Removal of the Sucking Habit Pacifier in Preschool: presentation and evaluation of the one motivational strategy

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to present and to evaluate a motivational strategy for the removal of the sucking habit pacifier in preschool matriculate in schools of infantile education in the Pelotas/RS and evaluate prevalence and frequency of the sucking habit, characterizing these children according to sex, relative with whom it lives, brothers' presence and with who passes most of the time when is not in the school. The study it involved 150 children between 4 and 6 years old, of the three public schools and one private. The motivational strategy was developed in three stages: I) conversation with the parents and application of questionary, II) presentation of the problem to the child, III) development of playful activities with employment of slides, puppets and motivational appeal (pacifier tree) and IV) evaluation. The prevalence of sucking pacifier was of 24%, and the most of the children that was made use belonging to the feminine sex, it was living with the parents and was passing most of the time with them when they was not in the school, was presenting brothers and used pacifier only to sleep. Too, 63,6% of the families account told to have tried to removal of the habit. The success of the strategy was observed in (66.7%) of sample, because the abandonment the habit was established by parents or teachers relate. It was concluded that the motivational strategy proposal to was effective in the studied population and can constitute one implement in the development of education in buccal health in the school. However, it is suggested that experimental papers are conducted to confirm this hipothesis and that include more involvement of the parents and/or carers.