My daughter has just turned 2 this past November and is still attatched to her binkies. She has a strong rooting instinct still and I do not want her to suck her thumb. If she doesn't have her binkie she will suck on her four fingers. I would rather her suck on her binkie but I would like to not choose one of two evils. I did talk to my doctor about the pros and cons of binkies when she was little because through my three children I have heard they are good, bad, now they are good again. Totally confusing. My first child used it when he bagan teething at three months and was done with it at nine. My second child has epilepsy so they said don't take it away, let her have it to sleep with it and that is all she wanted it for and was done on her own at 2 1/2. Now, my third child is totally different. She wants those binkies day and night, often has two in bed with her. If she wakes up with out one she will cry. We've tried not responding to this and she will let out a blood curtling scream. That scares us and we have to check and make sure she is ok. There have been a few times it was something else. Her daycare sent her binkies home because she is not using them there (but I think she is using her fingers). She tried to get her binkies to daycare and many times it goes unnoticed until we are in the car. So I put her binkie in her coat pocket and we hang up her coat. When we leave she throws a fit until she can get that binkie out of her pocket. She has a strong personality so the more we put out foot down, the more she digs her heels in. The only thing that is stopping me from taking them away and throwing them in the trash is her putting her fingers in her mouth. Has anyone been able to get a kid off of binkies with out them reverting to fingers?
I have a friend who told her little girl that they were going to give the binkies to someone that needed them. I think there was a baby being born in the family so she prepared her toddler for the big event and when the baby was born, she gave the baby all her binkies because she didn't need them anymore. I don't know if this will work for your daughter but I thought it was a clever idea.
I would like to rid my almost 3 yr old from these darn binkies too sometimes! He is my 3rd child and very different from my first 2. My oldest never used a binky and my daughter only used one until I took it away at 1 yr. My youngest loves his binky and would use it all day long if I let him, but I don't. He doesn't suck his fingers, which I know can be harmful to the teeth...it adds more pressure and can cause teeth to move wrong. I would find out from the daycare provider if she is using her fingers and if she is maybe she can just use the binky instead. I don't see any harm in letting them use it, obviously, since my son still has his. The day will come when he decides he's done with it. I've heard of parents taking binkies away cold turkey and having bad, crying nights from their kid for days. I don't want to do that. Last week my almost 3 yr old decided to start potty training..he walked into the bathroom, put the potty seat on the potty and wanted his diaper off. I had tried previously to do this and he fought me on it, he wasn't ready! My point is, your daughter will be ready to rid herself of the binky at her own time..they grow up so fast anyways, why deprive them of this little pleasure? Others might disagree, but everyone is different.
Hope this helps some!
V.
I got this tip from this website and it totally worked. Cut a small slit in her binkies and she won't get the joy out of sucking on them anymore. When she looks at you like something's wrong ask her if it's broken and tell her she should throw it away.
Now, that's only one way to get a binkie from the child's use, but I don't know how to help with the fingers. I thought my daughter would have the same issues, but after the binkies were gone, she was fine. It was a relief to get rid of those! Good luck!
I would let it go if I were you. She just turned two - and that's pretty young for a kid who is attached to the binky. It's not as though she were heading off to Kindergarten or anything. Give it six months. She might stop on her own or at least be ready to let it be coaxed away from her.
I felt the same way with my daughter - I wanted the binky to end and she wasn't ready. You have to ask yourself if there's really a good reason for taking it away (like it's messing up her teeth or something) OR if it's just all about YOU. For whatever reason, YOU feel it's time to end it. But she might really need it for security right now. Maybe you could put up with it for a few more months...?
As for the night-time screaming... If she's in a crib I would think she could be trained to find the lost binky on her own. My son always had to have little cars in bed with him and would wake up if he lost one. But as long as the sides of the crib were blocked so the car couldn't fall out, he was able to find it himself and go back to sleep.
So next time she wakes up crying, don't give it back to her -- instead talk to her and tell her to look around for it. Make her find it herself a couple of times and she'll get the hang of it. Good luck - there are so many little frustrations like this!
