Pacifier Addict.

Updated on September 08, 2008
R.P. asks from Bisbee, AZ
25 answers

My son is 2 years old and is completely addicted to pacifiers. It has gotten to the point where to go to sleep he demands to hold one in hand (there have been nights when it was one in EACH hand) as well as one in his mouth. I have been told by some that they will usually get over this on their own. But can I jumpstart it??Its getting ridiculous!

What can I do next?

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So What Happened?

Thank you all for responding. The snip method sounded the most appealing to me, but I have decided to wait it out. The kid loves his "nutzers" (family name, dont ask).I think I am being more concerned about what people think.I think there are bigger missions to take care of first( potty training?). Once again, thanks. This was my first reqest on this website, and I absolutely adore mamasource!!!

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S.W.

answers from Phoenix on

Hello,

My daughter is seven now but did use the pacifier. What my mother told me to do what cut of the tips of the pacifier until it gets down really low and then throw it away. I did this and it actually worked. Hope I heled.

S.

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S.H.

answers from Phoenix on

My oldest son used to be the same way with his pacifiers. I ended up cutting off the end of the pacifier so that there wasn't anything to suck on. I told him it was broken. He held the broken one in his hand at night for months after that, but at least he couldn't suck on it anymore. He seemed OK with it as long as he had one to hold in his hand at night.

Now if I could only get my youngest to stop sucking his thumb!

Good Luck

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C.H.

answers from Phoenix on

We did foster care for nine years and this is how I broke all of mine from the pacifier and the bottle. Let them see the garbage truck pick up the garbage. Once they know the garbage is gone for good, have them be a "big boy" and throw the pacifier or bottle into the garbage. Then let them see the garbage truck take it away.

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W.B.

answers from Phoenix on

Hey R.,

Our son was EXACTLY the same way. I'm sure there are some kids who end up "getting over it" on their own, but that was so NOT going to happen with ours. It also didn't help that my husband thought it was cute, until I showed him how our son's teeth were become malformed by the constant presence of that stupid pacifier.

We ended up having him and his sisters gather them all up kind of like a scavenger hunt, (they were ALL over the house), and put them all into a plastic bag, which then was immediately put into the outside garbage can. We "rewarded" the kids for each pacifier they found with a tiny toy so it was made into a game.

The first night or so was a little bit of a pain, but he eventually became accustomed to the new routine and instead developed a habit for sleeping with tiny stuffed animals. Okay, that one I can deal with!

Hope that helps,
~W.

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M.M.

answers from Phoenix on

Only 1 of my 5 kids was an pacifier addict.I did manage to cure her.We started to cut off little pieces every night we used the dog chewed it up excuse hoping that extra gross out factor would help.I would give it to her and she would put it in her mouth .One night it was so small she put it in her mouth took it out looked at it and handed it back never to be asked for again.Just make sure there are no others hiding that could be found later.
M.

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L.D.

answers from Phoenix on

Pour three shot glasses of whiskey. Gather all of the pacifiers up and throw them away. Drink whiskey and settle back to wait out the storm.

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A.J.

answers from Phoenix on

I would recommend starting to reduce the amount of time that the binky is around, only give it to him at night or naptime, and have it put away for the rest of the day. Don't stress yourself and your son too much on weaning him off of it immediately, there are no negative dental effects until those permanent teeth start coming in around 6 years old.

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H.M.

answers from Tucson on

Get several shot glasses. Pour some vinegar in them and leave them rubber side down in the shots all night. That way the bitterness soaks into the binky and when he sees that all of his bikies "taste yucky" then it will be a hard first night, but as you hand him one after the other with the same taste, hopefully he will lose interest

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H.T.

answers from Phoenix on

wow im gooing through the same exact thing my little girl is 3 and its gotten so bad that i have found her with 4 at one point. my mom keeps giving them to her. when she turned 3 last week i just made her through them away and its been a battle for me. sorry not much help. i dont even konw if what im doing is right. just wanted you to know that your not alone

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C.K.

answers from Santa Fe on

It looks ridiculous to you, as an adult because we look at things through adult eyes. But to your child, it is giving him some sort of comfort.

