Advice on when to take away the Pacifier

Ashley - posted on 01/23/2011

There is a good article in the new Parents magazine that says the "magic window" is 18 to 23 months to take the paci away. By 2, the paci is more of a habit than comfort and its VERY hard for most moms to break the paci habit without lots of stress and tears. I really want to be able to do this myself but my little man is massivly teething right now and its the only thing I can give him to help soothe.

Heather - posted on 01/03/2011

With my son, who is now 4 1/2, we wondered also. We went to the dentist and he said as long as he's rid of it by 4 or 5 then there will be no long term affects from using the binky. So we never pushed the issue and infact we sort of ignored it..if he wanted it then he had to find it and put it in his mouth we didn't aid him in the usage. However, when he turned 2 we both sat down with him on our laps and explained he was a big boy and that we were going to have be all done with the binkys soon..we reminded him through out the week and then on Sunday we said okay we are all done lets go find them all and throw them away. We thought there was only 3 he comes back with 7! I open the trash can and he tossed them and my husband and son took the trash out together. That was that! That night he asked for it but we reminded him what we had done together that day nad he never asked again.
This was on his 2nd birthday. I believe he was old enough to understand and he was in control and he tossed them..that's the key. My daughter is 18mo. and more attached then he was so we'll see if it goes the same with her. But remember there is no harm in it till 4 or 5.

Iysha - posted on 12/31/2010

I guess I am commenting late but my daughter is 18 months tomorrow and she still has her binky for bed time and for the most part, nap time too. I worked for an oral surgeon and I know the effects of having a binky for too long, too often and she shows no signs of delayed speech or tooth abnormalities. Pacifiers DO NOT cause tooth decay, bottles with juice/milk at bedtime do, candy, and not practicing proper dental hygeine cause tooth decay. I agree that the pacifier shold be taken away sooner than later but it isnt that bad for a child to have one sparingly or at designated times. I dont believe it should be used as a plug to stop a child from screaming....there are effective ways that can be used instead like toys, music, a cuddle, some snacks, etc. but, if you do, it isnt that bad at all...nothing to beat yourself up about. lol...Your kid isnt going to use their pacifier forever, but hey, socially...you dont want your child on one past 2 years old. Which is still a while from now =]

Kristen - posted on 12/31/2010

Amelia you obviously have nothing nice to say so why are you on this website. It is for advice and helpful tips not negative attitudes. I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear negative things about the choices you may have made so please don't bring it here. No one wants to hear it.

Kristen - posted on 12/30/2010

I was going to wait until around 2 and when she is not teething s bad. I figure if I take it to early and she sucks her thumb in its place that will be a lot harder to stop.

Gia - posted on 12/27/2010

My son is almost 18 months and still has his bink whenever he wants it... He talks just fine, is actually advanced for his age according to this doctor.. The doctor and dentist both agreed that he just had to get rid of it by the time he's 4, which i don't plan on letting him have it that long...but I think if they are happy and healthy and they want their binks then let them have them!!!!

Jaye - posted on 12/19/2010

I am in the same boat.My daughter only wants it when she is restless or bedtime.I do want to ween her, but i can clearly tell now is not the best time to do it.I only give it to her before nap and bedtime...thats it.

Mellissa - posted on 12/10/2010

I am in the same boat!!! My son was so easy,I just took it away and no more,he didnt care,but Scarlet needs it to sleep and when were in public.She is great all day without it,until nap or bed time.She will scream in the night if she drops it,the second its back in her mouth she is sound asleep.

Emily - posted on 12/08/2010

My daughter Jessica only has her nuk when she is in bed... We broke her of all the time when she was about 4m and she only had it in the car seat and bed then by 6m or so she only had it in bed which is where we still are. She understands that it is part of "sleepy time" as much as her fave teddy. When she wakes up we play find the nuk (cause at some point during her sleep she has discarded it somewhere in her bed) so we find the nuk and put it away for her next sleepy time. I plan on tryin to break her of hers aroun 2years... and if she is difficult like my mom says I was I'll use my mom's trick... have her dr tell her is is bad for her pretty teeth (even tho it really isn't)... some how hearing it from a dr. has more pull I guess cause I tossed mine when we got home and my mom got me a "prize" the next day to replace the paci or nunny as I called it, for being such a big girl... it was a stuffed giraffe puppet that I have actually passed on to Jessica... all in all make it positive and he'll remember it positive or won't remember at all.

Loraah - posted on 12/08/2010

Preston was so attached to his but we realised he only wants it if he sees it.. hes been of it for a month now

Amelia - posted on 12/08/2010

Take it away....soothers are for tiny babies who don't know how to self soothe and to satisfy the need to suck....Soothers debilitate speech and make it hard for people to understand them when they have a soother in their mouth....I personally believe that it gets to a point where children start to think that the soother is part of their face and they are not using it for what it is intended for. I took my son's soother away when he was almost 7 months old. He didn't care. He sucks his thumb when he's tired and that's it. Soothers need to be taken away before the child can realize it's gone.

