Pacifier help

Trish - posted on 03/26/2009

My daughter loves her paci... we have her down to bedtime only, but with this new Pacifier B Gone book, stickers and calendar and explaining now she is Big and the Pacifier Fairy is making it alot easier for us. When she asks for the paci, I say the fairy has it and it only comes at bed time... hopefully by next week we should be done with the Paci...

here's the link: http://www.pacifierbgone.com/ 

Wajd - posted on 03/25/2009

If the idea of cold turkey scares you do it gradually. Give it to her only when she is very fussy and at nap time and bed time, then cut it by only bed time.. and so on. No doubt its not a healthy habbit for children to use it pass 1 year. I took it away from my son when he was 10 months but my daughter loved her paci. I took it away from her when she was 2.

Good luck

Linda - posted on 03/25/2009

The potty training system I used with my(boy & girl) twins. I bought a claendar and put it in their bathroom. I bought stickers for them to choose from and each time they went potty IN the toilet they got to choose a sticker and put it on the calendar - on the correct date!  A learning process 2 different ways!  When the week was full of stickers they got to choose a special prize. And as they got better, each month they got to choose something special. :>)

Melissa - posted on 03/25/2009

Right around 2 is ideal.  They can kind of understand when you explain stuff to them like "It's broken".  We worried and worried it would be so hard but it wasn't.  Selfishly I had them give it up at daycare for naps first for a week or 2 and then we did it at home in the evenings.  By that time she only used it at bed and for naps.  My daughter's "minky" as she called it, "broke" one night (when we cut the tip off with a pair of scissors) and we forced our selves to throw them all away except one so she could see that it was broken.  We saved it in a special box for her for a little bit so she could see it if she asked for it.  This was after a couple attempts where we gave in and just gave her a new one even though she hadn't made too much of a fuss.  We moved her into a big girl bed the same night and started a whole new bed time routine with 3 stories and some glow in the dark starts on her ceiling (we'd shine them up with a flashlight just before bed).  The excitement of it all made it go pretty well and the binky was asked for a few times but every time she tried to put it in her mouth with the tip cut off she would give up right away. 

Terry - posted on 03/24/2009

My daughter was 10 1/2 months when we took her pacifier away and cold turkey is the best way, she had a few rough nights but over all it was easy.  And I find that she sleeps much better b/c she doesn't loose her pacifier and wake up to find it any more.  I don't know how true it is but I've heard that a pacifier can cause kids teeth to be 'bucked' in the front.  My friend has a three yr. old and he still uses a pacifier for bed, and I can say his teeth do seem to be shaped differently, or into a point..

Lynda - posted on 03/24/2009

I know this post is about pacifiers, but I have a potty training tip! One of my daughters was not excited about candy or stickers so I went with what she DID like....tattoos! Everytime she went potty she got to choose a tattoo and where it went. She was covered in them but "training" was over quickly...and she was 2 1/2!

Kelly - posted on 03/24/2009

Quoting Kelley:

I really hate to say this but..... my daughter is 4 years old now and I am having the worst time with the pacifier (binky) and potty training...... I need all the advice I can get...

I always say ok it is time to go to the potty ... and her respnse to me is no mommy I dont like the potty... and I try to bribe her and everything and nothing works... I have tried the whole chart thing and stickers and everything, she is very stubborn, I bought all kinds of cute underwear and everything... I am very frustrated...... I am willing to try anything that may have worked for others......

