Any tips on how to break the pacifier habit??

Ruth - posted on 09/20/2009

dip it in something sour or a tiny bit of salt. Sounds mean, but I heard it works.

Casie - posted on 09/10/2009

cut the tip off.

we just got the blanket away from my son. i never in a million years thought that would happen! he's only 2. it took 4 days!

just don't give in. keep in just in case but don't give in. tell yourself 2 week...

Sarah - posted on 09/08/2009

We packaged up all the pacifiers and sent them to the hospital (stamps, envelope and all!) for the sick children so it would make them feel better. We had one night of her being a little testy but after that we were all set! No problems. It was harder to get my husband to give it up (he loved having it as an option) than it was my daughter.

DIANNA - posted on 09/07/2009

My Little Girl was the same way and Me and My Husband decided enough was enough and took it away from her one afternoon. She thought she had to have 2 or 3 sassy with her at all times. She screamed and threw up and everything wee knew she would do then finally after about an hour she gave up and went to sleep. It was really hard the first 3 days but I am sooo glad we done it now.. She was 23 months old and not talking with it but now she is 24 months and she can say anything she wants to.. And she will still ask for her sassy but after those 3 days she was fine without it.. You have to be strong and NOT give in.. It is hard but it is sooo worth it.. Good Luck!!

Allyson - posted on 09/07/2009

We actually just took it from my daughter. Our original plan was to remove it by age 2 (she has only used it to sleep since her first birthday) but her sibling is due 4 days before her 2nd birthday so the Dr. suggested to get rid of it before the baby and do it "cold turkey". We talked about it for a few days before hand "we are going to say bye bye to nuk this weekend" and would repeat it often. By Saturday afternoon for her nap, she waved 'bye bye' and went to sleep great! I don;t think she sleeps as deep right yet but has made it through the nights since. I am sure listening to the crying is horrible. Other things I have heard to try was cutting the pacifier starting with the tip and ending when it was pretty much gone. Good luck!

Lisa - posted on 09/07/2009

I only had one of my three boys who would take one. We took it away when he was a little over a year, and gave him a blanket. That seemed to work. I have also heard about someone taking the pacifier and putting it inside a "Build A Bear" animal. I know that is pricey, so you could take an existing stuffed animal, take out a little of the stuffing and sew the pacifier inside. The person who did this said their child still felt like they still had their pacifier though they couldn't put it in their mouth. Good luck!

Ava - posted on 09/06/2009

Depending on how old he is, just leave him alone. If he's only using it at night, let him. There's nothing wrong with it. The sucking motion calms children down and makes them feel more comfortable. They usually stop on their own, and it can take up to age four for that to happen. You shouldn't have to 'break the habit', unless you want to break it before it's -ready- to be broken, which is just your impatience. It'd be another story if he carried it around everywhere and constantly had it in his mouth, but seeing as that isn't the issue, just leave him be.

Tona - posted on 09/06/2009

As long as there not like 3-5 suckin on the binky its comfort for them,I disagree wit the post about ear infections my 2nd child had tons of them wit no binky.. she ended up needing ear tubes..

Natalie - posted on 09/06/2009

I cut the 1/4 io the pacifier with my first daughter on the first night I decided to stop the habit and another 1/4 on the second night...she got into a fit a threw it away, cried for about an hour and that was the end of pacifiers for her

Melissa - posted on 09/06/2009

Our daughter is 3...we took her to Build a Bear Workshop and told her that she could pick out any animal that she wanted but she had to give up her papi. She agreed but I don't think she fully understood. When nighttime came (that was the only time that she got it anyway) she cried a little for it but I just explained to her that we did not have a papi anymore and that she got Sophie (her doggie she built) because she was a big girl and did not need the papi anymore. This went on for maybe 3 days. It has now been 3 or 4 weeks and she does not even ask for it anymore.

Sian - posted on 09/05/2009

Wait until Christmas comes then encourage him to leave it out for Santa. Santa will then leave him presents! My older son gave his to Bob the Builder whilst on holidays and has never asked for it since and the younger one will be leaving his for Santa this year.

Sara - posted on 09/05/2009

Cold turkey worked well for me I just trashed it. The first week was hard but then miraculously she was fine!!!

