How did you get rid of the pacifier?

DD is almost 26 months and ADDICTED to her pacifier. I want to get rid of it before I start potty training.

so my question is HOW?! I've been debating cold turkey and cut the tip. I don't think "binky fairy" will work with her. I tried telling her we're going to give them to her new cousin but he/she isn't going to be here until September and I don't want to wait that long.

Any tips, advice, stories?

TIA

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

We cut the tip. It was rough going at first but eventually he refused the cut pacifier and was fine.

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

DS only used it in his crib/bed. He did not walk around with it and knew that if he wanted it, he had to lie down as it was only for when he was napping or sleeping.

I did not take it away... when he was around 4 he just stopped using it.

He is almost 12 now... and NO dental problems at all and does NOT need braces

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

DD was only allowed to use it for bed and nap time.

I was going to try cutting the tip but she ended up breaking part of the tip off her self and didn't care. the binkies we use are the ones with the stuff animals on it so one day I cut the whole binky off and told her our dog did it. she told him no esco (our dogs name) and that was it I let her keep the stuffed animal part (and at 4 she still has it) and calls it her binky.

now I have to start prepping my DS for it and I have a feeling he is going to be harder.

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

i didnt stress about it. i knew he wouldn't go to college with it. plus i was divorced and i wanted to let him keep whatever kept him comfortable.

it wasnt until he was 3.5 years old we went to visit my friend and his 2 year old quads. i told Ian for a week we're going to visit the babies and before that i planted the seed that binkies are for babies and he's a big boy now. so when we were ready to leave he said hes a big boy and wanted to give his binkie to the babies. the minute we got there he handed it over to my friend (which i quickly grabbed back just in case). he never asked for it again.

we did start with like 100 binkies in the crib and when he started losing them i didn't replace them. so by the time he gave it up we only had one left and i told him the whole time if he loses it hes not getting another one.

i think its important to wait until they're ready. as long as their speech and teeth aren't affected i don't see the point in taking it from them too soon.

How did you get rid of the pacifier?

We had the Easter bunny take it and bring him a toy he really wanted. It was tough the first few days/nights, but he got over it. He was 3.5 and has no speech or tooth issues because of it.

How did you get rid of the pacifier?

DS was 2 1/2 when I finally decided to try and cut the tip off of the binky. By this point he only used it to sleep. Once he realized it was "broken" we just kept repeating "uh oh, it's broken. we can't fix it". I thought he was going to give me a really hard time. But I would just hear him on the monitor talking to himself for a little bit "oh no, it's broken" and then he just fell asleep! He slept with it, just holding it, for another week or so and that was it.

If she still uses it a lot during the day when she's not napping/sleeping then I would try and limit it to naps/sleeping first. The rule I had for DS was when he wanted to come out of the crib, he had to give me the paci first. GL! I know it's stressful worrying how they will react but I found it was easier than I thought it would be, by far.

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

I think DS was just a couple of weeks shy of his 2nd birthday. His palate was narrowing & it was time.
We were planning on going cold turkey around his 2nd birthday, but the pacifiers had other plans. Every one we had had small enough holes that we had no choice but to start that moment.

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

I answered other. DS gave it up on his own.
I was stressing for months on how to take it away. I tried a few times cold turkey but it didn't work out. I told him that they're for babies and he's a big boy so he doesn't need it anymore. One day before nap he threw it out of his crib and said no more, and that was the end of it.
I think it was a mix of me talking about it and him just being done with it. He was a little over 2 at the time.

How did you get rid of the pacifier?

We did the binky fairy. It was about a month after her 3rd birthday and she was using it all the time. It was driving me nuts. So I made the decision to take it away cold turkey. When DD woke up one morning there was a present from the binky fairy with a note attached. We explained that the binky fairy came and took the binkies because all the new babies needed them and DD wasn't a baby anymore. The first night wasn't bad at all. She barely cried. The second night she cried a lot but still wasn't that bad. By the 3rd night there was no more crying, just a lot of questions about those new babies that took her binkies!! LOL. Honestly, it's the best thing I ever did. I wish I had done it sooner!

