From Pacifier to Thumb?

My first child was very addicted to the paci. We did the cutting down the tip every night but that didn't work. She would just hold it in her mouth with her hands even to the point of having no tip on it at all. Finally I just took them away and thought all was well. My children are 22 months apart. When the youngest came along and started using the paci I kept finding my older one with it. So I watched one night. She would wait till the baby was asleep and watch for it to drop then go and get it and use it til she fell asleep. So i decided to take it away from my youngest when she was 20 months. I took her to build a bear and let her have the paci till it was time to put it in the bear. She choose the long horn and we made a really big deal about its time to give the cow the paci and gave her two more sucks on it and then put it in. That night she asked for the paci and I told her the cow ate it and if she wanted to feel close to it then she could hold the cow.(which also played brahms lullaby) She told me "Bad CoW" and never asked for it again. Still to this day the cow sits by her crib (she is almost 3) and every once in a while I hear "bad cow" come from her room but she has never had a paci since. Also, once you do take it away throw away any other paci's in the house as it is more of a comfort for you when the child is yelling for one. that way you are not tempted.

A. P.,
Just an idea... You could tell your son that Santa needs his pacifier to take to another little boy who needs it. Set it up like he is doing a good deed adn that he is a big boy. Then Christmas night sneek it away from him.
Good Luck!

I waited with both my boys until they were ready to give up the paci and the transition was easy. Nor did they begin to suck their thumb(I did for 5 years with absolutely no problems). My oldest was 4 and my youngest was just 2. Don't be in such a hurry if he still needs it as a comfort object. Just keep giving it to him at nap and bedtime or you could upset his sleeping. My oldest son is very routined, too, and any change in routine takes longer and needs more patience and time. Trust me, if you try to go too fast it will backfire. I guarantee he won't go to high school with it, so just look for signs that he may be losing interest or that he is mature enough to understand that it is time to give it up and then get rid of it. Don't stress about something small, just enjoy him while he's little! Happy holidays!

we started limiting the pacifier at nap and night with our first. then she started not needing at nap; then one day i didn't offer it to her at night and she slept fine. this was all aroung 18 months. then i had my second right around that same time and i was concerned that she would would want it back. it was never a problem - she never went back or sucked her thumb. my youngest is now almost 17 months; so i guess we will be going through this again in another month or so! good luck!

My first child was a pacifier addict - we took it away later than intended - about age 2. The paci fairy came and took it - cold turkey - and she didn't miss it - she never asked for it. She never sucked her thumb.

My second child was a thumb sucker from birth - he is now nearly 11 and STILL sucks his thumb!!

My third child never took either a paci or her thumb (or a bottle for that matter).

I think 19 months is a good age - he will probably cry some - but he will be just fine. Does he have any other love object to sleep with?? A special blanket or stuffy???

My oldest daughter was a pacifier kid. I didn't think we would ever wean her from it. Her ped did tell me not to worry, as long as we had it done by age 2. She didn't recommend that we let it go beyond that age.

Coincidentally, she bit through the end of her paci one day at the sitter's. I told her the paci's were "broke" and cut the tip off of a couple more and put them in the cabinet where we kept them. If she asked for one and we pulled one out, it was "broke" and she let it go and didn't push the issue. The one or two times she did take it anyway, she got rid of it quick because she didn't like sucking air. After about 2 weeks, she quit asking. She did not start sucking her thumb.

It's different for every child. You're his mom, you know his personality, and y'all will find the way that works for him (and you). Good luck!

Hi Anne,
I let mine keep his paci until he was through teething at age 3. He would suck his thumb every time I tried to take the paci away. We decided it would be easier to break him from the paci than the thumb. When I did take it away we went cold turkey. Cutting the tip only made him suck his thumb.One night of crying for about 15 mins and it was over. He's never resorted back to the thumb Dentist are really not concerned until about 5 years old. As for changing the routine, I wouldn't do it since it's already stressful without the paci. Not all kids go to the fingers when taking the paci away. Most do not.
Best Regards,
C.

My fist son started sucking his finger when we took the paci away at 18 months and sucked his finger until he was four. The only thing that stopped him was he broke his arm and couldn't get his finger in his mouth right with a cast.

with my 3rd son we took the paci at 2 yrs old thinking he was plenty old.... after 3 months of being paci free he began sucking his finger. He is nearly 4 and we can't get him to stop. We have used the gloves, finger splints, band aids. no luck.

If you think he will start sucking his thumb... keep the paci.
Just my opinion. No Dr would agree with me. lol

A.,

We planned on cutting down our pacifier. Our son was an addict too.We planned on letting him use it until his second birthday. However, fate intervened. When he was about 21 months old, we went out of town. I forgot extra pacifiers. He only had the one in his mouth. I told him that I forgot extras, so he had to take good care of the one he had. What do you know, we were sitting on the balcony of the hotel pretending to eat pizza. His pacifier flew out of his mouth onto the two-story restaurant below. When he asked for his paci I walked him to the balcony and we waved at it. I couldn't get it. He would say that he missed it, but never cried.

Back home, he raced for a paci but I explained that he had gone without it for 5 days. He had gone through the tough part, it was time to give it up. If he started using it, he would have to give it up all over again soon. For about a year he would occasionally say, "I miss my paci." I would give him a hug and say, "I know, but you are growing up. Look how big you are. You can ... now."

Good luck. And if heavenly intervention occurs, take advantage of it. ; - )

Jen
PS No thumb

My son was an addict also, so we were very worried about getting rid of the paci. We clipped the smallest little bit off the end and gave it to him and played it off when he put it in his mouth. He handed it back like something was wrong, but we shook our heads and looked at him like "I do not know what you are talking about." He tried it again and then took it out and looked at it. It was his choice not to use it, but we never took it away. He held it in his hand for a few nights and that was it. It was so simple. I told a friend and she said that would never work with her son because he loved his paci so much that he would cry and beg for another one. It worked for her too! Since they never took it away and never saw a problem with the paci, it just seemed to the child that he did not like it anymore and he chose not to use it. I hope this helps!