Dreaded Pacifier!

Hi D., My friend used this idea to get her sons "binkie" away from him. she told him that all of the Babies in heaven need Binkies and that he was a big boy now and it would be really nice if he would share his binkies. they got some heilum baloones (I dont think i spelled that right sorry) and tied the Binkies to the strings and then went to an empty field and she told him one more time that he was a big boy and that the Babies in heaven needed the binkies and he let the Balloones go and has never wanted to cryed for them since. I just thought that I would share this with you I hope that you have a good day.

A. Mckay

Hi D.,
My daughter who is now 16 was attached to her pacifier until just about she was going to turn 3. Our peditrition told us to cut the tip off and tell her it was broken. Show it to her after you cut off the tip don't let her see it won't work then. We had about 3 days of a lot of whining and crying but then she was pacifier free. When ever she would talk with her pacifier in her mouth we would tell her to take it out because we couldn't understand her most of the time she would...but other times we told her well I guess Mommy can't respond to you because I don't understand you, she would get upset but eventually take out the pacifier.

A little about me:

I am 39 a mother of 3 teenagers and have been married to my husband for 17 yrs. I am a Crossing Guard but only work 2 hrs a day. I have the same schedule as the kids and it works for my family. I've always been a stay at home Mom until I got my Crossing Guard job 2 yrs ago. If you can do it my advice is stay home with your children there is no job better than that in the world!

I have had to help two kids get rid of the their binkies. I tried all the other suggestions: limiting it to car, nap, bed time etc. I even tried cutting a slit in it but they would suck on it anyways or even just carry it around.

After we limited it the most we could and was down to just one, I told my kids that it was time for them to be like big kids and get rid of the binky. I spent some time preparing them for this, and when I was sure they understood what was going on, I had them throw the binky in the big outside garbage can on garbage day. We then watched outside for the garbage truck to come collect the trash and take it away. We cheered and clapped as we waved goodbye to the binky for good praising the child for taking ownership of the situation and becoming a big kid. My kids asked once or twice about the binky and I reminded them that they were big kids now and they gave the binky to the garbage truck.

They were so good about it I think because they had control over it and they were pretty addicted to the binky. It was even easier for my second child because my son who had already given up his binky gave a lot of support to his little sister when it was her turn.

I know this is a big step. Best wishes in finding what works.

i had the same problem with my two kids but i got the pacifier away from them before they turned 2....just give it to him when it's bedtime or when he is hurt, it will be a struggle but you have to be firm, he's gonna cry & scream for it, don't give in to him, always remember you're the mom & you're the boss, after 2 weeks take it away from him totally. at first he's gonna ask for it when it's bedtime, then he's gonna talk & sing a lot until he gets tired & go to sleep. after a week he'll forget about it.

My third was my only binky baby. I was unsure how to get rid of it. I guess I got lucky because when he turned two and started at daycare they would not let me leave it for him. My thought was GOOD LUCK see you at 3:00!! In a new enviorment he decided he did not need it and after about a month at daycare he stopped asking for it at home too.

I have heard that you can take it and every couple of days cut a little tiny piece off the tip. Eventually it will lose the suction and he'll get sick of it. Just keep cutting! And do it to all or he'll figure out which ones work. :D

Also, I heard about a mom who told her son that Elmo was having a baby and they don't have pacifiers on Sesame Street, so they put all his binky's in a box, wrote on it (to make it look like you were mailing it). Then you take it to the post office and ask them to mail it to sesame street (then discreetly ask the lady to throw it away after you leave). This should teach him that giving is important!

I've also heard that cold turkey works too. It might be a miserable couple of weeks but you might be able to work in some other lovie like a blanket or stuffed animal during this time... its a security thing that makes him want it.

Good luck!

Hi D.

I had the same problem, oh it was a nightmare at times.
I asked my doctor about what to do. This may sound strange but he told me to let him suck on his finger instead NOT his thumb, his index finger. The finger will not allow it to go to the roof of the mouth, (which most people fear will cause the teeth to go buck?) the index finger tends to lye on the tounge instead. Then they in fact find that they need to use their hands and this leads to less of something in the mouth.

The finger will look funny, once in awhile but it worked for us. we told him no more (gulley, gulley) that is what he called it. So we took pictures of him throwing it away. That night he wanted for his gulley gulley but we told him to suck his finger and he did. It got less and less everyday. and this was at the age of about 1 1/2 years old. He is grown and has really nice teeth.

Good luck.

Fortunately, I never had this problem. However my sister did and she began to cut a slit in the top of the binkie's nipple so that it was different. Then when her daughter noticed it just wasn't the same, she would tell her "oh well, it's broken" and toss it. Little by little until the last one of them was "broken" and finally she applauded her daughter and told her "see, you didn't even need them".