We had a hard time potty training our daughter as well, she was 3 1/2 before we ever got it done. Everyone said to reward her with stickers or M&M's etc. Problem is, none of that truly excited her. I did discover though that she liked it when we had her Easter Egg hunt and she could hear something rattling inside the egg. That's when I got the idea to put prizes in the eggs and let her pick a prize if she went to the potty. Our system was this...Day 1, I let her run around the house with nothing on her bottom. I would give her lots to drink and ask her to practice on the potty every half hour or so. One thing that helped too was that I brought the potty to her in what ever room she was in so she could practice. If she practiced, she got to pick an egg even if she didn't make potty. If she had an accident, I told her she had to clean it up and gave her a towel and then asked her to try to make it to the potty next time. If she went #1 she got to pick 1 egg and if she went #2 she got to pick 2 eggs. Day 2, half way through the day, I put underpants on her and continued the same routine. Day 3 I put underpants and pants on her and continued and she started to get to the point where she didn't even ask to pick a prize after she went potty. Half way through day 3 was when she had her last accident, by day 4 she was going potty on her own. I still kept the potty in what ever room she was in for a while just to make things easy for her and it worked. I continued to put pull-ups on her at night for about 4 months until she was consistently dry in the morning and was asking not to wear them anymore. I hope this helps, I kind of likened it to potty training boot camp and once I started I was determined that there was no turning back. I did this on a holiday weekend so my hubby was home to help reinforce her. As long as we praised her and she got to pick a prize, she was excited to do something new. For prizes we put in play jewelry, stickers, lip gloss etc. Good Luck!!!

Lynda - posted on 03/24/2009

I always took it away and used it only for bedtime when they were able to crawl. I figured they had something else to keep them busy. But around a yr we took it away cold turkey. About 3 nights of screaming & crying and it was over!!

Erika - posted on 03/24/2009

I started taking my sons pacifier away at 11 months. I started by saying that he could only have it at naptime and bedtime. I had him throw all of the pacifiers in the garbage except 2 that I let him pick out. We set the garbage out and watched the garbage man pick them up and we waved bye-bye to the pacifiers. He was also bottle broke at that time which helped tremendously with this transition. Then when we toughed it out for one month I cut the tip of it off and he didn't want it anymore. He said it was broke and I told him that we should probably throw it out and we picked a stuffed animal that he could sleep with instead. It actually worked very well...and he LOVED his pacifier! Good luck to you!

Kerry - posted on 03/24/2009

I work at Build A Bear Workshop and I have stuffed many a pacifier into a bear. Either we put it right into the bear and sew the bear up or after the little one chooses their animal we hold out the garbage can and they get to throw it in. Then they get to stuff their animal and have fun dressing it up.

Erica - posted on 03/24/2009

I cut mine off at two years old, literally! I had my children watch me cut it and then we both acknowledged it was broken and they got to dispose of it in the garbage. They never asked for it again. With my now 19 mo. old I got rid of it a lot sooner... just threw it away and dealt with the cries for a few days. My expected one will not get one at all. Hopefully this helps!

Paula - posted on 03/24/2009

I know where you are coming from.  My youngest just turned 2. It wasn't an issue with our older 2 children our first born got tonsilitis at 6 seeks and gave up his then but now at age 20 years old he still chews on something constantly. Our daughter dropped hers in the dirt at age 14 months proclaimed it dirty and threw it in the trash cried that night and has not missed it since and she is going to be 19 next week.

However we were getting ready for vacation last summer and didn't want to keep up with binkies at disney so 2 weeks before we left I saw an article about how to get rid of them and it said if you can go 3 days without them your done. We had a supportive baby sitter and so we started on a thursday so we could  also have some stress relief by getting to go to work for part of the time. The 1st  day was the hardest the baby sitter let ty play until he feel asleep and we did the same at night in 3 days he never missed it even though my neice was around alot and she still has hers

Kelley - posted on 03/24/2009

I really hate to say this but..... my daughter is 4 years old now and I am having the worst time with the pacifier (binky) and potty training...... I need all the advice I can get...

I always say ok it is time to go to the potty ... and her respnse to me is no mommy I dont like the potty... and I try to bribe her and everything and nothing works... I have tried the whole chart thing and stickers and everything, she is very stubborn, I bought all kinds of cute underwear and everything... I am very frustrated...... I am willing to try anything that may have worked for others......

Trish - posted on 03/23/2009

Hi Everyone! I justed picked a great kit to help with the removal process of the Pacifier... It's called the Pacifier B Gone and in 7 days you will no longer need the Pacifier... We start it tonight... It has a book, caledar and stickers, plus a Pacifier Fairy and a Sunny Duck... Here's the link to the web site: http://www.pacifierbgone.com/ My daughter Alexis is 2 1/2 and loves you Pacifier... I have been getting her down to Nap time and bed time only, but she just loves to have it when she cries... Wish us luck!  

