Giving up the Pacifier - Woodridge,IL

My sister-in-law kept putting it off for various reasons (there was always something) and then had a 5 year old and a 3 year old both using pacifiers. My mother-in-law finally just took them away when they were staying at her house.

A lot of people seem to use "binky fairies" and "trading them in" for big kid toys, etc. I personally think that making a big deal about things can make it worse. That being said, I've heard a lot of people who it has worked for.

My kids were younger when we took them away, but we didn't make a big production out of it...we just took them away. There were a couple of rough nights, but then it was over. I don't think they actually stop wanting it since it's something they are used to and toddlers don't like change.

There are going to be times we have to do things that they don't like for their best interest. Nobody wants to hear their little one cry and be upset, but if it's for their best interest in the long run, it's just part of being a parent.

Good luck! Who'd have thought that a little piece of plastic could cause such commotion!

L.,
I just took my son's pacifier away at 21/2. He absolutely loved it too. I started by only giving it to him when he was tired. About a month ago, he fell in the playroom and had the pacifier in his mouth and it actually cut his cheek pretty bad...enough to get stitches believe it or not. I was not there when it happened, but it is the only thing I know that was near his cheek. Anyways, needless to say, after that I made sure he never had it when he was not in his crib. Then, during our busy 4th of July weekend, I let him fall asleep laying next to me watching TV for a few nights (with no paci). Then I did the normal bedtime routine with him in his crib and gave him a sippy cup with water in it. It has been a few weeks now and he has only asked for it once or twice. I just told him I did not have any and quickly distracted him with a toy. It is amazing how quickly they forget about it. I did the same thing with my 5 year old. I really did not think it would work with my 2 year old, but it did. Good Luck and I hope this helped.

My husband really wanted our son to be rid of the paci by 3yrs. I didn't want to take it on his birthday. So we did a big build up around his birthday. We went shopping for a toy that the "Paci Fairy" would bring him the day he gave his pacies to the babies. I think it was two days after his birthday, my mom was going on a trip to see a friend who had just had a baby and we told my son that he needed to give her the pacies to take to the new baby. "The Paci Fairy needed his help!" and that night the Paci Fairy would leave him the present he had asked for on his bed. (Becuase he only had the paci when he was sleeping.) I gathered all the pacies and he put them in the bag I gave him all by himself and my mom took them out of the house and went on her trip. That night while daddy helped he with his bath I put the gift from the Paci Fairy on his bed. He was really excited and opened it and played for a while. But then when it was time to actually go to sleep there was a lot of crying. He told me I could take the toy back to the store for just one paci. It was really hard on me. There was begging like he had never done before. My husband told me to leave and he comforted him that night...mostly because he knew I would give in to the pleas. After that night he asked for about a week at all the nap and bed times but there wasn't all that crying and drama. I just reminded him that HE gave the pacies to the babies and what a big helper that was for the Paci Fairy and how she brought him the gift to thank him and I didn't have one to give him because they all went to the babies. We did this at the end of June. It was about a week of random asking at bed time but then he stopped. He hasn't said anything this week at all. He has mentioned that the toy he plays with is from the Paci Fairy. I am glad we did it! But is was the hardest night I have had with him. Making it his choice to be a helper by giving the paci to someone who needed them and having an absent "Paci Fairy" to talk about so nobody he knows and loves was a "bad guy" really helped! And knowing that it is for the best helped me. Good luck!!

When my son was 2 we tried to take it away, he too had gotten to the point when he only had it at bed and nap. It was a nightmare, after 3 days of total meltdowns at bed time I gave it back to him. I tried again at 2.5 and it was a piece of cake. We only had one left in the house and it got a tear in it, I had already told him that when it broke we would throw it away and not get any more. He never put up a fuss, I think he was just ready to be done with it. Try with your son and if it still very difficult after a few days maye wait and try again later.
Good luck.

We did the "buy a big boy toy with your pacis" approach and it worked wonderfully. We did this when he was about 23 months old and he understood. That night at bedtime, he asked for it and we said, "do you remember that we bought your big boy train with them today?" He understood, never cried about it and I felt for us it made the transition smooth. He asked for a paci at bedtime and naptime for about 3 days, but never cried and we didn't have challenges with him going to sleep. (Either the trick worked or he really was ready to give them up on his own.)

Good luck!

What I did was when my children turned one I threw them in the trash on trash day so "I" wouldnt go digging in the trash to get them out...haha. The worst part is you trying to deal with it. Once they are ALL out of the house it shouldnt take to long to get through it. show pictures of rotten teeth or things like that. Even at a young age they still understand a little. it might help.

Hi L.,
With our little guy we told him we needed to clean it so he needed to give it to us so we could put it in the dishwasher. He was fine with it. The next night he asked for it and we told him it wasn't clean enough and we needed to clean it some more. That was it, never asked for it again. No problems at all, but as we all know...each one is SO different. Good Luck!!! :O)
Tracy

I had the same problem but w/ my daughter and her bottle so we encouraged her to give up the bottle we told her there was a bottle fairy and she was coming to take the bottles to give them to all the babies.So I got her a present(she was into carebears)so when she went to bed we made her aware that it was the last night w/ her bottle and the bottle fairy was coming that night now that she was a big girl. So we put all the other bottle in a bag and we left the bottle fairy a note to take them to the new babies. When she woke up in the morning there was a new care bear for her to sleep w/ and a note congratulating her for being so big & brave and we had no problems.Good luck!!! Shay B.