Oh my word, I thought my first daughter was addicted. My second is horrible. I can't seem to get rid of her binky no matter what I do. I have cut the tips, thrown them away with her approval, told them the binky fairy came for the babies to have and left her gifts in it's place, I have had the dentist talk to her, but seriously she is hysterical when she doesn't get it. She uses it at bed time and in the car only and sometimes under certain circumstances gets it in the house. She is 2 1/2. I want her to be broke of it by Christmas but I am not sure what else to do. I can't take her being that upset so I have to figure out a way for her to not want it. She is in the process of potty training also so I don't want to overwhelm her. Thoughts? What worked for you?
Take them all, throw them away (when she's not around), and claim that you have NO idea where they went. That's you're story and you're sticking to it.
But you HAVE to stick to it! Don't buy any more. If one is found, hide it immediately until you can throw it away OUTSIDE.
You could have her mail it to Santa for another little kids that needs it. But once it goes in the box, don't bring it back!
does she a blanket she can soothe herself with or an stuffed animal?
Cold turkey. Fast and over. Like ripping off a band aid.
Why, on earth did the Binky fairy bring more? LOL
Dip them in a little bit of plain white distilled vinegar, she will try one and never go back...mine never took a paci but if I have tried everything else, this is what i would do. Vinegar wont hurt them it just tastes bad, sorry if it sounds mean BUT....
You need to stick to your guns. You cannot give it back to her once it has been thrown away or the binky fairy has come!!! She knows she can throw a tantrum and you will give it back. Next time it goes away it needs to be gone forever. She will not be happy and will take time to adjust, but you have to stick to it. As others have said, probably best not to combine this with potty training. Since you're working on potty training, forget about the binky and do that transition after you are done with potty training.
Who gives the binky back to her when she goes hysterical/throws a tantrum. By doing so you've made it even more difficult to get her to let go. You have to weather the storm until it passes. Let her scream. She's still not getting the binky.
I don't know how you do this since you've already done the common methods of getting her involved. She knows that no matter what you do, she'll get it back. I suggest that you let her have it now and try again in 6 months or so after she's had a chance to forget the past attempts. She also will be more mature and may be better able to let go. Right now, she's got her defenses up and will fight it with increasingly
more fury.
And definitely do not try to wean her from her binky at the same time you're potty training. Both are a major change and I think if you do both at the same time she will be overwhelmed and fail at both.
Having the binky for awhile longer really is no beg deal, teeth wise, especially when she has it such a little bit of time.
Cold Turkey.
My daughter lovingly called hers a "Dowdy". I have no idea where she came up with that.
Mine was an addict. She only got it in bed from about 16 mos old, and knew if her feet were on the floor, it went right in the trash, but I swear she manufactured the things in her sleep! We had her talked into the day she turned 3! That was THE day. She was all geared up for it. I knew where they all were (we were down to a few..I hadn't bought any in a year).
I was a Nanny then and she had her own little room to sleep in, and a Dowdy on the bedside table (she had been in a "big" bed since she was 22 mos old). We hit nap time at work, the kids I cared for were 5 and 8 and were in on the pep talks for weeks before this day. We all cheered her on when she put the Dowdy in the trash, went to nap easy as normal (she had other addictions to see her thru it all...a Blankie and a Beanie Baby).
That night she went to bed no problem as well (we had already tossed the home Dowdy out after she got up that morning). Well....next day..day after her Birthday and its now naptime at work. "Momma, I need my Dowdy!". "Um..No...remember you are 3 years old..a big girl now..no more Dowdy..remember?"
"But Momma, my birthday is over and done now. I get my Dowdy back now!"
OMG...4 nights of H*LL after that...but no more Dowdy.
Good luck!
My son... was a constant binky user. All day.
Hard core.
When he was almost 3 years old, we took it away.
How?
We explained to him, that Santa needed it to help the other children.
With him, we collected all his binkies in the house and car etc.
We put it in a bag to 'mail' to Santa.
It took him 2 days, to adjust.
He ALSO though, had a "lovey" that he sleeps with, too. So that helped a lot.
Maybe as Christmas time approaches, you can do that "Santa" explanation.
And sure, she has a LOT of developmental things, going on at the same time, as well. ie: pottying.
So its all a bunch of growing-pains for the child.
Replace her binky, with another soothing object.
That SHE will like.
