Pacifer Problems

Giving up the pacifier can be rough for some kids. Some of them just dont want to cave. I've found that trying to ween them off it just prolongs the situation. The fastest way for me was to just take it away from them and never give it back. Yeah it led to screaming fits for a couple of days, but remaining firm and not giving in...it just took a couple of days.

What my parents and other family members did was put it in the crib and tell me/cousins that I could have it only in bed. At first he may spend a lot of time in there, but as he finds that he's missing things in other rooms and not getting to play with toys, he will want to use it less and less.
Good Luck!

This one is hard I have been through it twice now. The only thing that worked for us was to get rid of it!!! It hurts so bad though because they will cry but it has to end sometime and the older they get it gets worse. Be patient and say a lot of prayers but you can definitely do. It also helps if you find some activities to keep their minds stay occupied.

Good Luck!!!

I have not tried these ideas but soon will, but i hear they work... frist one like the tooth fary instead of that call it the pacifer fary, instaed of leaveing a tooth tell him ti leave his pacifer and when he wakes up to find it gone but replaced with somthing else like books, puzzles what ever you choose..
The next one i heard is to let him tie his pacifer to some balloons and tell him he is a big boy now and let him let the balloons go and watch it go high into the sky...
I hope these help and let me know if they do I have a 7 month old and well need to take hers away one day lol... so funny how we get them addicted to there pacifers just to take it away later LOL..

A.,
My daughter who is now 6, had a similar problem when she was 2-2 1/2. I have a 10 month old and I will be using the same tactic as I did with her. It worked wonderfully and I believe in it 100 percent.
What you need to do is find every passie, then snip just a little off of each top. Then 1 1/2 -2 weeks later do the same thing...snip a little more. Keep it up at the same pace, and by the end of 2 months your child should have no interest of it what so ever. But be sure to get rid of any reminders or reminents of the passie, so it doesn't trigger his mind.
Good Luck!

Well, I wasn't in the exact same boat, but my boy was about 2 maybe 2 1/2 when we broke him. I had another mom tell me the way she broke her daughter. She told her daughter that Santa took it at Christmas time and left her all the toys/presents for it. Well, I can tell you that works because I did that with my boy when he was that age. Now with Easter coming up, perhaps you can try that with the Easter Bunny. Since you only have the one boy try getting him something alittle extra that he really likes. Tell him that the Easter Bunny took his bink and left him the present. Of course you want to make sure the present is bigger than the bink. Hope the advice helps.

I have twin 2 1/2 year old girls. One loved her paci and one could have cared less. I put all pacis away but one. What I did was cut a little bit off the tip everyday. She gave some very strange looks and lost interest in a couple of days.
Good Luck!

When our son was 18 months, we started to limit the pacifier to crib and car only. We hid the pacifiers... he was so busy playing that unless he saw them laying around, he wouldn't ask for one. If he got bored, he'd ask for it. At around 20 months we cut it down to crib only. Just before his 2nd birthday, we cut the tips off to make a little hole. He'd put one in his mouth, take it out and say "it broke" and ask for another. We'd give him another one and he'd again say "it broke". I think he toss it across the room the 2nd time. We just said 'sorry hun... you've had them a long time and things break over time'. He just gave a frustrated sigh and stomped off. Next day at naptime he asked for it again. He discovered it was broke, handed it back to me and said 'nevermind'. That was the end of it.

Our daughter is 19 months and much more attached to her pacifier than our son is. We want her done with them before the new baby comes in Aug, though (a month after her 2nd birthday) so we just started. First step of keeping them out of sight during the day is going well but of course she still demands them at bedtime, naptime and in the car. We'll go slowly like we did with our son and hope for the best.

Toddlers use a pacifier for comfort. Both my kids got attached to blankies and that makes it easier to give up pacifiers... they hug the blankie more and carry it around more during the day. Which is fine. Before breaking your son's habit, make sure to teach him some other way to self-soothe himself... he needs a blankie or stuffed animal or some other way to comfort himself. Don't just take it away and leave him in a vacuum... that's just asking for trouble.

If you really think about it, he is doing fine without it at daycare because it's simply not there with him to have. Once he gets home, he knows it's there, so he wants it. If it were me in this situation, I would take all his pacifiers and walk out to the garbage with him and throw them away. It doesn't have to seem like he's in trouble or anything, I would just make it exciting and say something about how now that he's such a big boy, it's time to throw the pacifiers away. He may cry, but he'll get distracted, find something to do and stop. After they're thrown away, whenever he asks for it just remind him that you don't have it anymore because you and he threw them in the garbage. Trust me, if he knows there's nothing to come out of crying as far as getting his way goes, it won't last long.

