Another Question About How to Take Away Pacifier??

I would give her something as a gift that she really wants and shows that she is a big girl and then as a big girl then she needs to give her pacifiers to her little sister as a gift. That way she doesnt feel as though she is being punished or having something taken away from her. That way she had a part in the process so when she sees her sister with the pacifier she knows that she gave her binkys to her sister and that she is a big girl that doesnt need anymore.

Dear C.:
I'm only one mom, but I've had five kids who used pacifiers and here's my advice. Forget about getting your two-year-old to "break the habit." With a new baby in the house, no matter how loving and reassuring you are, she really needs to regress a little, at least for a little while. The more you pressure her not to use a pacifier, the more she may feel she *needs* it. It's ironic, but true. You are growing your family and getting busier every day, and you have the added difficult blessing of a step-child. Don't sweat the small stuff. This is not a problem to your daughter, only to you and your husband. I promise you she will leave for college without her pacifier!
This is how you eventually get rid of the paccies. As children get older, they lose them all the time. They still like them, but will get distracted by toys and other things, and just drop them anywhere. When they're very young you have to crawl all over the place and find these missing objects. When they're older, you can leave them "lost," or even discard them when the child is NOT LOOKING, and feign innocence. Let them know they lost their own pacifier, and if they can find it, they are free to use it. Keep your voice light; this isn't a punishment or reprimand. It's just life. Actions have consequences. If they get in a funk, give them a distraction that you know will work. Soon the pacifier will be a thing of the past.
Blessings!
L.

MY son in 31 month and takes a pacifier nap and bedtime only. I thought I tackle potty training first. When she brings it up change the subject and she will forget. I am mom of Connor 2 1/2 Ashlynn 9 month and step mother Zach 13.

My mom said when I was little, she took me to the store to pick out a "big girl present" since I wasn't a baby anymore but payment for my toy was my pacifier. When we got up in line and it was time to pay I handed my pacifier to the cashier in return for my big girl toy. Mom said it worked great for me. With my daughter I just snipped the tip of it off then left it for her to find, she put it in her mouth and once she realized something wasn't right, I said "aw, foofie's broken, we have to throw it away" and I let her throw it away and said "all gone! no more foofie!!" and we did what I told her was the "big girl dance" and acted all excited like it was a good thing to be rid of it. It worked for my 2 girls (but they didn't have any other kids around that had foofie's so not sure if it will work for you or not)

I went through this as well with my daughter. I honestly thought she would go to college with her binky. As much as it seems like a big deal to you right now, she will eventually give it up in her own time. As much as my daughter was addicted to hers, the day she was ready to give it up, she never looked back.

That is great that you are limiting it to nap and bed time. I would just keep explaining to her during the day that she is a big girl now and does not need a pacifier. I would just try to deal with the day time crying, crankiness, or whatever trouble she gives you.

Sleeping time is harder to break because it is such a comfort habit. Nothing worked for us at first--no binky fairy, giving it to baby sister (our girls are 20 months apart, so we were in a similar situation with the baby), throwing it away, saying it is broken, etc. What finally worked is this: we gave her one binky and said that that is the only one--the others are lost/broken. We put a pinprick hole in the tip so that there was no longer suction. She was OK with this, and kept it in her mouth at bedtime. I let this go for a few weeks. Then, we gradually cut the hole bigger until there was nothing left but a stump. At this point, she held the binky in her hand to sleep for a few weeks. One day, she finally said, "I don't want this in my crib." I took it away, and that was the end of it.

Our pediatric dentist said that the binky really isn't a big dental threat until age three. I'd keep working at it, and give her some time. She will give it up! Good luck!

Be consistant. Keep telling her she is a big girl and big girls don't use pacifiers, only babies. Believe it or not, she really will quit asking for it. Don't give in or she will never get off of it. I just saw a 4 yr old girl walking around with a pacifier last week and it is not cute!
Good Luck!

