Need Advice for Getting Rid of the Pacifier!

My son is 29 months old, we where at the beach and a friend of mine took his pap and throw it up the air and caught it with out him seeing that and said did, then she asked him you see that bird he took your pap. He was a little upset but did not cry. Every time he asked for it I just said the bird took it remember. It took a litter over a month but he does not ask for it any more. He has a blanket puppy that he still uses to go to sleep with. But I can live with that.

I don't have any advice for you since my daughter is 2.5 and still uses hers but wanted to respond and thank those of you with older kids who used theirs so I know I'm not alone! My daughter only uses it for naps and nighttime and leaves it in her bed without us even asking. We did try going cold turkey a few months ago (Binky Fairy came, took her binkys and she received some big girl presents), but after nearly 3 weeks where she didn't nap and would whimper off and on in her sleep (keeping me up at night) and was just a downright exhausted mess, I gave it back (first night with it back she slept 14 hours!). Maybe a bad move, but with 2 small children (I also have a 9 month old...thankfully she never took a pacifier, yay!) and a husband who is gone a lot, I NEED her to nap and sleep at night! I've heard too many stories of children giving up their naps when their pacifiers were taken away. Her dentist isn't entirely concerned and I'm hoping (maybe naively) that she'll give it up on her own. Maybe I'll try cold turkey again another time. I don't know. This is a battle I never thought I'd deal with. Had planned on taking it away at 12 months but there just never seemed to be a good time...so now I'm stuck with an obsessed 2.5 year old. Anyway...I do think the earlier you break it, the better. Good luck to you!

Hey,

Thats so weird because i have been thinking the same thing...how in the world am i going to get rid of his "pappy"...My son is 17 months and he would be horrified if i took it away right now. I dont have any set thing to go by sometimes i tell him to leave in the crib sometimes not, I dont think he is ready..now i try and not let him have it that often because i want him to start talking, he doesnt understand lets give it the binky fairy or whatever...i want to also do it when he is ready and for me he is teething also...well good luck!
B.

With my oldest children (2½ year old twins), at around 2 years old we started making them leave their binkies in their room when they got up in the morning. I would simply say, "Drop the binky" and they would toss them onto the beds. They used them for naptime and bedtime only. Then one day, we just went cold turkey. I said that I don't know where the binkies are. They cried, but eventually quieted down and went to sleep. After just a few days, they didn't even ask for them anymore.

They still have their lovies, though. I'm in no hurry to take them away. My son actually doesn't even care about his anymore, but my daughter takes Lambie everywhere. Just a few days ago, I started making her leave Lambie in the bedroom, simply because at every naptime and bedtime I had to spend 20 minutes searching the entire house for Lambie! She doesn't mind, and Lambie is now always in bed waiting for my daughter!

Added note: I have 6 month old twins and the older set does not bother the babies' binkies at all. They actually help to give them to the babies.

I hope you find a way that works for you.

First thing - don't leave the pacifier in any room other than her bedroom. Tell her that pacifiers are happy only in a bedroom and if you take them out they won't be able to make her happy when she goes to sleep. This worked very well with my niece. Second - you need to work out a bed time routine, which you need to follow religiously. In this routine pacifier should play an active role of an observer. With my niece they red a book to a pacifier and put it to sleep first, then my cousin would sing a lullaby to her girl and gently rub her back until she fell asleep with a pacifier in her hand instead of her mouth. Before Christmas they told her that Santa collects the pacifiers from big girls and gives them to the little baby girls that need them. In return he will send a very special gift to the big girls who have given p their pacifiers on Christmas. They were talking about it every night for a week. Finally one night they sat together wrote a letter to Santa put the paci in and walked together to the mail box and left it there. Most important - don't forget to take it out at night and get rid of it. In 2 days put a thank you letter from Santa with promise of a very special gift for coming Christmas to your mail box addressed to you child.

My daughter used her pacifier until she was 2.5 years, and I always said I would take it away before her second birthday. I tried to wean her off it, only using it for sleep, but that didnt work. Finally one day, I saw my best friend's niece who was 5, with a pacifier hanging out of her mouth. I went home, leveled with her ( as much as u can level with a 2 year old) and told her if she wanted to be a big girl, she had to throw her paci away. She walked over to the garbage and threw it away. So we went cold turkey. She had a little trouble falling asleep, but we stuck with it and she never had a problem after that. The first time she saw a baby with one, I held my breath waiting for the tantrum....but nothing! Some chiildren can be weaned, and given it at night, but I have seen 6 and 8 year olds who still need their paci to sleep. So I found that cold turkey worked for me and my family. Good Luck!

Hi, I never thought I'd be able to give advice on this, because I was always the one needing it. My son is now 4years and we officially got rid of the paci about 4 months ago. It was actually extremely easy and I truly think it was because he was older and really didn't need it anymore. I don't think it's easier when they are younger. I HATED pacifiers and said I would never use one, ha ha, boy did that change. My son LOVED it and I didn't have the heart to take it away because it helped him sleep. My thoughts on this issue is, I would not let him have it AT ALL during the day except to sleep or if he was sick. It was hard to keep them away but they get used to it. I had a little bag I would put them in as soon as he got up and then I would put them out of his reach until bedtime. If they are not ready for them to be taken away and you do they will start sucking their fingers. You know pacies seem so awful but kids have blankets, thumbs, stuffed animals to sleep with for a long time and it's ok. Pacies are so soothing to them. I just recently had another baby in May and did manage to take it away a month before. I felt it was easier because he was older and could communicate better and he was more interested in other things. You can explain why they don't need it and give them somthing else that's better. To me as long as the dont walk around with it talking, or taking it out in public, what's the harm in letting them sleep with it. If I had taken it away at 17 months, he would have screamed. The new baby hates a paci. My son was JUST like your daughter with the paci. When I read your post, it sounded like me. Don't stress over it.