Hi, A.

My daughter was a thumb sucker. I finally ended up getting a bottle of the nail biting stuff and put it on her thumbnail. She never sucked her thumb again after the first time of getting a taste of that stuff. Before I put it on her thumb, though, I warned her of what I was doing and how awful her thumb was going to taste. That seemed to do the trick. Dabbing some on a pacifier would probably be just as effective.

Pam

I see no harm in your son wanting a pacifier and allowing him to have one. I have two children, my eight year old stopped using a pacifier after first grade, my son who is five uses a pacifier at home. When they are ready they will stop using the pacifier on thier own.

One must however guard against those individuals who frown upon the use of pacifiers and make it a point to shame or ridicule a child which hurts their selfesteem. All too often we hurry our children to independence for our own convenience.

I speak from experience on pacifiers since I have had over time and still do have family & friends who frown on me and my son for the use of a pacifier. However I have yet to see studies that say using a pacifier past socially acceptable notions is detrimental to a child emotionally.

Also, if we look at other cultures children use a pacifier well into older years. On matters specific to our children we must think out of the box. Remember, when they are ready they will stop using the pacifier on thier own. I hope whatever your decision you place your sons needs first.

Oh, I am a 45 yr old mother of two a former engineer and a current real estate investor. And as for my eight year old, she does not miss her paci and if it helps to know she is in a gifted student program at her elementary school. A very smart and well adjusted kid.

We make a big deal of having our 21month old place his pacifier in his bed when he wakes up. We sing a little song, and do a little dance, praising him for being a big boy for putting his pacifier away. Yes, silly as it may be, it makes him laugh (taking his mind off of giving up the paci), encourages him, and keeps the pacifier in an out of reach place until bedtime/naptime.

Our little song goes something like this:
"We put the pacifier in the bed -
for night-night time, my sleepyhead!
Yea! Yea! Yea! Yea!"

Good luck!

Take the pacifer and every night cut a little bit off the top. Pretty soon he will not want it anymore cause it won't "suck".

While I was helping my sister during the last several months of her pregnancy with her second child, I had to deal with the same problem. Her first child was almost two and had to have her pacifer 24/7 at home but did take it to the daycare. We finally decided that was old enough not to have it in her mouth all the time because it was keeping her from communicating properly. We went through the house and removed all the pacifers from the home. We would not say anything about it to her or infront of her about the pacifer. For about two months no one was allowed to say the word pacifer in her presence. We also found ways to destract her attention when she would ask for one. So try and find things your son really enjoys doing or toys your son really enjoys playing with and use them as a distraction when ever he feels the need to have a pacifer. Also, ask him questions about whether or not he wants to be a big boy like his daddy. If he sais yes, then ask him if big boys like daddy use a pacifer. When he sais no, remind him that to be a big boy like daddy he needs to let a new baby have his pacifer.

Some ppl say that it is better for a child to suck a pacifier than to suck a thumb or finger. My son was "patsi" crazed for awhile. When we moved to our new house, my son got a big boy toddler bed and in exchange was GLAD to give up his pacifier. We just explained to him that he was a big boy now and big boys don't need pacis. I was SHOCKED when he went cold turkey. When he turned 1, I only gave it to him at sleeping times, when he was sick or in pure desperation. I HATED that thing because I thought it was a germ magnet and I'm so glad that it wasn't a HUGE fight. We gave all but one paci to the reindeer in a small stocking on santas plate at christmas time. this seemed to help to. I got online and edited a picture of a reindeer with a paci. it was cute and helped more than i thought it would.

I really don't know from experience yet, but I have read advice before. Many say just cut off a bit of the tip to make it uncomfortable. Then as he gets used to it that way, cut off more of the tip. Just keep doing that until there's basically so little nipple left he will just give up on it. That's what I'm going to try come time.

My daughter is almost 3 and we're battling the same issues. What we're doing now is trying to get it to where she ONLY gets it at nap time, and then at night when she goes to bed. We make her put it in the sink as soon as she wakes up in the morning (out of sight, out of mind). And then hopefully we'll slowing be able to wean her off of it from there! So, I really don't have much advice just support saying I know how you feel! I have heard that if you cut the tip off it loses its "suck appeal". Its suppose to make them eventually be uninterested in it. We're getting close to trying that!!! Good luck!!

Hi my name is D. and I have three boys 7, 5, 2. My seven year old was attached to the pacifer as a baby and when he turned two I took the pacifire and snipped the tip off and placed it on his shelf. I showed him the pacifire and said that it had broke and I could not fix it. He cried for about two days but then he was ok. He became attached to his blanket and he still uses it :). Let me know if it works for you. Good luck.