C.~

www.HelpUStayHome.com

I never used a pacifier with my kids because I had heard of these kind of things happening, but both of my daughters use it with their children for comfort of the child. So far nothing has happened. I had a friend who also gave her twins pacifiers to calm them. The thing she did is just throw them away and then tell her kids she couldn't find them around the house. For her this worked. It may be initially shocking for your child not to have his pacifier but, if you do this, you could replace it with a sippy cup or something more pleasing to the child. It seems that at 2 1/2 years it it just a security thing and not a real need. Hope something works for you. Good luck

Hi D.!
I got my daughter off of her binky when she was a little over 2. We had slowly gotten rid of them as they got lost (she only had hers for naps and bedtime - we stopped giving it to her in the car) and when she had 3 left I cut the tip off of one. She put it in her mouth for bedtime and sucked for a second, took it out, looked at it, put it back in and sucked again and took it out again. I said "uh oh, looks like it's broken. We better throw it away". She agreed and I had her throw it away. Then I gave her one of the other ones. I let her have that one for maybe a week and then cut the tip off again and repeated the process. I told her she only had one left and when that one breaks there wasn't going to be anymore. I waited another week for the last one to "break" and then she was done. She really didn't have too much trouble adjusting and slept fine. She asked about it a little bit for the next few days and I just reminded her that they had all broken and she didn't have anymore.

Now, my friend on the other hand, has a son who will be 4 in December. He still has his binky for bed and naps and is really difficult to get him to give it up. I would suggest you get him off of it sooner than later because they only become more and more attached as they get older. I have a son who is 13 months and only has his for bed and nap. I think I will try getting him off of it before he is 2!
Good luck to you!
S.

This is a new and fun solution that worked for us. My Abby (who turned four three weeks ago)had gotten worse and worse to the point where she had her "binki" all day and was throwing HUGE fits when she couldn't have one so we decided it was time to get rid of it. She had been asking for a Build-a-Bear for a while so I told her that she could "pay" with her binkis. We gathered up all that we could find and put them in her little purse. When we got to Build-a-Bear we told them we were here to "pay" with the binki's. The lady suggested that we put her favorite one INSIDE the bear and when ever she needed it she could hug her bear. She even named her bear Binki!! It has been 10 days and Abby hasn't had a binki once. I have to admit the first night was hard, she threw a fit for about 15 minutes, but the bear deffinatly helped soothe her. After the first night she didn't throw another fit she just hugs that bear and falls asleep! YEAH!! By the way our pediatric dentist and my pediatrition both told me that pacifiers will not damage your kids teeth. Genetics, bottles, and thumb sucking are the culprit of bad baby teeth. Some people just have a problem with kids and pacifiers in their mouths.

I have been fortunate enough to not have to deal with the pacifier, but I have had friends who have had the same struggle.

The best suggestion I have heard is that you put the binki (and bottles) in a box and have the toddler tell the binkis and bottles "good-bye." Also, once these supplies are gone, they are gone. It's hard for parents, I believe, and it can be tempting to give in and start the process all over again.

Of course, you want to make sure the toddler still has some security. Maybe a bedtime story. Maybe some 1 on 1 time alone.

I wish you the best of luck on this.

R.

Our son was 2 1/2 when we had him get rid of his pacifier. At first we started limiting his use to only naps and the car. And then eliminated car, naps and finally night. He'd ask for it or cry for it and we'd just tell him he couldn't have it and then try to redirect him to an activity (coloring, playing with toys, etc). He cried about 3 nights when we finally refused to let him have it at bedtime, but that was it, he never asked for it again.

I've heard of people who get to where their child only gets it at bedtime and finally they tell them they need to leave the pacifier for the Binky Fairy who will take them to the little babies who need them and in return, the Fairy will leave them a "big kid" present. Another friend took her daughter to the store to pick out a new toy and she had to "pay" for it with her pacifiers.

It's a hard decision to have your child give up a comfort item, but easier now than later! Good luck.

My idea sounds awful, but it worked. I told my daughter that when she turned 3 years old, a scary "monkey-man" tries to steal binkies left out of protective "fairy-boxes" during the day time. When I caught her sucking on the binkie during the day, I warned her about the "monkey-man". She would usually run to the fairy-box to hide the binkie. It only took one-time allowing my 7 year old to wear a scary monkey mask in front of her before her habit was broken. When she "lost" the binkie permanently, she just said that the monkey-man must of stolen it. My husband says she is probably scarred for life - but at least she'll have straight teeth!

It sounds like you're already on the right track. With both my boys, right around the same age, we did the same thing. First we limited it to only nap and bedtimes. When they asked for it, we just told them that it was only for when they were sleeping, and then tried to distract them(sometimes it worked, sometimesn not, but we didn't give in). After a month or so, we took it away at naptime, and told them that it was only for bedtime, that big boys didn't need it during the day. Gradually, they didn't ask for it so much anymore, and the first time they didn't ask for it at night (immediately when getting into bed), they didn't get it at night...my first one rarely asked for it again, but my second one did ask for it for a couple more weeks on and off....but we didn't give in and he did just fine. Good luck!!