Letting Go of the Pacifier

My son was almost 3 1/2, I'm sad to say. But it was good because he made the decision. He gave his pacifier to Santa at the mall to bring to the elves so they could fix it up and Santa could bring it to a baby. He was very excited about doing this and was fine until bed time. He cried for a little while and then went to sleep. The next night he cried harder and longer but finally fell asleep. He's been fine ever since has hasn't even mentioned it.
If your daughter is a caring person maybe giving it up for someone else would work. The Easter Bunny is coming soon. Do you know anybody with a small baby? She could give it to them.

My daughter was 9 months old when we took her pacifier from her during the daytime. We only allowed her to have it in the evenings when we put her down to sleep. Once she turned one, we slowly took it away completely. But hide it well - she'll find it even if you think it's somewhere she can't see it!! Since your daughter is older, and I'm not sure if she takes it all day, I would try taking it away during the days for a few weeks and then away at nights, so she slowly becomes less dependent on it.

Good luck!

Ashley, my husband and I were sitting around on a Sat. morning talking about our daughter and her pacifier attachment and how the older they get the harder it is to be rid of it etc. (She was 2 years and 4 months old at the time). So we decided right then and there that when it was time for her nap we would tell her that she's a big girl now and she only gets her pacifiers at night for bed time. She cried and carried on when my husband shared this news with her in her room..screaming "Mommy Mommy..Binky Binky" the whole time. 30 min. later she calmed down and took her 2 hour nap without the pacifier. That evening I got out her pacifiers and handed them to her just as we were about to read books and she said "Mommy, I'm a big girl now. I don't use pacifers anymore." And I gave her a huge hug and made a big deal about it as if it was the first time I was hearing the news and that was it. She never asked for her "binky" again. Now I have other friends who have left their pacifiers with Santa or the Easter Bunny and that has been a big hit too. You tell your daughter that she's too big for a pacifier and the Easter Bunny is going to come bring them to all the babies. They are usually so proud when they see their pacifiers gone in the morning and hopefully that's that. I also have a friend that brought her daughters binkies to the pediatrician for her 2 year old check up and gave them to the Dr. to "give to the babies" and that worked like a charm too. Just remember that whatever scenario you go with it will only be hard for a day or two. I was dreading it when my husband went in to her room and heard her crying for me. I thought it just wasn't fair to take something away from her that meant so much. But after we did I was so happy for her and for us and no more pacifiers! Now my 20 month old daughter is pretty attached to her binky so we'll be doing the same thing when the time comes! Good luck!

The beloved pacifier! We had one too. When he was about 2 1/2 we switched it from always being available to only using it to sleep. I did wait until he was 3 to commpletely take it away. I waited because he has always been a bit emotional & he used it to help handle his emotions. My second child is completely different! Anyway, due to his age, we were able to make an agreement. We made the agreement on a Tuesday that on Friday we would trade the baba for a train. We talked about it everyday. We also discussed that he couldn't trade back.
The trade itself went smoothly. He handed me the baba & I gave him the train. He did try to trade back at nap time. I knew he would at least try! The first nap was the hardest & then he did great. We threw in a lot of praise and I marked the day in his baby book.
He also dropped his naps completely after "the trade." I guess he lost his motivation to lay down since he didn't have his pacifier. Sometimes he still does need a nap though:)Good luck!

try cutting off the tip of the pacifier. this may make her loose interest.

or try telling her that you are going to send her passy to a baby who really needs it. then mail it off.

I never had that prob with my son - he went for the thumb and it is a lot harder to get rid of but my sister - in - law would cut a tiny slit in the tip of the pacifier and my nephew would say it was broken. SHe would act surprised and say, "Well, I guess we need to throw it away if it's broken!" He ended up throwing them all away himself and that was the end of the pacifier. He never even was interested in them again. This way he is the one getting rid of them. Good luck!

I had this issue with my daughter when she was a baby, and on my grandmother's advice I secretly gathered up all the pacifiers and cut the tips just enough that they would go flat when sucked on. My daughter didn't like them anymore. She considered them "broken" so she threw them away one by one. Eventually, they were all gone and she was no longer interested.