my daugher turned 3 in October and still uses a binky..it is ruining her teeth and I need to get rid of it....what is the best way???

Kari - posted on 01/10/2009

I guess this is nothing new but cold turkey baby. It is sometimes harder for you;your daughter will have a hard time too. I never had the binky issue but my kids were addicted to the bottle.. It went easier than I thougt it would have gone. It took a good week and we were ok. Not great but ok after a month we were done.

Patty - posted on 01/10/2009

just toss it, its more a habit than anything, but he'll get over it, and so will you :)

Lori - posted on 01/10/2009

This might sound a little crazy, but I'm a child care teacher, and there was a child in my class who was very attached to his. His parents wanted to break him from it, but weren't sure how, then one day he came in without it, and told me that it broke. He was very matter of fact about it, and not at all upset. The night before his dad had cut the nipple part of it off, and then told the child he was sorry, but it broke somehow. That was all it took for that child! Good Luck!

Stacey - posted on 01/10/2009

My daughter is 2 1/2 and I just told her two days ago the pacifer fairy came and took her pacifers to other babies. It has worked great. Another way I have seen it done is that you take a few balloons and tell your daughter you are going to send her binky to babies in heaven that need them because she is a big girl now. My daughter only used her pacifer for nap/bedtime so it was also a bit easier to break. With my oldest who is now ten we just took it away and told her thery were gone. You just have to stick with it. It may be hard at first but you both can get through it. Good Luck!

Joanne - posted on 01/10/2009

my first daughter is 4 when she was 18months i just decided 1 day 2 take her dummy of her i told her if we threw it away she could have a new toy as ur daughter if 3 i think sumthin like the offer of a new toy or some other treat will help!! xxxx

Tracey - posted on 01/10/2009

My 1st son was really attached to it and I thought it would be a nightmare to cut but it wasn't.

When a friend came over w/an infant we simply had him hand his pacifiers to the "baby" and that was it. I dk if it would work for your daughter but worth a try.

Heidi - posted on 01/09/2009

Hi Deb:  When my oldest was 2 we told him that it was time to give up his "NUKS" because they were getting old and they needed to be thrown away.  We also told him that he could go around the house with a container, collect them all then throw them all away, but he was allowed to choose and keep one.  With that one NUK he kept we took him/it to Build a Bear.  He actually got to help stuff he animal he chose (Bunny).  The NUK is close to the "tail' part of the rabbit.  We took pictures of this momentous event and he ended up naming that rabbit NUK the bunny.  He asked for his NUK a couple of times after it got stuffed, but after that he didn't.  He knew where it was and it was safe.  He sleeps with the Rabbit on the other side of his pillow.  My now 20 mo old is approaching the 2 year mark and we will do the same for him.  It really made my oldest son feel like he was apart of this major deal.  I couldn't have asked for anything to go smoother.  Good luck.  I hope this helps!

Amie - posted on 01/09/2009

start cutting the ends off of them alittle at a time.

Angie - posted on 01/09/2009

my dentist told me she usually recomends age 5 my daughter is 4 and half we cut off the top of it and told her well u are getting old now and it starts to get rotten when u are a big girl she excepted it we thought she would get rid of it she still has the cut off ones pops one in at bed there is nothing to grip it so it falls out the dentist says its for comfort at its not ruining the teeth i think shes going to get married with a half soother in her pocket lol!

Aristea - posted on 01/09/2009

Give your child a reason why the binky is no longer available to her. My son stopped using his at 27 months when we found a little hole in the nipple. I told him it was broken and that it had to go in the garbage. I let him throw it away and say goodbye. He asked for it a couple of times after that but I kindly reminded him that it went in the garbage because it was broken.

Stephanie - posted on 01/09/2009

My daughter was 2 1/2 when I got rid of hers. A week prior I kept telling her that pretty soon her soother was going to break because she was getting to big, so one day I cut the nipple off and she wasn't impressed. She tried to still put it in her mouth then realized that it wasn't going to work. For a few days afterswards she still had to sleep with it in her hand. Then one day when she got up from her nap she told me that she didn't need it becuase she was a big girl.

