Seeking Advice on Taking Away the Pacifier

Wow! You got a lot of advice! I told my son he was getting too big for them and slowly and gradually cut the nipple off of each one. Telling him "Look! You got so big, You broke it!" whenever he noticed one missing the nipple. Before that, though, he was only allowed to have it in bed or if he was sick or resting. The growing too big thing worked perfectly for us!

I recently read a good idea: giving the pacifier to a new baby as a present. My friend said that her daughter gave up the pacifier recently. Her daughter got angry & threw it out the window. She found it & cut the top off. When her daughter asked for it, she showed her the pacifier & told her the frogs ate it. I usually had my students (I teach pre-school) put it away except at nap time. I would tell them that I couldn't understand them otherwise.

My son also used a pacifier, only when asleep in bed. One day, I cut the tip off. When he put it in his mouth, he sucked on it, pulled it out and looked at it with a confused look on his face. He tried to suck at it a few more times but it just wasn't the same. For a few more months after that, he just held it in his bed. One day, I tossed it when he wasn't looking and he never asked about it. I strongly suggest this method. If he asks about what happened, just tell him that he sucked it all up. If you allow him to use the binky outside of his bed, this may be a little harder but I still would suggest cutting the tip off.

We did the cut the tip solution and it worked like a charm for my daughters personality. She would hold it up and say "uhhhhooo broken." I guess the trick with it would be make sure there are not any intact ones around or the "gig is up"

By a new pacifier that looks exactlly the same and swap them without him knowing it - - - it wont taste the same and he will stop using it

I've heard of the tip-cutting method and that it works. Too bad Christmas is over because what I did with my daughter was to tell her that Santa needs some pacifiers for the baby reindeers that were just born. She left her pacifiers with the cookies for Santa and then "he" left a special big-girl present for her with a thank you letter. She was thrilled and didn't really mention wanting the pacifier again. And 4 years later, she still talks about how she gave her pacifiers to the baby reindeer. She feels so proud that she helped.

Another good idea I've heard is to tie it to a helium balloon, set them free and then have a "bye-bye pacifier" party.

It’s hard to take something away without replacing it with something else. So he may need a special present.

I think no matter what method you choose, you NEED TO STICK WITH IT!! Don't back out. You'll have to be prepared for crying, whining, etc. If he uses it to sooth himself to sleep, then you need to prepare for a few sleepless nights. Be strong. You can do it!

Hi A.,
We limited use and eventually trimmed the tip off of our son's pacifier. He threw all of his pacifiers away on his own because they were "bwoken". I am not sure how your son could choke on a trimmed pacifier, provided that it is the appropriate sized pacifier for his age anyway. Obviously, throw away the tip you trimmed. As always, when in doubt check with your pediatrician.

The best advice is to talk to your child and tell him you are going to preschool soon and kids do not bring their pacificers to school. Your son has to throw it away in the garbage can himself so there isn't any blaming factors. We did that with our daughter and she didn't have any withdrawals symptoms. Some crying will not hurt the child if he can't separate from his pacificer. Long term usage of the pacificer will affect him teeth and bone growth with the palate area.

My 4 year old son loved his Binky. I thought he would be a grown man and still have his binky. Our doctor said he was getting too old for one and so one day when he was 2 we just decided to stop. I let him have it for naps and nighttime but then he wanted it more and more. So one day when we missplaced it I just didn't buy another one. SO it was pretty bad for 2 or 3 nights. We just read him to sleep those nights. My daughter was 18 months when we took hers away. She was also very attached to it but we took it away cold turkey. Actually lost them, but she was fine after 2 days.

Cutting the tip was the only way to get rid of my daughter's paci. She had that thing in her mouth since the nurse gave it to her in the hospital. I realized that mom and dad were just as addicted to it as she was. By the time she turned two, we were at a complete loss. Going cold turkey was not an option. (the results were too loud) Someone suggested cutting the tip but that wasn't the only thing that I did. Many times throughout the day I would casually mention to my daughter that her paci was broken. As she watched her paci get smaller every day it was easy enough for her to mimic me and even understand that it was broken and more importantly, not fixable. Worked great and no temper tantrums!