Stacy - posted on 10/28/2008

I hate to say my son was 3 - 4 years old when we finally were able to get ride of it. We told him he needed to give it to santa for him to give them to the babies. When we left the cookies and milk for santa we asked him if we could leave the binkie for santa to give to the babies. he left it there and from that night on we just told him over and over again what he decided to do and never had an issue. Hope this helps... Good Luck!!

Stacie - posted on 10/28/2008

We had our daughter collect them all up and then I cut the ends off of them and she threw each one away. VERY LIBERATING!

Valerie - posted on 10/28/2008

My daughter loved her pacifiers too, so I cut her down to just having it at night for about a month or so. Then after that I told her that big girls don't use them anymore and had her throw them away herself. That really seemed to work. Good Luck

Emma - posted on 10/28/2008

We are just starting to do that to...our son is 11mths old and I just went cold turkey. It was kinda tough, but it's been a week now and he's doing good. He wakes up a bit more during sleeping time, but I just let him cry and he falls right back to sleep within 2-3 min. Good luck!

Beth - posted on 10/28/2008

We tried to get rid of our daughter's nuk right around her 2nd birthday. We wrapped them up and made a big deal about giving them to another little baby we knew. After two weeks of nap and nighttime fights (my otherwise great sleeper would throw fits and cry for 1-2 hours everytime we tried to put her to bed, day and night) we broke down and gave them back to her. I just couldn't handle 4 hours a day of her crying and not sleeping. I knew we could hold out for a few days, even a week, but after two full weeks my husband and I were exhausted and we gave up. That was 6 months ago and she still uses it at bedtime and frankly, I don't care. She'll give it up when she's ready and I won't let her out of her bed with it so it's not like she is running around with it in her mouth. She talks like she's 4 (has been speaking in full sentances since she was 14 months old) so I'm not worried about her speech. Just my two cents. I guess I'm the only one that didn't have it go so well.

Tara - posted on 10/28/2008

the "nuk fairy" came to our house!

i had my daughter (25 months) make a special box to put all her "nuks" in. she got to decorate it and write a letter to the fairy. then when it was bed time she out the box with all her nuks in it outside the front door. when she woke up in the morning the nuk fairy left her a present in place of the box!

worked GREAT!! we talked about the fairy coming for about a week before she actually did.

Tracy - posted on 10/28/2008

Thank you for asking this question because I am also trying to get rid of the pacifier, and my daughter is almost 23 months. I would like it gone by 2 if possible. All these suggestions are great! We have now gotten her to only take it at bed and nap. It is hidden the rest of the day. So, I guess my next step will be to stop cold turkey by using one of these suggestions.

Suzanne - posted on 10/28/2008

We took my son's away at 15 months... our Dr. said she wanted it gone by 18 months. COLD TURKEY!! It was a little rough but I think a much faster process.

Carrie - posted on 10/28/2008

I have to agree with the "cutting the tip off" moms. My sister has 5 kids and all of them were weined that way too. Only one of her's was so devastated that they hung onto it in their hand for a few months while they slept. We both took it away at the age of 2. We slowly "lost" all the pacifiers until there was only one left in the drawer. Then suddenly that one "broke"! My son was pretty attached so I was shocked when he didn't make a big deal about it at all!

Meghan - posted on 10/28/2008

I've read many of the comments that you've received and it seems most people either cut them or take them away cold turkey.....My daughter didn't start taking a passy until she was 8 months old because of having an MRI and trying to "pacify" her from not eating for 81/2 hours. We took hers away at 2 and never had a problem.Like one lady said we "gave them to a new baby" we went and bought a few helium balloons and attached the passy's to them. We took her to the park and let her say goodbye to each passy.She let them all go and never had a problem :) Good luck with whatever you decide.I would hide one or two just in case it becomes a night mare. I also have a 10 month old now who is kind of giving them up on her own... All kids are different!

