Getting Rid of Pacifiers

I wonder if this a product that they sell to stop thumb sucking can work for that too. There is a product where you put in on the childs thumb and when they put it in their mouths they get a bad taste. It's worth a look maybe to see if you can put it on a pacifier. thanks ---Pat

I have heard that cutting the tip off with scissors makes them stop using it, because it doesnt feel the same in their mouth when they suck.
Hope this helps

I would never rub anything on it....I have never been able to bring myself to do that to my kids,,,,yuck!
My middle daughter was very attached to her pacifier. Then I started to cut little by little of the rubber part away. After about week 2 she had no intrest in it becaues she could't latch on to what was lefted, After that I threw all of them away...good luck!

I know you've had a lot of responses but I thought I would just tell you that I'm going through the same thing. My son is 14 months and we are gradually weaning him off it. He still has it for naps and bedtime. I collect all the pacifiers and put them in a basket and put them out of site for him. As long as he doesn't see them, he doesn't care. We figured we'd wait just a bit longer than 12 months because he was giving up his bottle and we didn't want him to lose too much at once. It sounds like your daughter is more than one year old. I wouldn't just take it away from her. If she puts it down or it falls from her mouth, sneak it away rather than just take it. As long as she's not thinking about it, she won't notice it's gone. It may even call for sneaking into her room early in the morning and taking it from her (if she's like my son, it's fallen from her mouth not long after she falls asleep) so when she wakes up, it's not something she will put back into her mouth. As far as the few comments questioning why you are trying to take it from her, I don't see a problem with weaning right now. If she is 16 months old, she's approaching an age where she doesn't need it anymore. And it's difficult for them to talk with a pacifier in their mouths. Just keep strong and keep explaining to her that she's a big girl and doesn't need it during the day. Good luck

Thankfully I have never had this problem with my own boys, but I did when I worked in a daycare. I remember one mom said that the only way that worked for her, was to cut the pacifer. She cut the tip off, so that when he son went to go suck on it, it didn't feel the same. After a few days he just gave up. Sorry I couldn't be more of a help. Good luck.

My oldest son was really attached to his pacifier, too, and we finally ended up putting them all in the garbage. It may take 2 or 3 days of fussing from your baby (each day gets a little easier). But without you having a pacifier to give her as a crutch, you have no choice but to deal with the fussiness. You'll be so glad you did, both for the sake of not having to find a pacifier all the time AND for the sake of your child's teeth. You'll probably have a night or two of crying herself to sleep, but it is so worth it. Good luck!!

A one year old's system isn't prepared for Tobasco sauce....YIKES! What is so wrong with your baby using a pacifier?? If she is still using it in a year, then maybe I'd be concerned about it pushing her teeth forward, but for now, sucking is a very natural instinct in babies. Next year, you could try cutting the tip off the pacifier...it makes it flat and harder to suck...she may be ready to give it up then. Sounds like she really needs it now.

Ok this is what I have heard and experianced. I have two children and am also a dental assistant for orthodontics. My oldest had her pacifier until she was four it took a nuk fairy to come and give her a gilft in the middle of the night. Now four is old to have a pacifier I had a hard time getting rid of it with her. My son is now 21 months and we just recently got rid of the nuk. We started to only give it to him in the car and when he took a nap or went to bed at around one. One day a couple of weeks ago we lost the last one. I told him that it was all gone and there weren't anymore. We did have a hard few days not screaming but just him being sad that it was gone. If he would have not been able to sleep or anything I most likely would have went and bought him another one. Every kid is different and some need it more than others. It shouldn't cause permament damage to her teeth until after the age of three. I also read some where that it is best to get rid of the pacifier and bottle at the same time which is usally around 9-10 months. But if you your child is having a hard time getting rid of it not to make them until the age of two because the child may then decide to suck the thumb which is a harder habit to break. Then I would suggest maybe tell your daughter that when she turns two no more pacifier she is a big girl and make it a huge deal. You can also have something she want and give it to her once she has thrown the pacifier away. There are so many different ways to deal with this. I wouldn't use any thing on the pacifier I don't think it works either.