Jeanette - posted on 01/04/2009

ask your doc about the teeth , but as far as getting rid of it , i found it is just best to get rid of them , dont mess around , just tell them that the binki fairy thought they were to old for them and came and took them ( sorry i had twins , i keep saying them and they ) it worked for us . my girls are 10 and have adjusted well without them lol

Wendy - posted on 01/04/2009

my son used a pacifier until he turned one and one day at naptime, I just put him down without it. He did have a hard time falling asleep then, and that first night, but by the next days naptime, he had already adjusted to life without it. We are trying to get my 3 year old daughter to stop sucking her thumb and it was suggested to us to try buying her a special doll that she would hold when she wanted to suck her thumb. We told her it was her special doll that she got because she was going to stop sucking her thumb. Whenever we see her suck her thumb, we remind her, and she runs to get her doll and holds it instead. Sometimes, she would even catch herself sucking her thumb, and run and get the doll instead. She has since almost completely stopped sucking her thumb in the daytime and it's only been about a week! Maybe this could work for pacifiers, too?

Kelly - posted on 01/04/2009

Have you tried cutting the actual plastic nipple part? My sister cut that part and still gave to her kids. They obviously didn't like it much anymore. Just gradually start cutting more and mroe of the nipple part off and they will lose interest. Don't take it away- so them they are still "in control".

Jennifer - posted on 01/04/2009

We just told our daughter that "pacifiers are for babies" and she certainly was NOT a baby anymore. We also told her "you don't need it". When we said it enough times, she began to tell us very earnestly that she didn't need them and she was not a baby. Getting rid of the paci eventually became her idea.

Dolorese - posted on 01/04/2009

Hi Deb, I've worked in the orthodontic field for 14 years, the last 8 were working on a program to stop kids suck their thumb or get rid of soothers, first of all, the biggest concern is when they still have a habit past the age of 5. So you have 2 years to work on it. At 3 she should be old enough to explain that binky is for babies and she is now a big girl. And make a "binky" chart that will track when she can have binky, explain it to her repeatedly.
1. limit the time with binky (only at naps and night time)
2. once she has accepted this, cut out nap time binky
3. night time binky comes out as soon as she falls asleep
4. allow her 5 minutes of binky before she sleeps (use a timer so she can see)
5. arrange with a local retail store to "buy" her binkys for a big girl toy
Encourage, encourage all the time, praise her for good work and cuddle a lot!
I took my grandson off "dooky" at that age and the night he traded his "dooky" for ninja turtle dolls, I had to sleep with him and cuddle him all night. He looked like an addict on withdrawl! (it was sad) but I'm happy to say his jaws and teeth reformed and he has aligned teeth (which may not require orthodontics!) good luck!

Debra - posted on 01/03/2009

try suggesting that the "easter bunny" needs it for its baby rabbits,,, you could of tried saying that santa needs binky's for the baby reindeers, or baby elves,, sometimes that works,, well,, my daughter gave all her baby bottles and sipper cups to santa one year, and she never looked back.. good luck!

Shelley - posted on 01/03/2009

You can try snipping the end off of the binky and giving it back to her. It worked great for my son -- he didn't like the feel of it in his mouth anymore after that. Anytime he asked for it then, I would offer it to him, but remind him that it was "broken". Within a couple of days, he didn't want it back anymore! Good luck!

Amber - posted on 01/03/2009

My son was a few months shy of 3 when we got rid of his and it was all kind of by accident. My husband and I had been saying that they needed to go. So one night right before bed my son was going pee in the toilet (with the binky in his mouth) and he started to say something and it fell in the toilet. I quickly told him it was yucky and we had to throw it away and that it was the last one so oh well too bad. He didn't know what to think. That night wasn't so great but the next day he only asked for it a couple of times and then he was over it. Just take it away - it won't be as bad as you think!