I dont know about cutting it. He might chock on it. my son is 15 months and we just took it away. He seems to be Ok. Good luck

We did this with all 8 of our kids and never had a problem. It was when I tried to limit it only at certain times, which we already did by only allowing paci's at bedtime, it failed and drug on and on, so I'd always go back to the cutting a portion off and it was gone within a week. Have fun!! Know ahead of time, your little guy will have a reserve in hiding so be prepared!!lol! hugs~~K.

Try limiting it to bedtime and rest time first. Then you can cut back to bedtime only: "Two year-olds only have binkys for bedtime"
Then, when you feel ready, go all the way.

Hi A.!

I know you asked this question a couple days ago, but I remember seeing it, and telling myself,"can't help her with that one, my 2 year old still uses his!"....My son has always used his without any limits as well, my husband never liked it as much, but we let him have it when he wanted it, especially to sleep. I would tell him he didn't need it, especially when it was hanging out of his mouth and he was TALKING, lol! But he would just tell me "yes, mommy, paw (that's what he calls it!) Anyways, I think his use of it was always more for us as parents. It was something that calmed him down when we couldn't, especially when we went somewhere. I'd try to take it away before, but he usually cried and begged me for it (Only me, mind you, not daddy, so it'd break my heart!). He had even started to bit on it to where it left holes, and the tip would be CHEWED up to where he was sucking on air, and he STILL wanted it! If it was left at home on accident, he'd know I left it there, and I needed to get it....However, on Friday on my way home from work, I called my husband to talk to my son and my son tells me "Mommy, paw at school, table" He had left it at school on Friday afternoon...he was fine for the next couple hours, and I went and bought him a new one, but wanted to see how he did. He would ask me for it, but i'd tell him "remember, YOU left it at school" and he would kind of roll his eyes and be like okay! He has done fine without it, asking me a couple times since for it, but nothing major. I've been soooo surprised! I think the fact that he remembers that it was his fault, and not mine, actually made it okay. I just wanted to share my story because I had no response before and now I do! If you don't want to take it away cold turkey, maybe you could limit it to just sleeping. Maybe you can involve some kind of reward in exvhange for it....not too sure what would work. Good Luck!~~ I actually miss seeing him with it though, because it still made him look like a baby,(and a mommy never wants their baby to grow up!)

My 3yr old son loved all things related to firemen. We told him that the firemen needed his binkies to give to new babies. We took them to the firehouse and dropped them outside. We talked about it for quite some time beforehand. We made a big production of how wonderful it was that he was helping the new babies. He cried his first night - for about 15 min (we kept on telling him that he was being brave and a helper) and then never asked for them again.

Hi there!

The pacie thing...been there done that. My daughter had a death grip on it. We had them everywhere and at everyone's houses! She didn't care which one, as long as she had one. (our older son wouldn't even touch one) So a couple of months before she turned 3, we asked her.."Do you know what happens when you turn 3? No more pacies." We did this almost every day, and even had her day care provider ask her too. So by the time her b-day approached, when we asked her what was going to happen, she told us.."no more pacies." So she expected it and was prepared for it to happen. So on the night of her 3rd b-day, the "pacie fairy" came and took all the pacies, and left her a pink jumprope because she was now a big girl. It was AMAZING! We had only 1 rough night, and then it was over! She was so proud that she was now a big girl. Of course there were some tears and pleading with the pacie fairy to bring it back, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. She will be 4 in March, and now she tells her friends at daycare the once you turn 3 the pacie fairy comes.

GOOD LUCK!

Hi, I recently did this for my son and it works. We told him that it was broken and we should try to sleep without it. He did and we never needed it again. Just make sure your son can't get his hands on another pacifier. Hide them real well. Or toss them. Good luck! Just cut a small corner off at a time.

Dear A.,
I went through this exact situation with my daughter when she was 18 months old. Her dentist told me to take it away cold turkey. I thought that would be too mean so I poked a hole in it the first night. Someone told me to do that, and that she wouldn't like her pacifier anymore. Well, it didn't bother her one bit. The next night I cut a little bit off of the tip. She still didn't seem to mind. I kept doing that until there was nothing left to suck on. I went to check on her and she was asleep holding the plastic part to her mouth...it was so cute! I just remember telling myself that I should've just taken it away cold turkey like the dentist advised. I just drug the whole ordeal out for 5 nights instead of 1 or 2. I would say that your son will be upset for 2-3 nights, and then he will have forgotten about it. And...... throw them all away so you're not tempted to give one back in a weak moment. Good luck! K. I.

do not cut it......he could choke on it.....make it a nap and bed time only thing......