It actually sounds sweet to me. Let it be.

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R.E.

answers from Phoenix on

R. P

I once had my peditrician tell me that he never saw a kid go to school with a binky, blanket or diapers or a bottle, I was all worried when my youngest was still wanting her bottle and pacifier when she was 2 1/2, since I never had that problem with the other three, so he told me not to worry and in time she gave them all up on her own, no adverse effects with her teeth or anything else. She is 13 now and I think she just like being the baby of the family.

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C.H.

answers from Phoenix on

R.,

My name is C. and my daughter Morgan is two and also addicted to her pacifier, or as we call it (binky). Iv'e noticed recently that when I pick her up from daycare that she never has it in her mouth, she now is to the point where when we pull up to school she hands it to me, but at home it's a different story she has a cow if she doesn't have it and even wakes up in the middle of the night screaming if she can't find it. Me and her father are getting a divorce and when we get to his house he picks her up takes out her binky hands it to me and she doesn't even mind. So I started to think what is it about me that she feels like she needs it when we are together?? We have been down to one binky for a while now I just haven't had time to buy more, and with Christmas here I have had no money. The other day we lost the last binky I had and Morgan cried for a hour before she feel asleep and woke up in the middle of the night and cried for another hour before she went back to sleep, now don't get me wrong if I had more than one dollar to my name I would have gone out and got another binky but it was just not possible. We are going on night three and she is not even asking for it. It's hard at first but you just need to take it from him and reassure him he is a big boy and doesn't need it and that Mommy is there for him, Iv'e had to fall asleep laying on the floor beside Morgan's bed holding her hand the first two nights now all the sudden she is fine. Well needless to say the problem with me was I found that it bothered me that she still used it, but I wasn't ready to just say no and not give in like daycare did and her father did. Well good luck!

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N.V.

answers from Santa Fe on

I have a 14 month old girl who always has two in her hands. One day we coulnt find one so I sat and played with her and she eventually forgot about it. If they cant find them they wont ask for one. just lie him down and dont offer it....Im ready to quit cold turkey,......

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C.K.

answers from Tucson on

The solution is actually pretty easy.....it's what we did with all 4 of our kids....just snip a teeny tiny part off the tip - wait a couple of days and snip a tiny bit more. The sensation will be different and he may just become less interested in it altogether. Some kids will suck on just a nub that's left until it's ALL gone. Don't let him see you do it ;)

God luck!

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C.N.

answers from Albuquerque on

my daughter did that.
you can either have him pack them all up in a bag and deliver them to someone who has a baby. explaining that the baby needs them now. (ofcorse knowing they will throw them away.)cuz he's not a baby.
and/or tell him they are icky.

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J.C.

answers from Phoenix on

I know there have been a lot of responses on here, but I think I read a suggestion on here before to tie the pacifiers to balloons and release them into the air. I thought it was a really neat idea and I will try it with my next pacifier addict. What worked for me though, was going to the dr. and having him tell my son he couldn't have it anymore. We pretended to throw the pacifier away in the drs office and actually put it in our pocket(it was his last pacifier-I wanted to keep it as a keepsake.) He never had a pacifier again, even though his baby sister had one he could of very easily taken. Whenever he asked we told him it was in Dr. Z's office. It was all over in a matter of two days. Hope this helps.

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W.A.

answers from Phoenix on

I work in a Preschool, and let me tell you, there are MANY people that are going through the same things as you. The only thing you can do, is take the pacifier away completley. Do not allow it in your house at all. There will be fits, there will be screaming, but you can't give in. Once the child realizes they aren't going to get the pacifier, they will get over it. It's not a need at this point, it's a want. You just have to stay strong and be the boss over your child. It won't be easy, but stick to your guns, and soon enough you will be pacifier free. GOOD LUCK!

