Tips for Getting Rid of the Pacifier Once and for All?

We stopped the paci two different ways for each of my daughter. My youngest was by chance.

For my oldest we cut the end off, told her it was broke. And went with that. She even threw it away. She did ask for it for the rest of the day and the next day...but for the most part it was super easy.

For my youngest she lost one in the store one day. She asked for the paci later on and on her own remembered she lost it. So we went with that. For her, it took a few nights of crying/whining for it. But we stuck threw it all and she was fine within a few days.

Whatever way you choose, just stick with it and I bet you'll find its easier than what you think.

The fairy came. My daughter took all her "babas" into bed with her for the last time, and the next a.m. they were gone but some goodies and presents were at the foot of her bed. The helped because on the first real night without the baba, there were some tangible things to point to, to remind her where they went and isn't the new stuff so much better anyway???

For all 3 of my kids (2 boys, 1 girl), we got rid of it a few months before their third birthdays. We told them they were big kids now, and it was time to throw it away. They threw the pacifiers in the trash and we made a big deal out of it. To be honest, it was harder on me with all three of them than it was on them. Each of them fussed for a few minutes the first night, and that was pretty much it. I think it helped that they were involved in the process. Good luck!

Cold turkey. No sense in stretching it out. It makes for a tough couple of days but it's still better than weeks of bribing and cajoling, IMO.

We had my daughter build a bear and put her pacifiers in there when she built the bear. We talked if up for about a week in a half, went and did it and she thought it was great. That day we made sure to wear her out so she was super tired. She asked for it once and that was it.

we cut off the tips adn put them back where they were so when she found them and showed us, we told her they were broken.. She was over 2, fully potty trained, and an early talker, I have no clue why she held on for as long as she did... She would have full conversations with it in her mouth. Like those smokers who can talk with teh cigaretts hanging out of their mouths and it never falls, thats how she was.. But when they were all broke, she threw them away, and they were gone for good... My youngest never used one thank God, and I dont think I want this baby who is due next month to use one either...

It depends on the kiddo. Our oldest was incredibly attached to hers, even past 3yo. We cut the tip little by little until it was no longer useable as a paci, but she still got to hold it to go to sleep. Eventually, the need to hold it went away.

Kiddos are different. So the methods for getting rid of the paci should vary as well.

We just went through this about 45 days ago! I brought my little one to the doc for his 2.5 year check up; she commented on the roof of his mouth being high b/c of binky (he only used it at night/naptime), pedi recommended getting rid of asap or look forward to a nice orthodontist bill! That was it for me.
At bedtime, I told my son - the doctor said you don't need a binky anymore b/c your a big boy. I explained binkies are for babies...he agreed, said ok, and that was it!
I was shocked, I totally expected a big fight. NOT AT ALL! :)
Last week, my son found a binky in our basement and brought it to me immediately - he said these are for babies!!!!

Our son never took to having one. My SIL tells me that in Denmark, there is a paci tree in the playground. At around 2/3 years old, the kids hang their pacifiers in the tree and graduate to being big kids. Its a big deal, and the whole family celebrates.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

We eased my son into it. He doesn't do well with surprises, even the good kind, but we have had a lot of luck with weaning him in the past, and that was how we got him off the bottle, the swaddle, etc., too. I think it depends on the child, but I would NEVER do cold-turkey with my son. He would find it traumatic.

First, right after his two-year molars came in, we restricted it just to his bed, so if he wanted his paci, he could climb into bed to get it, but couldn't take it out. That worked really well, so after a while doing that, we began to explaining to him why his little sister could have a paci out and about, but he couldn't: pacies were for babies. It got to the point where he would tell other people that pacies were for babies. Then, when we felt it was time, right before he turned three (which was the point at which our pediatrician asked us to have him weaned), we removed the paci but gave him a chewy to suck on at night if he wanted it. It is big and bulky, difficult to keep in his mouth, and we would pull it out of his mouth and put it on the bedside table when he fell asleep. A couple of days like that, and we were coming into his room in the morning to see that he had never woken to put it back in his mouth. Then, one day, he couldn't find it, so he went to sleep without it. That process took less than a week. So we gathered them up and gave them to his sister. He asked about it once or twice, but fully accepted that pacies are for babies. It was an amazingly easy transition, without any trouble sleeping, any fussing, and I think we waited long enough that he did not switch to sucking his thumb, which was our big fear.