My husband and I started to take our daughter off of the pacifier using this technique. We actually only had to cut the tip of it off once because the pacifier lost it's "sucking" effect. Our daughter got frustrated with it and stopped using it by the end of the first day. We had about two days of her crying but after that she never looked for her pacifier again and doesn't suck her thumb either.

I hope this helps a little:)

Oh, the pacifier problem! Brings back memories of when my older daughter was around 2 1/2 and VERY attached to her pacifiers! We went to the dentist for her 1st check-up, and he told her she was a big girl and needed to give up the pacifiers. At the time, my daughter LOVED doing puzzles, so I told her she could have a new puzzle if she agreed to give up her pacifiers. We went to the toy store, picked out a new puzzle,and made a big ceremony of placing all her pacifiers on a tray and taking them out to the garbage can. I was very worried about this, and managed to hide a pacifier in case this little experiment back-fired! I photographed my daughter tossing the pacifiers in the garbage can, praised her profusely, etc. That night she cried a bit, but managed to get to sleep, and that was that! GOOD LUCK!!

I would take it away cold turkey! That is what I did with my son, one day when he was around two, a little before, I told him it was time to get rid of it that he was a big boy now. So we went around the whole house and gathered all that we could find and he helped throw them away (you have to hide one just in case he throws a fit!) Then have him help you take the garbage to the garbage can outside, so he realizes that they are really gone, keep telling him how proud you are of him and that he is such a big boy now etc..... It took about two nights of him asking for it when he went to bed, then he was over it. Only one good fit, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Good luck!
A.

I just went through the same thing with the bottle. First we limited it to bed time and my son knew he couldnt have it if the sun was awake. We did this for about 2-3 months. Then we put it under the tree and Santa took it and brought toys. If he asks me for it I dont have it Santa does. You could do something similar with the Easter Bunny or the Paci Fairy and have a little big boy present in return. The key is you dont have it so you cant give in. If you know anyone who is having a baby he can always give them to the new baby too.
I thought it would be rough but it only took about 2 nights.
Good luck

Cutting the tips of pacifier can cause the plastic to tear and become a choking hazard.

My friend did this with her daughter(put a slit in the pacifier) and when her daughter noticed it she brought it to her and my friend explained to her that it was wearing out and when it was gone there would be no more. It actually worked and her daughter is the one who threw it away and said "Goodbye Binky." My situation is a little different in that our couch eats things(literally). One night my son(who was two at the time) dropped his Binky into the couch. Unable to find it I told him it was all gone and he was fine with it(quick thinking I went to his room and got rid of all the extra ones) because he went in there to tell me there were more up there. To his suprise they were gone. That night I searched the couch inside out and could not find it anywhere. The days that followed we continued to praise him on what a big boy he was and we had no problems. Good luck and I hope it works for you.

i know that when i was a kid i was addicted to my binky till 3yrs. then one day, at a very large convention, where there were tons of people, i lost it and never even noticed. they just never offered me one again. any chance of you wowing him out of it? :). he may also be old enough to talk to him about other comfort options. tell him that he will have a party for being a big kid and won't have the pacifier any more. i did this to wean my 2+ yr old daughter. she felt proud and missed nursing, but we slowly worked other comforts into its place. hope this helps.

As the others have responded, the nap and nighttime only pacifier is a great way to go. My daugher is just over two and that's what we do. Just gather up all the binkys you've got around and only bring one out when it's nap or nighttime. It ends up being a great way to encourage napping b/c your toddler will be eager to get his time with his binky. We've now started talking to our daughter about her older playmate/friend who gave her binky away to the "trolls" at the park. We've told her that someday soon she won't have binkys anymore either, and she will give the trolls her binky too. (You can give them to Fairies or the ocean or whatever...). Actually, our daughter falls asleep with her binky now, and we take it out of her mouth as soon as she's out, so she only has it for 30 minutes or so twice a day, which seems like no big deal to me. It's so nice to have such a great soother every once in a while, so I don't mind her having it around. By the time she's 3 we'll have her off it for good.