As young mothers, we often worry about things that will resolve themselves. I was guilty of it too. The advice I have is to let it go. Your daughter will let go when the time is right and no where on any college or job application will they ever ask at what age she gave up her pacifier. Infinite Blessings to you and your family.

I know it is terrible, but we bribed our son. He loves Thomas the Train. We told him Thomas needed his pacifiers and that Thomas said he could get a new train in exchange for his pacifiers. Amazingly, this has worked. He has only asked for his pacifier a couple of times and it has been about 3 weeks now. When he asks for it, I tell him if he wants it back Thomas will need his new train back. I couldn't believe how easy the transition was, he was ATTACHED to his pacifier all day & night, but he has done great!

Good luck!

Hi C.!

A few years ago i watched the donnie & marie osmond talk show,(stick with me), marie talked about taking away the pacifier from her child. She said she would clip a small piece from the tip of the nipple piece by piece every couple of days. Eventually she would clip the nipple down far enough that it would take a lot of work to keep it in her mouth. Soon the pacifier became too much work to suck on so she lost interest in it all together. My kids never took a pacifier so i have never had to deal with that,but when i watched marie talk about it i thought that was clever. I don't know...maybe give it a whirl. Good luck!
K.:)

the bink fairy. A few of my friends have done this and it worked for them. They had their children collect all their binks and put them in a basket before bed. They explain that at a certain age you have to give up your binks. And that the bink fairy will come whiel they are sleeping and take their binks. And that in return she leaves a big girl(or boy) gift behind for the big girl who has grown up so much.

my kids are 5,4,and 3. I always had your situation. but baby binks are smaller than toddler binks. so i would just take the toddler binks and cut the tips off. It makes them inefective and they just give them up and don't want them after that. My middle child did hang onto hers and hold it with her teeth for two days, but gave it up after that.

Good luck

Hmm, that is a tough one. Is there something she really likes to do that only "big girls are allowed to do? Like watch a certain show, play with a certain toy, etc? If so, maybe mention how if she wants the paci, she has to give something a big girl would do/like. Or, you could always say that if she goes a full day without taking the paci, she gets a special big girl treats (maybe she gets to pick out a toy, go to the dollar store, something along those lines). That is hard seeing she is reminded of it everyday...if all else fails, just let her have it only at bedtime or something. I dont think its really worth a full out war if she only takes once a day. Just, then, remind her its only for at nighttime and then eventually she will probably not even want it.

As corny as this sounds, we (as a family), gave the "B-B" (my daughters paci) to the BB Fairy. It was given to the fairy for babies that needed them. She thought it was cool and felt great giving something to another baby, and the BB Fairy left a gift for her in return. It worked after 2 nights of her changing her mind and taking it back. She cried the first 2 nights for a little bit when we laid her down for bed, not hysterical, just missed her BB. But after that, she was ok with it. She found one a while after and was happy to see the BB Fairy left one behind. But, she gave it over willingly.

I did have a friend that cut the paci down little by little and said, "Oh well, there isn't any left. All gone." That worked for her.

I do agree with some other posts, be sensitive to the fact that there is another baby and she may really need it at this time for comfort. You have to judge it by your daughters reaction to the situation. I felt like the worst mom, I cried cause I felt like I was taking away her best friend. I got over it with time. Good luck!

You may be able to just explain to your daughter that pacifiers are for babys and as she is growing up, she only gets it at certain times. You could take away the naptime binky at some point and then when she turns 3, take away the bedtime one (if she even wants it by then.)
Sometimes we dont' expect enough of our little ones!

I've also heard of this method being done: Cut out little sections of your daughter's pacifier until she decides that she doesn't want it (or there's almost nothing left!)
I guess you'd have to use your imagination and wisdom on how to explain this to your daughter. I suppose you could tell her that as she gets older her paciferfor is going to get smaller, or you could have her watch you do it and explain that she's getting to be a big girl, or something to that effect.
You could do a a quick process and cut out a notch every night or a slow process and do it once a week ...not sure what works best.
Just an idea. I think my mom did this w/ my younger sis. Wish you the best in whatever you decide!

Blessings,
Renee