Kandi - posted on 01/03/2009

If she is still using it through out the day cut that first - only when she's sleeping. If she has already done that then she's probably just using it for comfort to fall asleep. Perhaps a new teddy will do the trick. But first, she needs to give it up - mailing it to santa worked for a friend, also, sending it to heaven for another baby might work - tie it to a bunch of helium balloons that she lets go. Fun for everyone!

Brittany - posted on 01/03/2009

I just watch something on TV to help with this problem... You tell the child that there is a binky fairy, who comes for binkys that aren't need, and gives them to baby who really need them and don't have them... you make a specail envolope and let her put them in it! Then you ask her to help you but it in the mail box so that the fairy can come while she is sleeping and leave her something very special... It really seemed to work, and I know of a few ppl who have tried this and they said it had worked for them also... It makes it fun and exciting to see what they may get from the fairy!

Carla - posted on 01/03/2009

Cut a tiny hole in the tip of it. She will get no suction out of it and probably give it up on her own. Worked for us. Good luck.

Brenda - posted on 01/03/2009

When I was getting my daughter off the binky, we cut the tips off of them and left them out for her to get when she wanted them as normal. We allowed her to try to use them - and after a while we just said they were broken. After trying them out for a few minutes - she threw them out on her own. We did give her a new taggie blanket to sleep with that night - but surprisingly she went to bed fine with out it by day 2 - Hope this helps : )

Aggie - posted on 01/03/2009

Try the binky fairy...your baby gives up the binky and the fairy comes to collect it it...she leaves a gift and brings the binky to a baby that really needs it....or someone once told me to dip it in vinegar....I have not tried that myself...but it worked for my friend...

Natalia - posted on 01/03/2009

My Son was 5 when he finally felt comfortable to give it up. He is now 13 with perfect straight teeth and no over bite. My Daughter was younger when she gave it up and now wears braces. I truely do not believe it will ruin your childs teeth. However, should there be a crying baby around ask your Daughter if she would be willing to give it up to the baby. Hopefully it's someone you know who will play along with you. I had my binky till I was about 6 and I to have straight teeth and never wore braces. Just thought to let you know if that was a big concern. Good Luck Deb.

Kari - posted on 01/03/2009

the first thing i tried to do was have them toss it out on their own, saying what a big boy/girl you are. when that didnt work i poked a small pin hole in it. it no longer gave the satasfaction to them and they just stopped using it. hope it helps

Gina - posted on 01/03/2009

My children are older now, but my daughter, I took hers away around 1 year and told her it had to go to a new baby we knew. My 2nd son was older and had a harder time. Try and wean them to just at night time. I also read something interesting about this, the author suggested to slowly cut away at the length of the paci, until finally there is nothing left to suck on, they don't get any pleasure from it and decide on their own they don't want it. I thought it was a good idea, hope it helps.

Toni - posted on 01/03/2009

If you cut the ends it won't hold up for her when she sucks on it.

Mallory - posted on 01/03/2009

my sons daycare teacher told me that her mom did what u would do for the tooth faith...put it in a special spot and the fairy will come and get it.....or another story i heard was that the kid had the nuk in her mouth and when the shirt came off the nuk came with and mom hid it and said that it fell down the crack by the wall and we couldn't get it...and the kid never asked again. personally my son was really easy, i took it away during the day and only got it at night and then one day when he wasn't home i took them all away and that night he asked and i told him i couldn't find one and he never asked again