Marlene - posted on 09/05/2009

My Kids love to help Dad in the garden. We talked to them about it set a date and explained that it was time to plant the binkies in the garden. They did it themselves. We had a little rough time but did not last long. Took daily trips out to water them.Couple days it was over. Good luck

Michele - posted on 09/05/2009

Our first child just spit it out at 4 1/2 mos and never wanted it back. Our second (a boy) is pretty hooked still at 11 mos. I've heard of a pacifier party. I also considered putting a drop of pickle juice on it so he wouldn't want it any more. We'll see... :)

Mary - posted on 09/05/2009

My oldest just threw his across the room one day so I never gave it back again. My youngest, I had to just take it away. The best advice I can give is once you decide to take it away don't give in and give it back just because you don't want to hear the crying. It takes longer to break the habit if you give in to the crying!

Angela - posted on 09/05/2009

Quoting Melissa:

Any tips on how to break the pacifier habit??

He only uses it when he sleeps....we tried getting rid of it once and he absolutley would not attempt to go to sleep.....he through a fit until we gave it to him.....then he went to sleep. Also, he's one of those kids who cry for 15 seconds and then will start gagging and usually throws up!!

Why worry about it??? I had 3 kids who all LOVED a pacifier..... they will give it up when they get ready..... I promise they wont take it to school :)

Dont stress over it... they are little ONE time and if it makes them happy give it to him!

Amanda - posted on 09/05/2009

Well my son is 21 mths and still using the paci. I haven't tried taking it away yet because we just introduced a new sibling and am letting him adjust. But I've heard from family a couple ideas that worked for them. One was tying the paci to some string and then tying it somewhen (ie..to a bed, couch leg) just somewhere that it stays put- then the child has to go to that specific place if he/she wants to suck on it--then eventually the child loses interest because we all know how active little kids are =) and the 2nd is snipping off the end of the binky a little each day until eventually the child doesn't want it anymore. Hope this helps...Good luck!

Nicci - posted on 09/05/2009

I have a daughter who did the same after crying. All 3 of my kids took paci's and each one we had to do something different with, hope one of these helps.

We cut the tip off all of them, and my daughter that always threw up said it was broke after a few days and gave up on sucking it.

The 2nd kid we had to keep cutting it down till there was no paci left.

The 3rd kid we had to mail them to santa so she could get presents cause santa said she was to old.

We also had a friend who gave there kids paci's to a new baby so the baby would stop crying....due to the fact the little kid didnt like the noisy baby he gave them up willingly.

Hope one of these helps!

Heather - posted on 09/05/2009

First make sure that your child is developementally ready to give it up. Don't worry about what other people think or say. Tooth damage will not happen due to pacifier use until the child is 4. I have read this from different sources as stated by Pediatric Dentists. Two of my three children loved pacifiers and I tried to get my third to take on, but she would not. To get rid of both of my other children's pacifiers I waited until they were old enough and then we would put their pacifier under their pillow at night and the pacifier fairy would take it and give it to a sweet little baby who needed it and would leave my sweet little one a dollar! They loved this! It takes a few nights depending upon how many pacifiers you have to get rid of. The first one I put in their special keepsake box and the rest I threw away. Good luck!

Brandie - posted on 09/05/2009

I cut the tip off of the binky. Every time he tried to suck he would take it out and look at it. Eventually he lost interest because it was "broke" This worked with both of my kids.

Grace - posted on 09/05/2009

My 1st daughter went cold turkey due to a family emergency and my 2nd daughter put them under the chrismas tree for santa to give to the elves.

she never held it against santa either.

Kristen - posted on 09/04/2009

We told our daughter that Santa needed all her pacifiers for the babies that didn't have them. He wrote her a letter and said he was very thankful. She still holds a grudge against him but it worked. She was 20 months.

Christie - posted on 09/04/2009

my son started biting them and putting holes in them , iN the garbage they went , had a few bad bad crying days but he finally realized they were all gone , he is 19 mths NOW

Martha - posted on 09/04/2009

actually, my sister made up a story about there being pacifier fairies that live in trees. her daughter helped her put all the pacifiers on a piece of ribbon, then hung them on a tree. by the next morning they were gone. her daughter is 6.5 now and still believes that the fairies needed her pacifiers.

Char - posted on 09/04/2009

I tied the pacifier to a comfortable stuffed animal. I tied it on with a very, very short shoe string, so that he had to hold onto the animal to suck on the pacifier, and is was super short to insure no risk of strangulation. Over time, he eventually transferred the pacifier "affection" to the toy, and as he did, he eventually didn't worry so much about the pacifier, as he did the toy. So, when it was clear that he was not really dependent on the pacifier, his "lambie" "lost" the pacifier. And that was no issue, because as he got older, he didn't care to carry an animal around all the time, because he preferred to have his hands free for playing, and other things. Problem solved. It worked perfectly for us. And, when I started the process, he was very, very dependent on the pacifier.

