Advice for Getting Rid of a Pacifier

I didn't read thru all of the response so if this has already been said...just over look me :) I told my kids that the kids in heaven needed their pacifier and bottles because they didn't have any and they were happy to give them up. Took a day or two of adjusting but I kept reminding them of the babies in heaven and they were fine.

Hi. My son is 3. He also had a pacifier,but luckily detatched from it before he was a year old. He only used it when he was sick or really sleepy. One morning, we cut the nipple off all the way to the plastic piece, and when we gave it to him there was nothing for him to put in his mouth. I'll never forget it... he looked at it for a minute, put it back in his mouth, and then threw it across the room. But the trick is...do it to all the extras lying around.
Good luck!

The best way to get rid of a pacifier is to just stop giving it to him and throw it away. It will be hard to hear him fuss but if you are strong enough it will work.But whatever you do do not give it to him for anyreason.

This has worked well for us. Take your sons pacifier and let him help you put it in an envilope, tell him that you are mailing it to the other smaller babies that need it now that he is done, then let him help you put it in the mailbox, make a really big deal out of how nice he is being by donating his paci to other smaller babies that need it, now that he is a big boy.

My daughter was 3 by the time we got rid of it and only used it for naps and bedtime. Any time I tried to get her to agree to try a night without it, she would get so upset I'd give in. Finally we took a trip and I told her we'd left it at the hotel (and threw it away so I couldn't give in!). She was a little upset that night but not as much as I thought she'd be. Within a couple of days she didn't even ask about it. I wish I'd done it sooner. It may sound mean but I think cold turkey is the way to go.

J.,

I too agree about phasing. I think it is always best for both the parent and the child. I did have a friend who cut the tips off of all of her daughter's pacifiers and left them around the house. Whenever her daughter would find one and try to use it she would say, "Oh no, it broke." Then my friend would say, "That is right, what do we do with things that are broke? Throw them away.". Then she would have her daughter throw them away. It took about a week until all the pacifiers were gone. Then the next time she asked for one my friend would say, "Don't you remember they were broken and you threw them away." It worked like a charm for her and she too was 2.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Instead of telling your son a story about why you should get rid of it, just cut a hole in the end. It won't have the suction anymore and he will probably not like it anymore all on his own. Just don't let him know that you are doing it.

My girl was a little of 2 and we tried everything to get rid of her pacifier and then we cut the ends of the pacifiers off and she didn't like them anymore because she couldn't keep them in her mouth and they just didn't feel the same.

Why do you think you need to get rid of it? My son is 2 and he still wants his. I let him have it when he wants it. It doesn't hurt anything... when he's ready, he'll get rid of it. I think the whole getting rid of the pacifier thing is silly. I know the generation before us - like my in -laws - are always telling me to get rid of it.. but they can't give me a good reason... it's no big deal... just relax.
L.

I had this same problem with my child too. we were at the lake an I "accidently" dropped it in the water and told her a fish ate it. Another way is to tell them there is a very sad child who doent have one and it would be nice to give it to them because their smaller an more needy,one more for the road.give it to the passy fairy under your pillow at night an you'll get a surprise when you wake up.

We had already been talking about sending my sons pacifiers to Mickey Mouse who needed them for other babies. One time we couldn't find one and my son had to do without. (And he was a pacifier junky.) We told him we sent them to Mickey Mouse who then would give them to other new babies that need them. We later told him because Mickey Mouse recieved his pacifiers Mickey invited us to visit him at his house in Florida.
The first 2 night were HARD, but after that he was fine. It will be "9 months" before the new baby arrives, that's a life time to a child. He wont but the 2 together.
You obviously could use whatever character you would like or pacifier fairy. You could even back them up in a box and mail them to someone in the know. Then have that person send a card with a fun treat for sending the pacifiers.