I had a simular experience with my 2 year old. I felt there was such a stigma about seeing a toddler with a pacifier in public. I wish I had stuck with my own instincts instead of following the masses. I tried having her use it only at night or when she needed a nap. I took it away completely a month later. She immediately found a different way to soothe her oral fixation. She would pick her upper lip. AAH! I couldn't stop her from picking. She would do it in her sleep. I should have let her keep her pacifier at sleep time. Some kids are ready to kick the habit and some aren't. Use your mom instinct. It's normal for a child to have a fit when taking it away, but if they pick up some unusual habit to soothe themselves, I don't think they are ready.

A little about me:
Married for 13 years with a two girls (11 and 6) and a 4 year old boy.

Please don't cut it, as this is a choking hazard. With my daughter, we did cold turkey after first trying to slowly wean. The slowly weaning is torture not only for them but you. Just do it cold turkey, saying that the dentist told you it was bad for their teeth after this age. Going to the dentist may help beforehand(in our case, dentist was upset that she was still on pacifier). Good luck

Our older son was a binky baby. We thought about getting rid of it at 2 yrs but decided that he was too young to understand that cognitively & we didn't want to go cold turkey. So, we finally got rid of it when he was 3 yrs w/ lotsa talk & preperation before hand. At that age, he could grasp the concept better. We started when he was 2 & we told him he could only have it in the car & at sleep times which worked out fine. At about 2.5 yrs, we started telling him that when he turned 3, the binky would go bye-bye. So, since you've never limited your son's binky time, I suggest starting out w/that first. Then when he's a bit older, pick a date that you want it to be completely gone & note it on a calender. Have him 'x' off the days til then. While you're in the limiting phase make sure to praise him about how well he's doing w/o the binky & what a big boy he is. When 3 approached & our son had a check-up, he bagged up his gigees (as he called them) & gave them to his ped. for other babies who might need them. Our ped was great & knew exactly why he was giving them to her even tho I hadn't old her. So, maybe tell your son something like that or that the binky fairy will come & replace them all w/something special. If you really want to get him off it, you could also go cold turkey now but be prepared for some problems. In either case, there will be some adjustments but I think easing your son into it will make it go smoother. For us, the only downfall was that our son, who normally napped 2-3 hrs still at that age, stopped napping! So, we spent most afternoons out w/ friends to occupy the usual nap time & started putting him to be an hour or so earlier than his previous bed time. Even after the binky is gone, be sure to keep praising your son for not needing to use it anymore. Hope this helps & good luck.

Hi A.

Our Christopher was a "binky boy". We began to build him up with a story of how when 2 year old boys go to the ocean, they all throw their "binky" in to the sea. We were planning a trip to the beach when he was about 2 1/2 and we talked about the "binky launch" everyday. By the time we got to the pier, he was ready. He "popped" the binky out of his sweet little lips, threw it over the rail and yelled "bye bye binky". He asked about it a couple of times, but we never gave in. He is 16 now and he cracks up when you tell that story. (I'm not sure the enviromentalists would appreciate us all throwing plastic pacifiers into the ocean, but maybe you can alter your method so that you don't litter like we did!)

Hi A.,

My daughter used a pacifier until she was three. How we got her off it is first we cut down to only allowing her to use it in bed. (She always slept with four or five in bed so she could always find them.) It was tough at first, but we held our ground. Then on the night after her third birthday we took them all away. It was perfect that our neighbor across the street had just brought home her new baby, so we told her we gave them all to Baby Isabelle. She cried frantically the first night, but by the third night she had forgotten all about them.

And about cutting the pacifier, a friend of mine did that and it worked for her.

we are in the same situation. our daughter just turned 2 and still uses hers, although only when sleeping. in the morning she puts it under her pillow and it (usually) stays there until the next time. I've tried cutting the tip off one and it didn't seem to phase her, she still gripped what was left with her teeth and didn't seem to care. her pedi said up until about 3 is fine, it won't cause dental damage or anything, but her attachment to it most likely won't subside, so if we are going to do it, we have to be committed to it. so if you go cold turkey, it will be rough for a few nights but giving in is not an option. I'm dreading it. lol. I figure I will give it a few more months and see how she does. I would suggest starting with limiting it to sleeping and not letting him talk with it in. unfortunately I don't have any easy way to go about it :( good luck!