Denise - posted on 10/28/2008

I agree with Denice below! I did the same thing and it worked beautifully! Good luck with that! It was hard to do because I knew if it didn't work, we had broken the pacifier, and we only had one that he liked!

Missy - posted on 10/28/2008

We did cold turkey at 2 years. It was waaaaay not as hard as i expected. You can do it! :) She'll be fine.

Kim - posted on 10/27/2008

We are just in the process of doing this. I started out slow, giving my passy only at nap time. Our daycare person lost the passy, so he stopped using it faster at daycare then at home. I just now told him that the passy went away to another little baby that needed it. He seems ok with it. We have never used a passy at bedtime, so we never had issues with that. I would start out slow, move down to just 1 passy. Maybe she only gets it at nap time. Try to replace something else for her to have as a comfort instead of the passy. Like a stuffed animal, small toy... My Dr. said to get rid of the passy by 2 years old. I know kids who are 3 with one. I think it is your call as the mom to know "when" your kid is emotionally ready to get rid of it. I liked having it around, it was my back-up thing on airplanes, when we went out. I need it more than my son did. I had to deal with that issue. Personally, my son was trying to talk through the passy, so we had to get rid of it just to help his language development. I hope that helps.

Jaclyn - posted on 10/27/2008

Hi Theresa-

My son just got rid of his pacifier in August at 2 1/2 years. After stressing for months about the fact that he could possible be a first grade walking around with the darn thing in his mouth I finally decided to get rid of it. Everyone told me not to be so concerned and that he would give it up when he was ready but I didn't agree. I wanted it gone and I just felt that without my intervention he wouldn't just decide one day that he could sleep without it. After much research I decided that 'cold turkey" was the best way to go. I literally threw away evey pacifier in the house and told him that they were broken and that they were dangerous to put in his mouth. I started it at naptime hoping to get a jump on bedtime. I never gave it to him again. Once I said they were broken a pacifier never entered his mouth again! There was a lot of crying. He even went through a few weeks of thumb sucking because he was trying to find another way to soothe himself to sleep. Even that stopped after awhile. He was completely addicted to it when he slept and even though it broke my eart to see his tears when he was trying to fall asleep it only lasted about two days. After that he would ask but he never really got that upset. I even have a newborn now that takes a pacifier and he doesn't even try to use it. He understands that it's only for babies.......stick to your story, don't give in, and you'll see that they are not as dependent on it as you think! Good luck!

Teri - posted on 10/27/2008

I told my youngest that we could go to the toystore and she could pick out something that we could "buy" with her binkies. She collected them up, we went to the store and she picked out a cute Elmo Toy. When we got to the cashier, I winked and said "Is this where we can pay with binkies?" She didn't quite get it at first - but then it kicked in and she played along. (Of course she ran my credit card on the sly...) My daughter was so proud of her transaction - she told people about it and slept with Elmo instead of binky. Worked like a charm!

Heather - posted on 10/27/2008

I started taking my daughters pacifier out of her mouth as soon as she would fall asleep. If she woke up in the middle of the night she then had to put herself back to sleep on her own. I also dont leave it where she can see it during the day. I keep it on hand just incase nothing else works though. I did the taking the pacifier out of her mouth for about a month now we are down to going to bed without it and just keeping it around just incase. Hopefully by Nov 25th, her 1st birthday, we will be able to throw it away. Hope this helps!

Shannon - posted on 10/26/2008

I just got my two year old off hers, because I'm pregnant with our second and I didn't want that to deal with. I mad sure I had a long weekend. So I didnt have to work for four days so that gave us time and sleep when she cried at night. But we just threw them all the way in the house and told her the garbage man picked them up because they were dirty. So basically do it cold turkey. Yes she did cry and throw a fit but eventually she will stop and move on to something else. And at night she eventually feel asleep. It was hard for those first days but now she doesn't need it.

Erica - posted on 10/26/2008

We ended up doing it cold turkey by accident. I had gone out one night and Brad was home alone taking care of her and when it was time for bed he couldn't find it. He told her he would ask me when I got home but she had gone to sleep perfectly fine without it. She asked the next night but we just told her we lost it (even though it had been found). This happened shortly after moved her to a big girl bed so I would say around 22 months. Thankfully Ethan never liked them! Good luck! You will know when the right time is ... trust your gut. You know your childs needs better than anyone.