My 3 year old still has hers. We have been discussing the 'Ploopy Fairy' as her sister just lost a couple teeth and we have had visits from the Tooth Fairy. She is still a little scared. I need to find something she Really wants for the Fairy to leave.

Hi A.~

I'm not sure how dependent your daughter is on her pacifier. Yikes.....no tabasco!!

My son, Austin, had his pacifier until he was 39 months. My son wanted his ALL the time. I started cutting back the amount of pacifiers around the house, because he had several. I threw them all away except for 2. Then, he couldn't have it away from the house, then only at nap and bedtime. I started telling him about the "Nee Nee Fairy", who comes and takes the Nee Nee's (pacifiers) and leaves presents. We had a special box for it and left it out for the Nee Nee Fairy. We had a few times when we left out the box and then he changed his mind. He wasn't ready to give it up yet.... Finally, one night, Nee Nee came and left presents. Little toys, big boy underwear, snacks, etc. Yes she is going to cry/whine, but she'll do just fine. Be consistent and good luck!!!! :)

J.

my daughter only had a nuk till a week after she turned a yr, and at that point she only had the nuk at bedtime. we had lost her last nuk and she didnt even realize it was gone till the third day and she got mad but with in a day or to was fine. my son seems to be more of a nuk baby.but then again hes still teething.

I waited until my daughter's 3rd birthday and then took her to Walmart and let her pick out any Barbie she wanted but she had to pay for it with her pluggie. There were a couple silent tears on the way home but I just reminded her of her ner Barbie and she smiled and it was over. Simple as pie.
I also had told her at the age of 2 that she could only have it at bedtime and naptime and that worked great too.
I, personally, wouldn't take it away from a 1 year old.
They are learning seperation right now and the pluggie is something for security. Just my 2 cents.
I do think that for this age the cutting off the end technique would work great.
Good luck,
J.

My oldest used a pacifier til he was about a year abd a half. I worked for a woman from church at her in home daycare, and there was this one girl who was about three. She still had a pacifier and constantly drooled on her shirt. The front was always wet. Plus it was always in her mouth, so she wasnt up to par on her speech developement, always trying to talk around it. I decided I didnt want that for my son. There was a photo above his crib. I took down the photo, and hung the pacifier on the nail there. I told him he could only have it to go to sleep, then after a few weeks he could only have it at bed time. After about a month I would put him in bed, and it would just hang on the nail. He stopped asking for it., no bribery involved.

She might be a little young, but I used bribery for one of mine. I told him if he went a week with no pacifier he would get an extra special present. After the week he aked for his pacifier once and I told him if he wants it then I get his present. No fuss. However, he was 3 at the time and able to reason.

Why are you trying to get rid of it at such a young age? I recommend letting her keep it since it is important for children to have some type of self comforting method. Relax and then if she doesn't give it up on her own by the time she is around 3 years old then there are some ways that you can encourage her to give it up.

When my son was just about 3 yo we did the Binky Fairy. He collected all his pacis and we put them in a tree. The Binky Fairy took them to "give to the little babies" and my son received a present in the tree the next morn. He missed the pacis for a couple weeks but I always gave him the chance to undo the trade...he could give back the present and the fairy would return his pacis, but he never took me up on it.

BTW, I find it so funny that everyone is saying to not let your kid start with a pacifier because it is so hard to break the habit. Obviously those people have never had a kid who sucked their thumb. Way harder to break that habit because you can't exactly remove their thumb can you?!

People tend to get very uptight about pacifiers and I haven't figured out why. Orthodontic pacifier cause very little problems with teeth or jaw alignment unless your kid is sucking it continuously and continues long past the age of three. Most orthodontic problems are genetic and very little to do with anything else unless there was extreme behavior.

Try having the "Nooky Fairy" come to your house one night- we talked about the Nooky Fairy coming and that the fairy always brings a special gift for the child who puts his nookies under his pillow....we told him the nookies get passed on to other little babies, but now that he is a big boy he doesn't need them. We put the nookies under his pillow one night and replaced with a special Thomas the Train surprise and he was thrilled. He has never asked for a nook since- amazing. Our daughter was a little different and it took her awhile to get over it, but she did.....so hang in there!