Wow! You are all so creative! We took our daughter's pacifier away when she turned 1, so she wasn't quite as savvy as your 2 year old. We went cold turkey and just acted like we couldn't find it! Of course, she found one once, and we just told her it was dirty and threw it away. She wasn't too attached though. I love the idea about cutting them and having the child throw it away. Then, the kid actually takes part in getting rid of the pacifier. (doesn't seem like mommy and daddy are being mean and taking something away)

When my son was 2 1/2, he and his 1 1/2yr old brother gave theirs to Santa. Until this point, He used it all of the time and had to have one in his hand and one in his mouth at all times. He was definitely attached to them. We told him how Santa needed them, and if he wanted Santa to help him and give him a bunch of presents at Christmas, he needed to help Santa and give the baby elves and reindeer his pacifiers. When we went to see Santa, he had gone through the house and put all of his pacies in a little gift bag and handed them to Santa. His brother gave Santa the two he had, and we didn't have a single problem. A couple days after that we found 2 more, so we put them on the mantle to put with the cookies and milk for Santa. Neither one of the boys ever asked for a Paci after that. They would refuse to sleep before this, and I was concerened it wouldn't work, but for some reason, they did great afterwards. I had a friend try it last year, and it worked for her, too.

Btw, we tried nasty flavoring (he would spit on it and clean it until the taste was gone), puncturing them (he didn't care, he'd suck on it anyway), clipping them, throwing them away, bribing for them...everything in the book. My son just wanted us to buy more or find more somewhere else, and he didn't make it easy on us if we didn't do that. We even tried mailing them to grandma and an aunt far away, but I guess they weren't special enough. For some reason, this worked like a charm for him.

My son just turned two in July also and I am happy to say we are finally done with the pacifier. and trust me it was not easy. The thing that worked for us was a little trick called the "fighdie fairy". A fighdie is a pacifier for my son Asher. We explained to him in advance that he was a big boy and that the fighdie fairy was going to come one night while he was sleeping and take his fighdies, but in return leave him with a very special big boy present that babies weren't allowed to have.And then the fairy was going to save the fighties for his little baby brother or sister when they came along. I was nervous because my son is extremely stubborn and strong- willed. but fortunately it worked. It was a little rough for the first few days, but we kept reminding him that if he wanted his fightie back he couldn't have his big boy toy. It was a positive exchange!! hope this works for you. If you have any more question let me know!!

Hi J.,
I have a friend from church who did this with both of her boys. She cut the tip of the passy off, so whenever they went to suck it they couldn't. It didn't take her 2 boys long at all I don't think to get rid of their passy's. I hope this helps!

We did the "cutting the end off" and it worked wonderfully. My daughter gave it back to me and said "it broke" and walked away. I left it available for her, but she knew it was "broke" and didn't care for it anymore. Good Luck!

I have a dd 4 and a ds 15 mo. My daughter used one until she was 1 1/2 or so.I thought it would be difficult but I just told her one night when I couldn't find one that she was done with paci. SHe was fine and never asked for it after that. I was ready for a fight but got lucky! She was already in a twin bed by then, that may have helped. My son still uses one but I am thinking of getting rid of it soon. I would definitely get rid of itsa long before the baby comes for you. THat would only spell disaster. GOod luck!

B.

you could try letting your son get rid of the p. himself, like tying it to a balloon & letting it go, or maybe letting him pu it in the trash and watching the garbage man take it away, this way he knows it's gone and when he gets upset, he'll be open to new methods of appeasement
good luck

My daughter was 3 years old and still taking her passy. She LOVED her passy, and she would tell us so!
We threw away all of her passys except for one and slowly cut little holes in it. Everytime she asked for it, we would give it to her, but she didn't want it b/c it was "broken". She finally quit asking for it and was weaned from it within 2 weeks.
(I still have that old passy...guess I am sentimental>)

Good luck on baby #2!!

you can stop your 2 year old from getting jealous all you can do is cope them through it, but if i was you I would just while the child does not have the pacifer just throw it way. Yeah he will be mad let him know it time to be a big boy and that my is going to need your help with the baby make him feel like he is to big for baby stuff.

i've heard some parents use the Pacifier Fairy--leave it under the pillow and the fairy leaves a prize in the morning.

Hi!
I'm a speech-language pathologist and understand the problems with pacifiers. I'm advised a few of my students' parents to clip the pacifier and then return it to your child. The child will not like the pacifier. This should help with eliminating the pacifier. But, you have to only offer him pacifiers that have been clipped and not give in to any behavior that may cause you to give him a real pacifier. Good Luck and hope this helps, T.

