Can you tell early on if the pacifier is going to be an addiction/problem?

I'm scared to death of DD getting a pacifier addiction that we have to eventually break.

She's 8 months old and we currently use it for naps.. and if she's upset in public as a shushing device , or just as a way to soothe her. While sleeping, she also sucks her thumb and uses the paci and thumb interchangably.

However..

.. at 7 months she started to learn how to put it back in herself.. and I have some in the crib. The good news is, she'll find it, pop one in, and it will create longer sleep. (napping, overnight, etc.) the bad news is, she LOVES it! Am I creating a monster? she doesn't necessarily NEED it, but it makes her so happy.

Is there any kind of indication I can see now that is a warning side? Anything I can do to prevent a beast?

Re: Can you tell early on if the pacifier is going to be an addiction/problem?

if she likes her thumb too - i would push the pacifier- easier to take away then the thumb

each kid is different - i pushed my son toward the pacifier from 4-10 months and away from his thumb and he gave the pacifier up when he was sick at 10 months

Re: Can you tell early on if the pacifier is going to be an addiction/problem?

You're describing exactly how DS used it at that age.
At 12m we took it away cold turkey. A bit of whining and that was the end of that.

I never let DS suck his thumb. He didn't like the pacifier, I kept pushing, he finally took it around 3m, when he started teething. Its been a teething remedy since.

Now the hardest part is dealing with older kids at the playground that are running around with them, and having to explain to him why he can't have one.

Re: Can you tell early on if the pacifier is going to be an addiction/problem?

DD is/was an ADDICT! Has been since early on. LOVES it! I think I created the monster because like you I would give it ALL THE TIME to soothe her or shush her in public!
You can she is an addict because she will have one in each hand and alternate them in her mouth
There are literally 5 in her crib at all times, just makes for a better nights sleep for me!
She is almost 16 months and we just limited it to only bedtime and naps. BUT She says "I want my binky" now!!!


Dont know how it will go when I have to take it away for good but she has time still!

Re: Can you tell early on if the pacifier is going to be an addiction/problem?

DD was 11 mos yesterday and as soon as I work up the courage, we're going cold turkey with it because she is definitely becoming a little addict (my "sign" is that she'll steal another baby's right out of their mouth to put it in hers ). I'm hoping to do it by the end of the month since she's going off the bottle next month but I'm scared, less so for sleep, more so for the whiny period between coming home from work and eating dinner. The noise she makes around that time is like nails on a chalkboard!

Re: Can you tell early on if the pacifier is going to be an addiction/problem?

DD would still be on the paci today (3 years old) if we hadn't taken it away (painfully) last fall. Every time she sees a picture of herself with a paci she has to comment on it... thinking back, I could absolutely tell she was going to be a paci addict. I wouldn't leave the house without one attached to her clothes and 2 thrown in my bag.

DS is not a paci addict. I have like 5 in my diaper bag at all times because I NEVER take them out. I don't give him one to sleep and I don't attach them to his clothes anymore. He's never been that into it and based on how painful it was (for me and DH too) to get DD off of it, we never encouraged him to take one after he was a newborn.

Re: Can you tell early on if the pacifier is going to be an addiction/problem?

Re: Can you tell early on if the pacifier is going to be an addiction/problem?

Both DC were hard-core paci users. However, they both went through detox really easily. DS just gave it up on his own one day. DD we had to take them away, but she didn't really complain.

It's hard to tell which DC will be addicts based on current usage.

Re: Can you tell early on if the pacifier is going to be an addiction/problem?

I so worry about this too. DS is so young but loves his paci so much. I am very against giving kids pacifiers, but when he has his poop issues and he's screaming so loud and he;s not breathing... and now he loves it so much. Goes to sleep quickly when he has it. We are trying to not give it to him as much and have him go to sleep without it. But I admit that I give it to him more than i should. this kid just loves to suck and he's happier and calmer sucking it.

Re: Can you tell early on if the pacifier is going to be an addiction/problem?

I dont think u can tell how it will go when u help break the habit. We just took the binky away from my 2yr old daughter who used for naps and at bedtime. I thought it was going to be a disaster and it was so painless for all of us. I wanted to do it earlier but always had an excuse but luckily it wasnt bad at all. We told her the easter bunny was taking to give to babies who need it. Think i got the idea on here and it worked like a charm. Dont stress over it too much, it will all work out in the end!