Andrea - posted on 10/25/2008

I have yet to tackle this challenge. How I'm planning to go about it is a method I think Marie Osmond said she did it on an episode of Oprah. Choose one or a few of the pacifiers your child has and clip the tip of the nipple of it creating a small hole. When she goes to suck on it, she will just be getting air because the nipple will collapse. She may try to make it work for awhile, but ultimately, she'll get fed up with trying and will wean herself from it. I thought to myself when I saw that on Oprah "wow, that's clever!"

Danielle - posted on 10/25/2008

Research says if they are not off by 8-10 months then you might as well wait until 2. I cut the tip off all the pacifiers and left them where I found them. One by one they were discovered to be broken and my then 2 year old daughter threw them away.

Faith - posted on 10/25/2008

My son was a year old and one day i just said to him that thing is ucky. and he laughed and said yeah ucky and i said throw it away and he went and threw it in the trash now i had a spare in case it got bad but it seemed to work. He asked for it a few times and i just said you threw it away remember.

Danielle - posted on 10/25/2008

i took my daughters away at 13 months.

well we didnt so much as take them away.. but slowly one by one we lost them (we were on vacation visiting home) and each one we lost i would get more nervous and more scared. but i told myself i wasnt going to buy anymore of them. i didnt want them to interfere with her speach. we accidentally left one in my father in laws boat.. and that was the second last one. he said he could bring it back to us... but i didnt make a big deal about it, he either kept it, or threw it out.. who knows. then a few days later we couldnt find the last one. i told her that her "choochie" was all gone... she didnt get it.. she was only 13 months old. lol but she had a rough night, and a few rough naps... we got through it...

we had family in town for thanksgiving and we have a 7 month old neice that uses a pacifier. amelia(now 16 months old) saw it.... picked it up.. looked at it. and rather then try to put it in her mouth.. she stuck it in the babies mouth and walked away. i was so happy.





now its just getting her off the dreaded "baba" her bottle that she loves ohh soo much!

Claire - posted on 10/25/2008

i took my daughter's away at 9 months and we did it cold turkey. i just figured the longer i waited the harder it would be. she only used it at night to go to sleep and when we took it away it was fine...she fussed at night for a few nights but other than that i think it was harder on me than her!

Lisa Ciasulli - posted on 10/25/2008

One day, when my daughter was almost 2, and that's well after the time, I brought all my daughter's pacifiers to her in a bowl (about 8) and I said, you know what Gianna, I think it's time we give these pacifiers to another little baby that could use them because you're a big girl now. Right? and she agreed, and asked who we could give them to....i had a friend who had just had a baby so that was convenient......and i gave them to her. I was shocked at how smoothly it went because i didnt think she'd give them up for anything!! I used to put up to 10 pacifiers in her bed at night!! At the daycare, I told them what I did, i kept a pacifier there for "just in case" and she was fine. Everyone once in a while she see a kid with a pacifier and say those are for baby's right mom?? Yes, Gianna....and while that saddened me a bit, I knew I did the right thing for her teeth and speech!

Sherry - posted on 10/25/2008

I went cold turkey. My son started throwing it, and so I just took it away at that time.

Belinda - posted on 10/25/2008

Cold turkey worked best for us. Riley was never really "dependent" on the pacifier, but it did calm him down if he was fussy. We took him off it at 4 months, but we did it cold turkey. Other friends I have did that as well. There may be a couple of tough nights...but it seemed to be the quickest way I've heard of doing it.

Denice - posted on 10/25/2008

I took my daughter's away at 2 years. She only used it for bedtime and naps and my doctor recommeneded either cold turkey or cutting a wedge out so that they dont get the gratification from sucking. I tried to cut a wedge out and got nervous that a piece would come off and ended up cutting off top of it. She found it and told me it was broken and i told her we had to throw it out. so she cried actually sobbed but then she knew it was gone and at night we would just say "paci is broken- all gone." and she slept and napped with no problem. Good luck:)