Paci War

Well my 3 yr old is taking to her pacifier, however being a medical baby she's not really familiar with eating. That is something I'm still working on myself. However, what I would suggest since I myself used to suck my two fingers up until 6th grade, was to utilize other things. Give her snacks (crackers, chips, vanilla wafers) to nibble on, or find a toothbrush acceptable for a 2yr old to gum on. My daughter loves to "brush" her teeth with a mouth cleaner even though she's very finiky about eating foods other than Cheerios or potato chips. I suggest those two things or even giving her something to distract her. There is also a nail enamel that is bitter and you can always put that on her thumb when you take the pacifier away. Good luck.

I would use the baby on the way to your advantage by telling her that she is going to be a big sister and that big girls don't use paci's. I had my pacifier (binki) until I was 4. My mom was pregnant with my sister. She took me shopping and I got to pick out a few things for the new baby, then we went home and put them all in a special box "from the BIG sister" part of the deal was that I had to put my binki in the box as well so that the new baby would have one to use. I asked about the binki everyday for a week or so, but after that it was fine. Good Luck!

Hi E. - We went through this same thing with my son. We started using the paci only for nap/bedtimes when he was around 2 1/2. But when he was going on 4 (yes, age FOUR!), we really started to work on getting rid of the paci for good. What worked for us was warming him up by talking for a few weeks about how he was a big boy now & didn't need the paci anymore. We told him that soon he would need to give it up for good. Then after a month or two of talking about it, we told him that he would get a special stuffed toy friend to take to bed with him instead of the paci. I brought a special stuffed dog back from a trip I went on & told him that he needed to give up his paci for the dog. He was totally fine with it & never asked for his paci again! Giving them enough time to prepare emotionally & making it seem more like their choice seems to help alot.
Good luck!
E. S.

My best friend had a problem getting her daughter off the paci and she finally had it and cut all the nipples off and just gave her the rest of it.... and she carried them around for a couple days then she just left them alone. Good Luck

When my son turned 3, we put his pacis in a box, wrapped it, wrote a note with him, and went to a Goodwill box. We made a big deal how there were babies that needed the pacis, and that now that he was a big boy, he had to pass them on. He had two nights of asking for it, but soon moved on.

Does she have another way to soothe herself? You can't just yank away the only way she knows how to comfort herself and then get annoyed with the thumb. It's all she knows. Replace 1 habit with another. Our kids got attached to blankies at around 12 months... carried 'em everywhere. We took the pacifier away around 18 months and neither cared too much... we just told them they were broke (cut small hole in it so they didn't 'work'). When they cried, we handed them their blanket. After 2 days, didn't ask for paci again, just carried blanket around more for a few months. My daughter is at that stage right now (19 months). My son gradually left the blanket alone more and more (we never allowed it in stores or parks or things like that - mostly at home, car and friends' houses). By age 2.5 it rarely left his bed.

Anyways... teach her some other way to comfort herself and then phase out the pacifier.

im haveing the same problem.my daughter will be 4 in april. and she doesnt use it unless she is going to sleep.. and she will not go to sleep without it.. i tried to take it away a few months ago.. but she would not go to sleep she was up till almost 4am screaming for it.. so i finally gave it back i had to be up at 6am older kids had to go to school and non of us had much sleep..ive tried cutting it makeing it broke.. ive put hot sauce on it pepper on it.. she just thought those things were good.. help...lol

E., I don't have any advice to you but I am going to keep this question in my file. I am having the same difficulty with my 2 1/2 year old. I feel your pain!
L.

I've had doctors tell us that a thumb is better than a binky. It was suggested to us to try "breaking" the binky; cut just the tip of it off and cut a little more off everyday. That way it's 'broken'. Unfortunatly with a new baby coming, you are going to have problems keeping your oldest from taking the binky from the newborn. Not sure what to tell ya 'bout that though...

Do the paci fairy and make a big deal out of it. Then give her a gift to replace it. At three she is old enough to cope without it. Once you give her a gift for it you can't go back on it so it makes you not give it to her.

Just take it away and throw it out where she can't get it. Buy that nail polish that is for nail biters (it taste really bad) paint that on her thumb nail. You will have a few days of crying but then it will be over. Don't give in. The more you give in the more she is going to cry when you take it away.

We got our 2 year old to stop using his paci by cutting off the tip so that it was "broken". Then he realized it was not as much fun having a broken paci and we threw it in the trash together. Then he knew where it was and he was sad but in one week had forgotten all about it. Maybe you could try the "broken paci". Good Luck.

Take her paci away and never give her another one. If she goes back to sucking her thumb...you could try the stuff that they used years ago that was supposed to taste nasty, but I had a daughter that actually like the taste of that stuff, so good luck with that. Consequently, if your girl is a girly girl, you can stop the thumb sucking by painting her nails only if she doesn't suck her thumb...and let her pick the color. That's what broke my daughter of her thumb.

I was afraid my son would never give his up. He did eventually but now he plays with his baby sisters thank God she doesn't seem to care much. My four year old sucks her thumb. And my cousin sucked her thumb till she was like 5. I think letting her suck her thumb will be ok. I think they eventually grow out of it anyway.