themselves. 

Recommend to families that they:

1. After 5 months of age, keep the pacifier in the sleep space (crib) during the day so that the baby does not have access. 
2. Resist using the pacifier when children are awake, and instead help them to tolerate hard moments without sucking.
3. Explore other ways to help soothe children - like snuggling, talking, and singing.

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