How did you get rid of the pacifier?

My sister told my niece that Santa was going to trade her binkys in for presents. Christmas came and that was the end of it. Maybe you can do this with the easter bunny or a binky fairy or something.

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

I cut the too and told her it was broken. She threw them all in trash and that was the end of it!

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

Had DS throw his last one away in the garbage. He never looked back.

To this day, this is the only thing that successfully worked the first time with him.

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

First I weaned him down to just sleeping/naps. Then - as he chewed holes in them - I made it clear how many binkies we had. I think we had 4. As he chewed a hole, it would be thrown in the garbage. He understood that as he chewed the last one, it meant no more binkies.

He was probably a few months older - - so he got the logic of it.

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

#1- the binky fairy worked perfectly and was no issue at 2 1/2 years old.

#2- He was tricky. We talked up the binky fairy for months and he wasn't sold on it. I cut the tip- no good. Finally we got him to give it up for the binky fairy (who left him a new present) and he did it. However for the next 4 nights, it involved some crying at bedtime and a few wakeups during the night. He just turned 3.

Message edited 3/3/2015 8:35:02 PM.

How did you get rid of the pacifier?

Thanks for the answers everyone! I know that I need to just do it, but she loves it so much!!

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

We actually JUST got rid of it...DS is 3.5 We took him to the dentist, and the dentist told him that his tooth would "fall out" if he kept using the paci (his tooth is actually affected by his paci use). That was ALL it took! I couldn't believe it. I mean, he was addicted! I guess he was just so frightened of "loosing" his tooth!

How did you get rid of the pacifier?

Ds was addicted- he had it all day long. And he was 3 years old. We were in Vermont over Christmas at my moms. Her puppy chewed the only binky I brought with us. I decided it was a good opportunity to get rid of it, so I didn't buy a new one. He cried a little bit...then he got over it. it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. When we got home he asked for it again but I was strong and didn't give it to him. It's been 3 months now binky-free!

How did you get rid of the pacifier?

DD was 25 months. She was addicted! Almost every picture I have of her before she turned 2 has a binky in it! Obsessed. She used to hide them all over the house, in her pockets, everywhere!
I had been trying to only use it for naps and sleeping- but DH would always feel bad and give in.
So, one weekend, I went to PA to visit family with DD and DH did not come. She was busy playing with her cousins all weekend and I whenever she'd mention her binky, I'd say- "I don't know where it is. I think we left it home" and get her cousins to distract her. We went the whole weekend without it and she was pretty good. Once we got back home after a day or two, she would ask/whine for it, but I just kept saying we didn't have any & it was okay, she's a big girl, it's for babies.

She found one a week later and said "uh oh Mommy! Babies!" and I said "ewww, that's for babies, let's throw it out!" and she ran to trash can and threw it out and was so proud of heself. I had been dreading it, but it worked out well.

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

My boys were a bit older when we got rid of it.
DS#1 - we put maple syrup on it and it got to sticky. He asked us to clean it but it just wouldn't come off so he threw it in the garbage and never looked back

DS#2 - we had baby #3 on the way and I said when the baby comes your paci is over with. The morning before I went into labor he threw it in the garbage. He never looked back and didn't take the baby's paci either.

Good Luck

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

We started by not allowing DS to have it during the day. Then he lost it and we just never replaced it. It was a rough first couple of nights but he was fine after that.

How did you get rid of the pacifier?

My son was just about 3yrs & we used the binky fairy. It took a few tough nights but not as bad as I thought. He also only had at bedtime so that made it easier.

How did you get rid of the pacifier?

We went to the Dentist and he told her the pacifier will make her teeth sick and she couldn't use it anymore. We went right home after the appointment and she threw them away LOL I guess we got lucky. She was a little over 2

Re: How did you get rid of the pacifier?

DD 2 was addicted
I first cut back to just naps and sleeping
Then - as each one got old I just threw them out until there was one left
The last one got a hole in it so I ripped the whole thing off and just handed her the handle part - she said it was broken and then we threw it out
She asked for it and I just reminded her it was broken, we threw it out and the store had no more pacifiers
It took a bit but she got the hang of it