I have heard that cutting the tip of the paci everyday until there is nothing left works very well! Good luck!

My sister cut the tip off so it wasn't squishy anymore. Her daughter didn't like the feel of that and eventually gave it up. Good luck :)

Our pedi suggested getting rid of the paci by age 18 months. DD is almost 17 months and we have no intention of getting rid of it. We have limited it to nap time and bedtime (and extreme emotional times). I'm not sure why you feel you need to get rid of it all together?

At this age, they need the sucking, the comfort and if she's teething, something to bite on. I have heard that cutting the tip off does work.

My intention is to continue to limit the NUK use to bed and nap time and when she understand the NUK Fairy, the fairy will come and the NUKS will be gone.

I agree with the others - wait a while. I tried so hard to get my kids to take a pacifier and they wouldn't. I was so envious of the mommies who could just pop in the pacifier and voila - no more fussy baby. I think 2 or a little later is a good time to start weaning...my friend just let her little boy have it at night and at nap after he was one and a half and he was done with it at a little over 2. good luck!

Hi!
We got rid of the Pacifier when my girl was 2 1/2. We had slowly taken the Pacifier away during the day and we were only using it at night when we finally got rid of it all together. 1 yr. might be a little to young for what we did. We tied her "paci" to the tree in the back yard for the pacifier princess to come and get. The princess then leaves a gift for her gift of the pacifier. It worked great!! We talked about it a lot before we did this so she was prepared. I had tried several other things prior that just didn't work. Good luck!

To be blunt, if you're going to give in don't take it away from her in the first place. Neither of you need that kind of stress for no reason.

My daughter used her pacifier up until she was two. I had told her that now that she was two she wouldn't need it anymore, and she up-and-threw-it in the trash can! The next time she asked for it I got off easy, I told her she didn't need it anymore, and reminded her she threw it away. She shrugged, said OK, and never used one again. Keep in mind, she was two, and no longer needed to fulfill her sucking need. The issue of doctors advising moms to take babies off bottles/pacifiers at the age of one makes me shake my head. Babies need to suck.

Hi A.,
I am not sure if you plan on having any more children but the advice I give you will help you stop ANY habit they might ever have one. By the age of 11 months, they need to be off pacifiers, sleepy blankets, pacifiers and sucking thumbs. If you allow it to go past the 11 month point, it's harder to break them of it.

OK, you need to do this: Take EVERY pacifier there is in your house and throw them away. Don't look back. She will cry, throw fits, whatever but it will soon end and she will forget about it. Be sure to have a sippy cup of water to offer her instead. If she doesn't like it, just deal with it. It's for her own good that you don't give in. It grows their teeth outward and disaligns their jaw for future perminent teeth.(causing buck teeth and an overbite) You will have an expensive orthodontist bill later if you don't. Think of all the less talking she's doing because she's got that thing stuck in her mouth. It's time to grow up and be a big girl and one of them is losing the pacifier. Think of it this way, it's not like you are hitting her or causing her harm, which by the way, be sure not to lose your cool. Stay calm and try to not soothe her too much or she will just start all over again.

Good Luck!
J. N

My daughter and her pacifier were joined at the mouth!!! I had trouble even getting her to take it out of her mouth to eat on occasion. What I did was start to cut the nipple off...start at the tip and every week slowly cut more off, it only took about 4 weeks to get her "binkie" gone.

If you just want to take it away, and be done, don't take it from her when she is using it...wait until she's left it behind when playing or sleeping, then just simply have it gone when she wakes up...if you do it this way MAKE SURE you don't have any more anywhere she can find them!!!

Hi A.-

Both of my kids used pacifiers, and both gave them up on their own. My son loved his "nuk" and sucked it every night at bedtime and for naps til he was 2 1/2. One day I realized that he wasn't asking for it anymore, so I just didn't give it to him for a few days. He didn't notice that I hadn't given it to him for about a week, so I had him watch as I threw them away. I told him they were for babies; he was a big boy...end of story. My daughter gave hers up around 9 months...just lost interest.