Ashlee - posted on 12/07/2010

My son (17 months) just loves his dummy/pacifier, but I've weaned him to just having it at naps and bedtimes and car naps, because personally I don't like it when I see kids walking around with a dummy in their mouth. I didn't want my son to become one of them! I think the dummy is for helping children be quiet and when that doesn't work, it's time to wean. So, I've just started by associating it with sleep and it took a couple days, but now, when I pick him up from his cot, I say, "Throw your dummy," and he throws it back into the cot and we walk out of the room - it's very cute. I've been putting off weaning him altogether, because of how he'll be at night, but I plan to in the next month or so... just gotta do it!
Dummies are bad for the teeth - my sister is a dental nurse and she's seen the effects... just like thumb-sucking or constantly sucking on a bottle - the teeth do not form right. So, that's why I think it's important to wean before they are two and have all their teeth.
But anyway, all you have to do is decide to do it and don't give in when they scream for it! I replaced it with his bottle of water. When I knew he wanted his dummy, I'd give him a drink instead :P

Amber - posted on 12/06/2010

My kids took a pacifer untill they were at least 8 months then they wanted to stop

Becki - posted on 12/06/2010

I spoke to the dentist about this and he said at the moment she is still ok with a dummy. I have decided that about 2 years old is about right to take it off her. She only really has it to get to sleep then it comes out and she doesn't bother till she wakes up after a good 12 hour sleep at night and 3 hour nap during the day. Speak to your dentist if you are really unsure or your health visitor

Lexi - posted on 12/05/2010

We weaned my son to where he is only allowed to have his binky (pacifier) for bedtime and naps months ago but I don't plan on taking it away completely until he's two or so.

Patti - posted on 12/05/2010

im trying to figure out the same thing, my 16 month old still only has 6 teeth 2 more coming through and i can tell it makes her feel better. her brother at that age had all his teeth so it was easy to take it from him. now were just trying to keep it from her during the day unless shes going to bed. but sometimes in the car she just screams for it and its hard to drive like that so i have given in,

Linnea - posted on 12/04/2010

I am with Tabitha on this whole subject - Mia has a dummy at night and is given one before nap time, she does not wake up screaming because she cannot find it. if we are out and about and skip her nap its a god send. It will not cause decay and it will not cause speech delay if you ensure they are not using it all the time. Mia chatters away all the time - her speech will however be delayed because we are teaching her two languages, but that is a healthy delay that I am not worried about. If something brings comfort and is not damaging why take it away? especially when you are out from home, the world is a big place for small people - you do not want them ending up sing their thumb instead because that on the other hand does cause dental problems and cannot be taken away. Mia's godmother took her sons dummy away when he was 2.5 - they gave it to the Dummy Fairy who brought him back a car in return - a couple of times he has asked about it and then she reminds him that he gave it away to the fairy who would give it two small babies who didnt have a dummy and she will give him his car and he is fine. I think taking it away when you can make a conscious decision together with the child makes more sense.

Tabitha - posted on 12/03/2010

The only thing that causes tooth decay is sugary drinks and foods, such as putting your baby to sleep with a bottle. Pacifiers DO NOT cause tooth decay, so you can be rest assured about that.

Amanda - posted on 12/03/2010

PS... with the teething thing, it's ok to let him go to bed with a teether... those do not stay in without holding them so won't cause tooth decay and will sooth him when he is teething. Teething goes on until they are about 3 or 4... so PLEASE don't wait until then to stop giving it, because then you will never be able to ween them off without a huge fight!

Amanda - posted on 12/03/2010

You will want to get rid of it. Pacifiers cause tooth decay and they create more sleep problems than help. We just got rid of my little girl's 3 days ago. We weened her completely off of using it in the day first... no more playtime paci, or car paci... then we got rid of it for ALL sleep after 2 weeks of no use during awake. I thought about taking it away only for nap time but then realized that will create confusion. It took 3 days for her to get used to not having it. We cuddled with her more before bed time just to give her the comfort that we are there for her... but at a certain point, you need to put the little one to bed and let them cry it out. Night one was about 30 mins crying... night two about 20 mins.... night 3, she got out of my lap and put herself to bed... no tears! She's been going to nap MUCH easier than even when she had it. And she's not waking up prematurely freaking out because she can't find the paci... Start the process now... it's difficult, but worth it for both you and your son!

Jessica - posted on 12/01/2010

take it away now. if he has teeth its not good for him and you will notice that he will "talk" more and make more noises without it. my son is also 16 months and we took his away at a year. just cut him off altogether, his cousin and baby brother have one and he'll stick theirs in his mouth but when we say no he takes it out. he will prolly fight it, but you just need to stick to your decision about no pacifier. trust me you can do it!! good luck!!

ASHLEY - posted on 11/30/2010

Stop now the older they get the harder it will be to take it. My 3 year old nephew still has one he calls it his baboo and trust me no one is gonna be abe to take that thing anytime soon. I also have a niece that is 2 and she still has hers. She bites holes in it which is a choking hazard but its going to be near impossible to break her of it at this point she has named hers rah rah. I took my sons around 10 months. It was harder for me to let go than it was for im. After two days he forgot about it. Now when he is around his cousins and they have a binky he doesnt care. Occasionally he will copy them and put it in his mouth if he finds one but when I take it he just finds something else to play with.

Mary - posted on 11/29/2010

We are working on binky at just bed and nap time only. It's not too bad if she doesn't see it and she keeps busy. We try not give it to her til we are laying her down. but it's always in one of our pocket just in case.

Alison - posted on 11/27/2010

im waitin till my son stops teethin cus he only really cries wen hes teethin or cant sleep, so ill have to put up with the sleepin thing wen the time cums to take away the dummy

Tshego - posted on 11/26/2010

Thanks Tabitha, i think so too.

Tabitha - posted on 11/25/2010

There is absolutley no reason for you to take his paci away. Unless it is causing adverse affects on his jaw or teeth. If thats what make him happy i would wait until he is at least 2 years old. That binky is to him like a blanky is to another, its soothing to him, and if thats what makes him happy and keeps you sane let him hold on to it for a bit longer. So yes buy him another paci!