I had trouble with my daughter. your trying at the right time of the year. tell your son that it's almost time for santa claus. and this year if he will go ahead and send santa all his passies for the other little babies, that santa will bring and leave him an extra present this year under the tree. that's how I done my daughter and she gave all her passies up.

Cold turkey, Jaime. I have two boys and both were addicts, the last worst than the first. I've heard of other couples saying "the dog ate it" (if you have a pet) I know it sounds crazy she is a dear friend and now her 2yr old says "doggie got it". If you go cold turkey the first couple of days will be rough but he will forget about it sooner than you will.

Good Luck!

Relax. How many adults do you see walking around with a pacifier. Just keep encouraging him that he is a big boy and big boys don't need their pacifier all the time. I have found with my three that if you take them off too early that they will try and suck their thumb. It is easier to get rid of a pacifier than it is to get rid of their thumb....ha ha. Try putting the pacifier up at nap and bedtime out of his sight until he asks for it. When he is upset try to soothe him in other ways before you give the pacifier back. It takes little steps for him to make that big step. Just know that he will give it up in his own time.

Hello!

I have twins, who were both very attached to the "foo foo" as we called them. For my daughter, they were like a security blanket. She rubbed her nose with one and sucked the other. My son did the same thing, just not as much. He was able to give his up the Easter before his 4th birthday. She...well...it was hit and miss. And you know what? She finally got rid of it. I think she finally quit rubbing her nose with it right before she turned five. My main rule was after they were three, it stays in the bed, long trips in the car, and occasionally during Mass. (church) We are a family always on the go...so this worked well for us. They didn't have it as much, and then they tapered off. I stressed over it at first, especially with pressure from family, but you know what? I didn't need to. They weren't going to keep it forever! And their teeth were fine. When they can go to sleep without stress and crying so hard it makes them sick, they are ready. In the long run, this is the least of your worries! I would let him decide. And who knows...maybe he will want to give it to the new baby! I'd worry about potty training first! LOL Hope this helps~Lee

Hi J.,
My daughter is 3 years old and we just stop giving her the pacifier 3 weeks ago. We told her that we have to give it away to another baby that didnt have one. So we did a bye bye session with her making her understand that she was a big girl and starting preschool so she couldnt keep taking a pacifier the way she did. Since this day no more pacifier, the first night without it was hard, she cry and ask for it and we just told her again about this baby who need it one and since them she never ask for it.
I hope that will work for you
A.

My daughter was two when she let her BOBO go. That was her name for the pacifier. She only wanted it when she didn't feel good or bed time. She finally saw a toy on tv that she wanted. I told her the only way to get it was to buy it with her pacifier. We went to the store and she bought it. It took a good two weeks for her to stop asking for it. But, everytime she did I reminded her that she sold it for a toy. It worked for me so maybe it will work for you. Good Luck!

I found it was much easier to take a safety pin, put a small whole on tip or at the base of all paci's when they suck on the nipple it will sink, and they will throw it down themselves, that away you are persay "being the bad mom". I advise you do this before the new baby comes, and so this doesnt affect any teeth your 2 yr old has.

I always got rid of the pacifier in phases. Since you have already done away with it except for going to bed and such, try taking it away at just naptime, then after he gets used to that take it away at bedtime. I always try to start the phases on the weekend so that my husband is here to help when the crying starts in the middle of the night. Good luck!!

we cut the end of my sons and eventually he just stoped useing them he will be 2 next month. just cut the tip off of them a little each week until there is nothing to suck on. one day he just didnt care about them anymore.

J.
I have a 3 yr old who had problems getting rid of the paci. We packed them all up & put them in a bag we told him it was a present for another baby who needed them. We got rid of his pacis when he was 11 months. But the first week he cried all night & day for the paci just dont give in, they soon forget about it.

When my oldest son was 2, I was expecting his little brother any day. I also wanted him to be rid of his pacifier before the baby came. I told him he was going to be a big boy now and when the baby comes he can give the baby his baby pacifier. I told him about all the things he could do and the baby can't do since he is a big boy now. He gave the baby his paci when he was born and never looked back. I just had to keep up telling him things like your a big boy and big boys get to use sippy cups and baby's have to use bottles. And big boys get to watch TV and babies can't watch TV yet. It helped him to not want to act like a baby and want to be a big boy.