Robyn - posted on 09/04/2009

i had the same problem. i cut off the tip of the pacifer, just a bit, but just enough so the suction is not there. i still gave it to my daughter and just told her it broke and let her continue to use it. She tried to use it for a couple of days and never asked for it again.

Gay - posted on 09/04/2009

My grandson at the age of three kept a pacifier in his mouth all the time....so at Easter that year my daughter hid it and told him the Easter bunny took it...And guess what he adjusted to that okay and did not hate the Easter Bunny either...so good luck

Catherine - posted on 09/04/2009

My 19 month old was an ADDICT to his "yie" pacifier. I picked June 1st to rid him of it. We bought helium balloons and tied the pacifiers to the balloons and had him let them go. He did great with it and only cried for a few minutes at nap time. He still sometimes talks about the "yie in the sky" but I think cold turkey is the only way to go!

Jo - posted on 09/04/2009

My son would not sleep without his dummy.. so I used a magic box!! Kids shoe box wrapped in sparkley paper, i gave my son lots of notice and explained that once the dummys went in the box they would magically disappear!! He thought that was brilliant!! He was better than i thought he would be. Good luck xxx

Annie - posted on 09/04/2009

my daughter gave it up to the easter bunny... how many she could find and put in the basket, he will turn into chocolate. worked a treat...

Katherine - posted on 09/04/2009

This really works.......... My daughter was very attached to her paci and we tried the "you are a big girl now", she didn't care. We tried talking about giving them to other babies, she didn't want to do that either. So, one day I snipped a tiny hole in her pacifier. She put it in her mouth, pulled it back out, and said "Mommy, I think I'm too big for my paci. I just bit a hole in it with my teeth." She was about 2 when this happened. She still talks about when she bit a hole in her pacifier because she was a big girl!

Ashley - posted on 09/04/2009

We told our son that we had to put them in a box and take them to the hospital for the new babies. It took us awhile to get them all together but we took them to the visitor desk at our local hospital and told the volutneer that they were for the new babies. She didn't understand at first and then realized that they ahd been my sons and now that he was a big boy he did not need them. She made a big specticle of it and gave him two suckers and that was that.

Lorie - posted on 09/04/2009

I started cutting the tip off the end little by little until we decided it was "broken" and had to be thrown away. My daughter asked about it a few times but really didn't put up much of a fuss.

Another thing I've heard doing is giving it to Santa Claus. Similar to the "Dummy Fairy" below. You leave the pacifier out for Santa with your child's help and then he brings a gift in it's place. And to add to that... although this one I'm not sure a baby would understand or care, but.... tell them that Santa needed the pacifiers to give to new babies who don't have any. So, when you see a small baby with a pacifier in it's mouth, you can say " Look, you might have helped a baby just like that one."

Best of luck!

Ingrid - posted on 09/04/2009

My son was the same way. He lost his pacifier and I decided not to look for it. He cried the first night, it was heart breaking, second night he whimpered, third night he went right to sleep. Just hang in there, I know it is hard.

Cathy - posted on 09/04/2009

Our grand daughter spent the summer with us and the BINKY was the first thing to go. We put it in our nightstand and we just let the whimpering continue until at last, she found out it wasn't the end of the world. We further engaged her in more physical activity--singing, games, trampoline, walking outside around the lake to feed the ducks, etc. so that when nap time and bed time came, her little body was only too happy to check out Mr. Sandman and his sleepy castle.

Christine - posted on 09/04/2009

Santa took ours and left lots of presents in return. He felt it was a good deal. He asked for it back that night and i told him that santa had it. i offered to call santa but he had to give the gifts back. he said nope and went to bed... He was 2 1/2.