I wouldn't stress about it...your daughter won't be sucking her pacifier forever. If you really want to get rid of it, I've known people who have cut the tips off so that the child doesn't want to suck it anymore. They have slowly cut a little bit more off every other day until there wasn't anything left to suck. This would have made my son very angry. :) I also have a friend who packed up all of the pacifiers in a plastic baggie and had her child bring them to another friend's new baby. You might also try having the "nuk fairy" come and bring a present in exchange for your daughter leaving her pacifier out at night, although she may be too young this. Seriously though, she'll probably just give it up in time. Good luck!

-L.

Cut the tip of the paci off. Also, is she used to using only one kind/variety or brand? If so, go out and buy one that is different, my son will not use any other kind than the one he has been using since birth. My son is starting to ween himself from it, its kind of funny, but he walks around with it with his thumb through the ring of it and sucks on it when he "needs" to. We only give it to him now around bed/nap time.

i have had 4 kids. two of them like there thumbs and pacifiers. the other two i did not allow pacifiers because i hated them with the first two. taking the pacifier will be hard but maybe find some thing else to comfort them. maybe get a bottle with cold water maybe she just needs a drink. the taste of formula or breast milk would make me need a drink.
this is a hard one.

Hi - my daughter will be 15 next month and she was addicted to the pacifier for three years before I found something that worked. I simply cut the tip off of the thing (and all that I could find) and she didn't like the way it worked after that. Simple and hardly any fussing.

Just be sure to keep her away from any complete ones - and the store for a few weeks after this treatment!

All I really know to say is good luck with whatever approach you choose to use. I did not give my kids pacifiers just because of the overwhelming act of taking them away...so I do not have any great plans of attatck for you. I do have to say that I read some great advice and will be passing them on to my daughter who is having our first grandchild next month. She has already purchased pacifiers. What I will tell you is to stay strong and whatever method you choose...stick to it! Yes...your baby will cry but they will also stop crying if you don't give in. This applies to any changes you want to make in your childs behaviors or habits. Don't give in or they will just push harder and harder cuz they know you will break. Good luck. God bless.

Sounds like your girl is only a bit over one. Why does she need to get rid of it? My oldest wouldn't take one so I didn't have to worry about him but I got to experience the whole pacifier thing with my second. I didn't even try to take it until he was in his twos. We started making it unavailable during the day/awake hours so he just had it at nap and night time. Then we took it from nap time. We just couldn't find it sometimes. Then we started telling him that when he was three he would be too big for a pacifier. We lost them more and more. Weening seemed to really work for him. I worried about his teeth because they stuck out from the pacifier. I took him to the dentist and he said that in a couple of months his teeth would be normal. They were! Good luck with however you choose to do it.

M.

Hi A.,

I had two kids that used pacificers and I used the same trick with both and it seemed to work. I think with my daughter she was about 15 months and my son was 17 (I just couldn't remember since 3 years difference between the two...) At any rate, I simply trimmed the end of the pacificer a little at a time. For my daughter it took just about a weekend to put closure to the use. For my son, it was probably shorter because he was already out of the habit with naps at daycare.

I also started with only letting them use it in bed. So when I got them up for their crib, I took the pacificer and dropped it in the bed. They got so use to it that all I had to say was "put it in the bed" and they knew to pull it out and leave it in the crib. I think this also helped since it already established a special time and place for the use of the pacificer, rather than having them carry it all around the house.

I also planned for a weekend when the limited sleep would be ok.

Don't trim the whole pacificer, just a little at a time. Depending on how often you child used the pacificer may determine how long it may take. If she uses all the time (outside of bed), start perhaps with limiting the use to jus the bed and work up to trimming it.

Hope this helps - good luck
S.

Why are you getting rid of it? If she's only one, she doesn't uderstand why you're taking it away. At this point in her life, she needs comfort more than a lesson. If you're worried about her teeth, cut back on it. Maybe just allow it at nap and bedtime or when she's feeling blue. My son had one until he was three, he eventually only needed it when he went to bed and his teeth are fine. He's 7.