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N.O.

answers from Phoenix on

My son will be 4 in March, and just got rid of th binky. It wasnt easy! We really worked on it for months. And finally he said I dont ned it anymore. The binky fairy works... let him know a new baby needs it and get a small toy to replace it! Good Luck... expect tears ;0)

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R.J.

answers from Phoenix on

When my son was 18 months, the pediatrician said I should start weaning him off the pacifier and suggested the snip method. Worked like a charm. We snipped the half off and didn't even get to snipping the whole thing. Caleb lost interest immediately. I'm not saying it'll be that easy with your little one, but I wish you all the very best!

~ R. J

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A.S.

answers from Albuquerque on

R..

My girlfriend had a son with the same problem. They would give hime his pacifier but cut the end off. Then a day later would cut more off and I guess it didn't serve its purpose anymore and he gave it up on his own.

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A.T.

answers from Phoenix on

We gathered my daughters binky's into a bag and took them to Toy'sR Us. She picked out a toy, a new doll to sleep with. At the register we explained to the girl (with a wink) that we wanted to trade the binky's for a big girl toy. She of course was very understanding and patient as my daughter was not sure she wanted to hand them over but eventually her want for the new doll took over and she gave them to the girl. We of course paid when she wasn't paying attention. For the first couple days when she asked we would remind her she gave them to the girl at Toy's or Us. It really did not take long for her to adjust. I think it was more my problem than hers, it was just easier to give it to her than deal with the whining. She did end up in speech at school and I always felt it was because she learned to talk around the binki. Good Luck.

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R.B.

answers from Las Cruces on

Hello, R.. I suggest that you begin weening your baby from his pacifier. Follow the following schedule. This seems to work for me. Start counting the months, beginning January. From January through March, let him have his pacifier morning, noon, afternoon, and all night (9am - 9am next morning). From April through June, let him have from noon, afternoon, and all night (Noon - 9 am the next morning). From July through September, let him have it in the afternoon and all through the night only (3 pm - 9 am the next morning). From October through December, let him have it all night only (6pm - 9am the next morning). Finally, beginning January of the next year, remove it completely. By this time, you would have been removing it from his day, little by little, that he will not miss it. Do not forget to let him know firmly when he will and will not be using the pacifier. I hope that this will be of some help to you. Gods Blessings on you and your baby. - R.

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K.R.

answers from Grand Rapids on

I don't know if anyone will see this, since it's been a while since it was posted, but here's what I did. My daughter was four before we got rid of them (I know she was old!). She only had them at night, not during the day. I told her that we were going to leave them for the Paci Fairy. She put them in a basket before preschool, and when she got home, the 'Fairy' had taken them and left her roller skates (something she had been wanting). She never even asked about them after that. You might try this when you are ready for him to give them up. Good luck.
K.

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C.L.

answers from Phoenix on

My son was very similar....one in each hand and one in his mouth, as well as a couple scattered around the crib in case any fell out. This went on until he was about 2. Then, one at a time, we took a binky away every couple of nights. Eventually, he had only one, and we let him keep that during the night for awhile. Then, every morning, we had him take the binky and put it on a bookshelf out of reach for the day. If he remembered by pointing to it, he'd get it at naptime and bedtime. Sometimes, he forgot about it and went to sleep without it. Eventually, he never asked for it and now he's binky free. This whole process took about 3 weeks. Some people do it cold turkey, but he was so attached to it that we decided to do it gradually. It worked very well for him, with only a couple of difficult times where he cried for a few minutes. But no major tantrums, and no long nights of screaming for it. Good luck. I hope this helps a little.

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I.O.

answers from Phoenix on

R.
why does your child have more than one to begin with ?
at two years old my children did not even have one and did
not even have a bottle .was your child this addicted before you moved in with your boyfriend? and is your son the only one who has a pacifier? none of my children had a pacifier after the age of one ,as far as potty training how can you expect your son to move on to a big boy thing when he is still doing something baby's do,my kids are adults ,but i am now caring for my grandson he is 2, and we have started potty training also ,he has good days and bad ,but it is the adult who needs to point the child in the right direction not the child.

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