Taking Away the Paci

good luck.....but don't cave. I did it over a loooong weekend. no if's and's or but's about it. Nap time killed me. A friend of mine got rid of her little girls by using the excuse of she had a little brother on the way and that he would need it. For my little girl, i told her grandma/pa didn't think she needed it anymore, that she was a big girl now.

Some people believe in cold turkey or feel at a certain age it must be gone. I do not. I would let him have it. Both my girls got rid of theirs around 2 1/2 on their own. One broke and she said.I go throw away in trash..that was it. The second one.....we actually lost it and she was fine about. I really don't see the need to take away something that soothes him........... I say give it a few more months and try to ween a bit then. Both my daughters teeth are fine also.

When it was time to break my son of his pacifier habit, we chose not to do it "cold turkey" for his sake (& ours). Here's what we did and it worked wonderfully!!!

We had a few pacifiers so we kept one out and the rest were hidden really well.

Without him seeing, we cut just the tip off of the pacifier; just enough to "deflate" it. It seemed strange to my son but he kept on trying to suck on it. The next day, we cut another sliver of it off. Each day it got shorter and shorter and harder for him to keep in his mouth. By the end (about a week later), it was so short we could barely get the scissors in there to cut it and he could only hold onto it with his teeth.

He gave up but never complained or cried about it. We didn't need to take it from him because he lost interest in even trying to keep it in his mouth. During that week, he became adjusted to not needing it.

K. :)

Oh, I know your pain!!! Our son was forced to quit his "cold turkey" when he was about 20 months old. He got thrush in his mouth (wasn't even breastfeeding anymore) and the doc said it could be overuse a pacifier that exacerbated it. So that was that. My husband and I had already talked about trying to wean him off his pacifier, but - like you, it sounds - couldn't stand to listen to him cry for it. But once he got the thrush, we just said, that's it! He never got it again. And it was HARD! My son was ADDICTED to that thing. And, frankly, *I* was addicted to it, too, because it was so easy to put him to bed or calm him down during the day just by giving it to him. So quitting cold turkey was a challenge.

I'd say we had about a solid week of really toughing it out, where he would just CRY for that pacifier, and I was so tempted to give in - especially at night when I was tired and just wanted him to fall asleep! But really...after about a week, he almost seemed like he didn't know what a pacifier WAS. Now, (he's 28 months) when he finds one laying around the house, he might pick it up and chew on it in a funny way and say "Look Mama! I'm a baby!" or something like that. It's a novelty to him now. He spits it back out right away after making his little joke.

For me, him having that thrush was a sort of blessing in disguise, since it forced me to be strong about not giving in. But I would encourage you to stick to your guns. It SEEMS like an eternity right now, but it won't take too long. Brace yourself for a week or two of hell, and you should have a fully detoxed toddler on your hands by then!

Good luck!

Can I ask why you think its a good idea to take it away? If he only uses it to fall asleep, I'd say let him have it. It probably falls out soon after he goes to sleep, and its a comfort thing.
Why take away the comfort and security? It doesn't harm their teeth.....

Our daughter just turned 2 a few weeks ago, and while we want to get rid of the pacifier, we felt it was really hypocritical of us for a few reasons.

Her 3.5 year old brother sucks his thumb and is allowed to have his soothing mechanism, why couldn't she? She's only allowed to have it when she's getting ready to go to bed and definitely not at day care unless it's nap time.

She is working on her 10th ear infection in 2 years (tubes last February have fallen out) - we believe the pacifier has helped alleviate some of the pressure in her ears and are hoping this next round of tubes will decrease the physical need for it even more.

Pacifiers are her only soothing mechanism (like her brother's thumb), so for now, we're working on weaning but not totally depriving her of it until we can teach her another coping/soothing mechanism......for her sake and ours!

We took the paci at that age for everything but getting to sleep. That part wasn't bothering us yet. Then, when he was old enough to understand it, we made deals with him about morning rewards if he would go to bed without it tonight. It only took a few and he didn't want it at all anymore. I think that at that age he not only understood the motivation of the reward, but he didn't really need the pacifier anymore. Once it goes from a need to a want, the persuasion is much easier. Ours didn't even involve tears.

I'm right there with you. My daughte will be 2 on the first. And she will be having her paci taken away within the next few days. I'm sure it will be tough just like any habit you try to break, but be strong and stick with it! And you will be so proud of both of you once you get through it! I know its hard to hear them cry but in the long run it won't last for long. If you give in this time then next time you try to take it , it will be even harder because he will learn that if he cries long enough and hard enough you will give it back again. Good luck!

I don't think it is necessary to take a paci away if he is not ready. My daughter was closer to 2 and a half, she had lost all but one of her pacifiers and ended up chewing on her last one and tearing the end off. I then told her that it was broken and that it needed to be thrown away. She dealt with it really well and there has been no problems since. She is now 3. I believe that you shouldn't force this. Let him loose it on his own.

It will take a few nights, but if you give in it will take even longer!! If you give in now he will learn that if he just cries longer, harder, and louder, you will give in to him. Stand your ground and he will get over it in a few days.

you know, you have to do whats best for your family. my son had his until abount a month before he turned 3. trust me, he wont go to kindergarten with it, so if you feel that he does need it, theres nothing wrong with that.

We took our daughters away at about 2 or just a few months before.....we cut the tip off of it and she knew immediately. She said it was broken!! It only took about 3 nights and she didn't even want it in the crib w/ her - she only cried about 15minutes or so....then just got used to it. We were lucky and it went much better than we had anticipated. Good luck - but stand your ground. I agree w/ some of the other mothers that if you give in - he will only feed on that and know that if it keeps crying, he will eventually get his way. They are VERY smart that way :0) Again, good luck

If he doesn't get it any other time....I wouldn't put him through that. That is his security and comforts him. My son used his to put himself to sleep at night only and on his own, discontinued it on his 6th birthday. People may think that is extreme.....but he has no teeth issues and I was not responsible for taking away the one thing that comforted him from birth on.
Everybody has to do what is right for them......follow YOUR heart, not anybody else's opinion.

My son was 3 when he lost his. I was going to to the tip cutting idea, but he actually ended up losing it somewhere himself. He didn't nap that day, but he went to bed without complaint that night. I just told him that it was lost, plus he was more tired from no nap. The next day he cried a little, but did just fine because he knew it was lost. I think when it's their idea or something that they did to it, they accept it a little better? Good luck with your little one!

We did cold turkey. First night he cried a lot, for about a half an hour, I'd go in and hug him every five minutes but no binki. Second night he cried just a little. Third night he whined a little and by the fourth night he was fine. He did take a little longer to go to sleep, I could hear him whispering to his stuffed animals for what seemed like longer than usual but he wasn't upset.