Don't worry about it so much! My daughter (now 3), was a NUK ADDICT! She only used it at bedtime and naptime, but it drove me crazy. And everybody kept telling me how she should be old enough to get rid of it, she shouldn't have one at her age, etc. I talked to her dentist and they said it really isn't an issue until their adult teeth come in. So I relaxed, and I figured if it comforted her that much then really what's the problem??? Just because "everybody says" they shouldn't have one at that age? Who cares what everybody else says. Sometimes you do things as a mom just to get by, to make YOUR job easier. And hey, that's OK!! After my daugher turned 3, I took some time to sit down with her and talk about what it meant to be a big girl. That big girls don't need NUKs anymore, because they are sooo big, etc. You get the idea. Then I asked her if she would like the NUK fairy to come to pick up her nuks and she said yes. We made a big huge celebration about it. And she never asked for it again. I just had to wait until SHE was ready. Not when everybody else thought she should be ready. Problem solved. So if you ask me, just let your daughter be. She's only 2 1/2, potty training is a big deal, they're only little for a little while, and so what if she uses a binky to help soothe herself. She's not going to go to college with one in her mouth! :) She'll know when she's ready to let it go.
My son LOVED his binky we talked to him for months about when he turns three no more Mimi, on the day of his third birthday we let him have it because we didn't want to ruin his perfect day by having him cry his self to sleep but after that no more. My second will be 3 at the end of Nov and I mention it everyday that when she turns 3 no more mimi. Hopefully it's not too much of a struggle but once three hits whether it's a fight or not she will no longer have it.
Our pediatrician recommended that we absolutely NOT do potty training and paci at the same time. Too much change and nothing to comfort. She said to do one, wait six months and do the other one. So far she's been potty trained for 2 months and I'm letting the paci thing go completely until Christmas. She only has it in the car, at bedtime and if she's emotional distraught or hurt I let her have it. My daughter turned 3 in June. Personally, I think there's too much stress over it all.
I would wait until potty training is over. Too much stress for her!
My niece was all about her binky. Finally her parents had to break the habit the only thing that worked was dipping it in a taste she didn't like. It was a few years back so I don't remember the taste. The child starts to associate the bad taste with the binky. Good luck!
I know you asked for weang solutions, but I just want to tell you that I had a very severly plug addicted child. He would get so distraught whenever we tried to take it it was impossible to watch him like that! At a little over 5, he decided he could TRY to sleep without it. He did great, and never went back. His teeth are completely fine, he is a happy, smart, funny, creative, and loving little boy. Not even remotely affectEd by having a plug for an extended time. He's also still a great sleeper!
Updated
I know you asked for weang solutions, but I just want to tell you that I had a very severly plug addicted child. He would get so distraught whenever we tried to take it it was impossible to watch him like that! At a little over 5, he decided he could TRY to sleep without it. He did great, and never went back. His teeth are completely fine, he is a happy, smart, funny, creative, and loving little boy. Not even remotely affectEd by having a plug for an extended time. He's also still a great sleeper!
Either let her keep it for a while more and don't stress about it, or go cold turkey, and you can't give them back! If she is freaking out that much about it, I don't think there is any way you can "make" her not want it. She wants it, you don't - you are the parent so you decide what route you want to take. Listen to the crying, or let her have it. There is no easy answer here, sorry.
The 'binky fairy' story worked for me. I had my son involved in putting his binkies in a baggie, sticking them in a box and wrap it up with a bow and told him that the binky fairy is going to take the box to the babies that need binkies. I then explained to him that he was a big boy now and big boys don't need binkies anymore. He asked for it a couple of nights, and then forgot it.
Once you do this, don't go back and give it to her again. You have to stick to your guns. I know it's heart melting to see your wee ones cry for their binky, or cry in general, but it truly does help them build up strength within themselves. :-) It's hard to let go, but we have to in order to move on and grow. :-D
Try it again with a bit of firmness of what is going to happen and just stick with it no matter what. You may lose a bit of sleep for a couple of nights, but it will work. :-)
Our pediatrician wanted the paci stopped early, and it was at 13 months because I couldn't find it at bedtime. To make matters worse (I thought) it was the same day we'd given up bottles. He was a trooper, fussed a bit and had a hard time going to sleep, but when he asked for it the next couple of days i reminded him it was gone (I found it on day 2 and promptly tossed it before he saw it) and he accepted it. By day 3 he was off bottles and pacis and never looked back.
The longer they use it the harder it is to get rid of. There will come a day, after potty training, that you will have to toss them, no gimmicks, not buy any more and weather the tantrums a few days. But once she realizes they're really gone you'll be done.
We actually went by the farmer's Almanac. When you ween the baby from the momma cow, that's when you take the paci and throw it away in front of the child and say bye bye to it. It worked both times for both kids.
My friends have had great success with a "goodbye paci party"
Their twins each got a tiny cake and celebrated they no longer needed a paci. Make a big deal (doesn't have to cost a lot). Hope this is successful for you all. Good luck! I'm about 6 months from weaning the paci with my daughter....