Rachel - posted on 01/03/2009

I haven't read through all of the posts yet, but just wanted to add that you don't have to worry about it doing any harm to your childs teeth until around the age of 4. I worked for an orthodontist for many years and his advice to parents was to try to get them off of the pacifiers/thumbs by then. My daughter used a pacifier and I feel I took it away too early (we were pressured by family to get her off of it, which we were young and stupidly took her off so they would get off our backs) because she wasn't ready and she switched to her thumb (which is a lot harder habit to stop and causes much more damage), so I swore with my son if he used a pacifier that I would take it away when he was ready and I think we finally got him off of it around 3 1/2 years old (we only used it to go to sleep) by telling him that they were wearing out and once the last one was worn out we couldn't buy anymore and he was okay with that and he actually threw the last one away because he was a "big boy". I think we had a couple nights that he missed having it, but we just reminded him that we couldn't buy anymore and he was a "big boy" now and he got through it and thank god he did not switch to his thumb. He is now 5 and he does not have a problem at all with his bite in front. Now my daughter who switched to sucking her thumb, that is a whole other story, we have already been through an appliance for her bite and are switching to another. So, just a couple different experiences for you. You need to do what you feel is right for your child. Good luck!

Mariam - posted on 01/03/2009

hey, i told me son to take a like really really close to the inside of the pacifier and inside that they are alot of small bugs, if u use the pacifier its gonna get inside ur tummy, the sameday my son was refusing to put the pacifier in his mouth.. it was hard coz he was sooo used to it but the next day i told him, now that u do want the bugs from the pacifier why dont we flash the pacifier in the loo... bless he put it himself and flashed the toilet.

Tracy - posted on 01/03/2009

This is genius! My good friend, a nanny, let the "binky fairy" come and take them. She went through a whole detailed explanation that there are babies born that don't have a binky and it was up to the "big kids" to pass theirs down to the those babies. It was fun, the child got to be involved in deciding that it was good thing to do and was excited that she was helping anpther baby. My friend "called" the binky fairy on the phone and they put the binkys outside in a bag and the next morning the binky fairy had taken the binkys and left a gift and a special note thanking her for the binkys and telling her what a big girl she was. Since there were no binkys in the house, there were no arguments on getting the binky back during those weak moments when it was nap time ,etc. Perhaps you can do your own variation on the binky fairy coming to visit your house.

Aubrie - posted on 01/03/2009

My son used a binky until he was 2. One day I took all of his binky's and cut the ends off of them, and put them back were they were. It became his decision at that point to not use them anymore, after he found all of them and realized he didn't get the same effect out of them he handed them over to me and didn't want them anymore. Good luck to you!!!

Lynda - posted on 01/03/2009

We just did this a week ago & did it cold turkey. Just took it away. It had a hole in it. First few days were tough but now she doesn't even ask for it anymore.

Dixie - posted on 01/03/2009

My 2 year old still takes his binkey alot...our dentist told us it really isn't a big deal, that when he was ready he would put it down. He also is a special needs child and has sensory integration. He uses his binkey to calm down and sooth him....mostly he chews on it...

Jessica - posted on 01/03/2009

We had a party with a few friends and bought him a present of choice. We had one bad nap day and he was done with it...just be sure to purge the house of them first.

User - posted on 01/03/2009

The best way to get rid of a pacifier is to make it more work than it is worth for the child. Begin the first day by cutting just the very tip off the pacifier. The next day cut off a little more, and continue each day until there is nothing left. The child will have to work so hard to keep the small stub in thier mouth that they wont enjoy it any more and they will wean themselves from the use of it.

Kathy - posted on 01/03/2009

I started talking about the "Binky Fairy" about a week before she planned to come. Explaining to my daughter that she would come to collect the binky's from the older children so she could give them to the crying babies. The Binky Fairy always leaves a thank you gift and a special note for the bigger child.
Prior to the above I also narrowed down the use to only at night and I only had 1 in the house.

Stacy - posted on 01/03/2009

My daughter just turned two and I had been trying to get rid of the binky for months previous. I limited it to naps and nighttime and then to just naps. We had a big talk about how big girls don't use binkies and eventually just gave it up. She struggled the first couple of nights but after the third she was fine. Different things work for different people, someone had recommended "burying" the binky or "donating" it.