A.,
Your daughter is still so young and needs the comfort of sucking. This is probably why you are having trouble, in my opinion. If you really want to get rid of it now try to transition it. Only let her have it at nap time and bedtime. Neither of my children used a pacifier but my friend does daycare and when kids come to her house who use pacifiers she only lets them have it when they are in the crib for naps. My son just turned one on 10/23 so I know what you are going through when you say she can scream for hours no problem, isn't it funny sometimes when you try to divert their attention to something else but they are so persistent on what they want? Just remember that her crying is communication to you for what her needs are. It sounds like you are doing a good job, maybe just assess the situation and see if taking her pacifier away right now is really important for you and if it is then she will just have to cry it out. Be consistent and don't break though, because if you do it will just make it that much more difficult for you.
Good Luck and hang in there
B.
SAHM Hannah age 5 Sam age 16 months

What's the rush? When she's ready to give it up she will. Right now she doesn't understand why she would need to give it up? My son used a pacifier for naps and bedtime until he was 3. Then one day he just decided that he was a big kid and didn't need it anymore. He is fine and gave it up with feeling like something was taken away from him. Kids like to be able to have control over something, because they have control over so little in their lives. Best of luck. Just give her time.

Hi A.,
My daughter had her nuk til she was just over 2 and she got a visit from the nuk fairy. We talked about it a little each day til the big night came. She put her nuk under her pillow at bedtime and then when she woke up in the morning there was a little big girl surprise for her for giving it up! She was so proud and excited!
With my son we just slowly weaned him off it a little bit at a time. Not giving it at the times he expected it. It's a little rougher that way and boy can they scream forever when they want it! I wouldn't stress about it til she's at least two. Maybe just start cutting back now if you're worried but don't take it completely away yet.
Hope this helps!!

I wouldnt be all that concerned right now about it I would maybe limit the time that she has it. Keep it just in bed or in the car ride. Then down the road when that works and she gets used to that we did the , gather the plugs and put them in a bag tied them in a tree and said the plug fairy was coming to get them and we told my daughter they were going to kids that needed them and had my husband take them from the tree and throw them away in the morning. We did leave a gift hanging in the tree, as a way to say thank you from the tree fairy. It really worked and when she would ask for them back we would remind her were they went. Good luck

A.-
Is there any particular reason you are trying to rid her of her pacifier?

I know this can be very hard for you as the mom and you don't want to listen to it (it makes you feel so bad), but I found that it's going to happen that way. Their just going to cry over it.... My son was so bad with it. I finally took it away when he turned two. I tryed cutting the end off, putting bad flavor on it, and still wouldn't give it up. reasoning with him was dumb and I just one day decieded the only way to do this was to take them all and toss them in the trash (without him seeing). Tell her shes a big girl now and you had to bring them to another girl who needed them..or something you think will work for her. I also seen on t.v. that one family tied the nukkis to balloons and they sent them to heaven. Anyway The first few days are heart wrenching but after a bad week...No more nukki and all will be better. She won't hate you for it. If it helps ... let her pick out a stuffed animal or something she can be attached to instead. My son has a puppy animal he sleeps with now. I hope this helped....good luck!

hey id let her keep it a little while.she seems to need it still.its comforting to her so i dont think itll hurt to let her have it still.as long as its not a bottle cuz those can rot the teeth.:)

I would wait til she's 15-18mos. old and start only having it at certain times nap time etc. Then gradually take it away or go cold turkey. So YOU don't give in I'd throw them away too. I had a real hard time getting rid of the bottle and until I threw them away I found myself just giving in. It takes a good few days of screaming and then it get's easier and is a thing in the past.

Please don't put Tobasco on it, thats really kind of mean and a bad idea all around.

She's only a year old, give it a few more months. Her teeth have no chance of being 'ruined' until she is around 3. My oldest had his until around 18 months and around a year I limit it to bed only. My oyungest is 17 months, he has it in bed only, naptime and bedtime. In a month or so I'll cut the tip off and I'll have him throw it away. Did this with my oldest and he stuck it in his mouth, said 'broken' and threw it away. ASked for it at bedtime that night but then totally forgot about it.

Your daughter is almost a month younger than my youngest. Its much easier at this age to just limit the use than it is to take it away because really they don't understand, and there is no way to reason with a 1 year old!

Limit the use, and then when she is a little bigger go ahead and cut the tip. SHe'll lose interest.