Jackie - posted on 09/04/2009

maybe prepare him to give it to santa who will in turn give it to some newborn baby that really needs it !! or buy a helium balloon and when he agrees that its time to say bye bye you tie the soother to the balloon and send it heaven ways to the man in the moon or such so he cant ask for it back, you could also put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy and when he wakes in the morn have a new toy there . best of luck xx

Grisell - posted on 09/04/2009

My son used to have 2 pacifiers (one in at hand while he was using the other). I tried several times without luck. One day, my Mom said this is enought. She soak both on soy sauce. Because of the flavor, he couldn't use them. Belive me, I pass 24hrs in hell, but the next day it was over........It has been 12 years "pacifier free" and I'm grateful about it. He has such a smile that he will not need bracers.........Now I need a way to make my DD leave the thumb, she's 7 and will make the orthodontist happy (and my pocket sad)

Emma - posted on 09/04/2009

we give our dummies to father christmas in our house. they get left out with the mince pies. it worked for my older 3 children and i will use the same thing again for my 4th x

Karen - posted on 09/04/2009

BY THE WAY THE LAST PART OF MY COMMENT WAS ADVICE GIVEN BY THE DOCTOR. HOPE THIS CAN BE OF HELP TO YOU, GOOD LUCK!

Karen - posted on 09/04/2009

U didn't say how old your son was so my advice would be not to nag about it, it only makes it worse, however, if old enough to understand you could try what worked for us and that is that seeings how Christmas is coming you could get him to trade it off for the new christmas presents that Santa will be bringing so that Santa can give it to a new baby who needs it this year for Christmas. He left it on a plate like you would leave cookies for Santa and that was that. He also told us that he would put it down when he was done with it and that it is n emotional thing and that you dont mess with emotional despite what other doctors might say or other people cause other people will drive you NUTS with their advice!!! Indeed they did! Good luck in whatever it is that you do, just be PATIENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heidi - posted on 09/03/2009

We made a mobile out of my daughters binkies and hung it over the bed she still had them just could not reach them to suck but she was happy with this as she did not want me to throw them away.

Sarah - posted on 09/03/2009

I never thought this would work with our daughter but it did. She would take one during the day though. We would start by cutting the very tip of her pacifier off and the wait a couple days and cut a little more and gradually kept doing this and she hated it she thought it was broken so she didn't want it any more. It only took like a week and she was through with it. It was awesome!!!!

Tember - posted on 09/03/2009

my daughter wouldnt give up the nuk so i tied it to her bedroom door with a short shoe lace and made her stand there if she wanted it. it took a few weeks but we didnt cave and give it to her and then she was done... i didnt know what else to do she cried and cried if i just told her no.

Janet - posted on 09/03/2009

This worked great for me and was just too funny!! One day while my daughter was napping, I took her remaining pacifiers and painted Thumb Stop (the stuff you put on a childs thumb to get them to stop sucking it) on each one. I made sure to put them back exactly where I got them from. (she always knew where she left them) When she woke up from her nap she grabbed the one that was in her bed and stuck it in her mouth, she immediately pulled it out, inspected it, and put it back into her mouth, again she pulled it out and asked me to wash it!! I ran it under a small stream of water for a few seconds and gave it back to her. She stuck it in her mouth, pulled it right back out and threw it across the room. She did this with a couple more that she could find with the exact same results, she threw them across the room also. She never picked up a pacifier again and never asked for one!!!!!!!

Holly - posted on 09/03/2009

My daughter had a terrible suckie jones. We had to do it in stages. First she could only have it inside the house. If we left, the suckie stayed home. Then, she could only have it when she was in her crib (she was about 2 1/2). I found her sitting in there a couple of times in the middle of the afternoon :0) Then she could only have it at nap and bedtime, then finally bedtime. By then, she lost interest on her own and there was no trauma. It was kind of a pain for me, but it worked for her.

Christel - posted on 09/03/2009

Out of all my six childern they never used them. Because I never gave it to them but its just like taking away the bottle throw it away. dont allow him to see one either because he will cry and make a fit. So stay out of stores where you know theres going to be alot of childern also like daycare, and sunday school. for about two weeks than he will forget about it.

Millie - posted on 09/03/2009

My doctor told me not to worry that my daughter would grow out of it. She did. First day of preschool she saw the other kids and handed me her pacifier. Then she asked for it after school. This went on for few days. Then she never asked for it again. She is sixteen and well adjusted. Relax. All these things tend to work out. Young mothers should enjoy more and worry less. I wish I had.

DARLENE - posted on 09/03/2009

Yes I put peanut butter on it . I did when my son was little , he thought it was poo. it just might work for you . But do it when your are changing him .Good Luck Darlene

Cari - posted on 09/03/2009

I guess your "dummies" are the same as my "binkys" lol ANyhow what a great and cute idea!!! :-)