We haven't weaned my daughter yet, and we don't yet have a younger child, so I don't know how well the technique will work a second time. She is very different from our son in personality. But for our son, at least, the key was understanding how he thinks about things combined with watching for signals that he was ready. We'll try the same with our daughter, even if the process and timing are different.

Paci fairy for both kids. I had the kids put all the pacis into a ziplock and told them the paci fairy needed them for babies but the fairy would leave a gift. we placed them outside the front door. my husband went around the house, took the pacis and left a stuffed monkey for each and rang the doorbell. we ran to check and guess what, the fairy had come! we did the same thing for both kids on 2 separate occasions and it worked. they both asked a few times for the paci but we said remember the fairy came? they were both 2 when we took the pacis away. good luck!

Cold turkey, you have a garbage can right?

Cold turkey here too - grandpa just threw them away and that was that.

My son gave his up on his own...but someone told me a story about how they put the paci in a tree and said the paci fairy would come get it and take it to another baby who needs it. So like the tooth fairy, the kid would give it up and the next morning find a little surprise. Seemed to work for their kid.

Good luck!

Cold turkey. My daughter had two pacis (that were conveniently discontinued), and would take no others. She bit the bulbs off of both pacis, refused everything else, so she had to learn to live without them. It took about a week, but now they are ancient history. I always say if you can rid of diapers and paci, the job of raising them is 1/2 done. lol

If you are already at the point where it's just nap/bed time, you just need to take them or cut them. My SIL cut the tips off and rendered them useless.

I told my daughter the binky fairy came and left her a small price. she only asked for it twice after that and I reminded her of the fairy and the price and she never asked again. good luck

cut the tip. she won't like it anymore and will give it up easily. GL

We did the binkie fairy. She collected up all her binkies and put them in a gift bag and hung them on our tree outside so the binkie fairy could come and take them to give to new babies. She was over 3! The fairy gave her a doll the next morning in the bag and took all the binkies. She cried for the binkie at night for 3 days but she was fine after that.
Good luck : )

My son was 3.5 when the dentist (at my urging) told him that he couldn't have it anymore because it was causing problems with his teeth. It was never allowed out of his bed after about 18mo.

My daughter is 29mo and still has hers for naps and bedtime. It's not allowed out of her crib.

I'm not going to force the issue because like you said: neither will be in college with a pacifier. I also distinctly remember my own junior high school days when it was "cool" to suck on a pacifier at school! (can't believe I participated in THAT!)

We just took it away. Our kids only had it at nap/bed time by the time they were 18 months. At 2 we just took it away. My older son cried for 3 nights (about 15 minutes). My middle son switched to sucking his thumb. Our youngest is almost 2. He doesn't seem as attached, so hopefully it will be painless.

Lost it the same night we had stopped bottles cold turkey. He missed it more than the bottles, but was done with both : )

My son was a Binky kid. All the time.
One day we told him that Santa needs it for the other children. Then together with him, we gathered up all his Binkies and put it in a bag to "mail" to Santa.
It took him about 2 days to adjust. He didn't argue or tantrum or cry about it. But he told us he was sad and missed his Binkies. But he also had a Lovey that he sleeps with, so that was comforting for him.
He still slept fine, although it took him longer. But we were patient. He was doing the best, he could.
He was about 2.5 years old then.

I took my daughters away way before she was ready. She started sucking on her fingers and her jaw grew messed up, she could not even have braces because her face was so messed up. I wish with all my heart I had known that kids need to suck and if a parent takes them away before the child is ready they are risking much bone and structural damage.

If your child is ready, not YOU are ready, but she no longer needs to suck on something to feel comfort then just take it away and be done with it. She will eventually fall asleep, she will eventually forget about it. You are the grown up, you deal with the crying and begging, temper tantrums, etc....you just say no and mean it.

Or you let her decide when she is done and let her give it up on her own. It won't be college although there are lots of college kids who still suck their thumbs when they are feeling stressed because the had their binky taken away too soon.