Nicola - posted on 01/03/2009

My son also had one but we got rid of his at Christmas (little late for that now) by telling him father christmas was going to take them for all the children who didnt have any and we got him a teddy to replace (this goes everywhere with him even now after 5 years) and he knows that it was a special present. Maybe try a dummy (pacifier) fairy story. Good luck xx

Michelle - posted on 01/02/2009

When my son was 2, I told him that Santa was coming early to get his pacifier's to take them to other babies. We gathered all of them and placed them in his stocking. The next morning "Santa" left him a small surprise in his stocking. He was so excited. Of course, I hate that it was just Christmas. Maybe try it at Valentines. I threw them away as soon as I took them out of the stocking so my husband nor I would cave.

Sara - posted on 01/01/2009

I plan on cutting my daughters pacifier, I wanted to know how it could possibly cause a choking hazzard??? I dont want to do it if it is unsafe, but it does seem like a good way to wean my daughter from her pacifier

Jaime - posted on 01/01/2009

Both my girls 5 & 7 used binkies. My second was the hardest to break. The pediatric dentist and the MD both told me it wouldn't affect her permanent teeth. I was able to get rid of my 5yr olds when she was four. We packed them up and left them for santa last year!. Work like a charm.

Torie - posted on 01/01/2009

I've heard Pedi's say that binkis/thumbs do NOT ruin teeth until age 5+.



I have a 2.5 year old who uses a binki quite often. Right now we are weaning him so he only has it at bedtime and naptime. At that point, I'd like to have his older brother help me with telling him that big boys don't need them, etc, etc. If that doesn't work, I'm going to round them all up and cut their tips off. There has been a lot of success with that, according to other mommas. I disagree that it is a choking hazard. Most kids won't suck them if there is no suction (and if you've sucked one yourself to see, there is a huge difference!!) and will throw them down.



Good luck to you!



www.modernmommas.com

Sarah - posted on 01/01/2009

We told her the binky fairy was gong to take her binky to a baby that needed it and would leave her a present. She gathered all of her binkies and put them in a bag and the binky fairy left her a present in the morning. The first 2-3 days were very rough, but then everything was fine, and after about a week she didn't even ask for it anymore.

Suzannah - posted on 01/01/2009

Please do NOT cut into the tips of the pacifiers! This makes them unstable choking hazards! You could give them a different type of pacifier or a smaller one, but don't cut them.

Kerri - posted on 01/01/2009

My son is 3 1/2 and still uses one. My dentist echoed the same as Jo Frost - make a big deal about a future date to collect all his binkies for other babies. Have him help put them in a box or something outside, and the next day have a "big boy" present waiting for him. Kind of similar to the tooth fairy. I'm working on having him binkie-free before he turns 4!

Paulette - posted on 01/01/2009

I would take a page out of Jo Frost's book. (Supernanny) She had a little boy mail them to our needy babies who were just that and then I believe, in the mailbox there was a present for the boy because he had sent the binkies to the babies. Another mom on here had suggested that they had tied the binkies to balloons to float to the babies in the world who needed the binkies. Having her child let go some or all of the balloons. It is important to give the child some control in the elimination of the binkies because it is a security thing for them. It is important to support them during this because they are going to miss the binky in the beginning but it will be best to do this as soon as possible. It was a security thing for the child but for us parents it was convienent and also helpful to get them to stop crying.

User - posted on 01/01/2009

I agree with the idea of cutting it--not in front of her, but then you can tell her it's broken, and you can't fix it. She won't want it anymore, and hopefully there won't be too much looking back. It's also a good idea to introduce a potential new "lovie" at the same time... maybe a stuffed animal that she likes the texture of, something like that? Do it, the toll it takes on their teeth is terrible.

Nicky - posted on 01/01/2009

buy a small bear and tie dummy to bear softness of bear so close to her face will prevent her from sucking dummy it worked with my daughter. Also bear becomes keeper of dummy. Hop it works. x Nicky Parker