Success and Horror Stories Needed - Getting Rid of the "Paci"

My son had just turned 12 mos and had only taken one for about 5 mos before weaning, so it may be a little different. He was really stuffy, and I noticed that he couldn't sleep with the pacifier because he had to breathe through his mouth, so I decided that this was my chance. I stopped giving it to him for those few days that he was stuffed up, and he completely forgot about it I guess. We haven't used it since.

I was going to answer this the other day and forgot... My son was only allowed to use it at night.... and when he was a little over 3.... that the binkie was going away when the Easter Bunny came... that he'd leave him a special treat in place of his binkie. He needed those for the babies and since he was such a big boy now... he'd get something extra special.... I took it away that night and only had a problem maybe one or two times after that.... My aunt did the pin prick through the end so that it didn't have the same sensation and I had another friend clip the end of hers and he just looked at it and threw it at her and never asked for it again. Ha! I don't think my 2.5 year old will be as easy as was my first but we'll give it a go toward the end of the year. HE turns 3 in July ... I think I'll let him keep it at night and try to use a special Halloween goody bag as a bribe. :)

My son is 20 months old, and we started weaning him of his paci at about 18 months old. His DR. told us the whole cutting big chunks off then letting him see you throw it away after its all cut down over a week. Well we tweeked that a bit and cut a little bit over about a months time, finally he started bitting little chunks off which we were afraid of him swallowing but there was always little chunks of pacifier in his bed. Finally he just didn't want that one anymore and we started putting him to bed without it and it took probably about a week of him waking up in the middle of the night and me telling him "I am sorry your num-num is broken, and there is nothing mommy or daddy can do to fix it, I am sorry" and I asked him to lay back down and he went back to sleep. Haven't had much trouble after that. Now he is completely free of his pacifier and I am grateful.

With my youngest, she was VERY attached to the "paci". We weaned her until she was down to just taking it at night. Then, I saw on 'Supernanny' about the paci fairie. We gathered up all her paci's and put them in a gift bag for the fairie. Then we went and put it someplace special outside. We talked about how the fairie would leave something special to replace her paci's. The next morning my daughter was VERY excited to see what the fairie had put in the bag to replace the paci's. It was just a cheap doll that she could cuddle with instead. You could use anything. My daughter had a little fit the first night, and I just reminded her of the fairie and the trade she made. My daughter hasn't had a problem since. :) Best of luck!

C.

We broke our daughter of her pacifier around 18 months. Our intention was to cut a little of the end every day or two until she didn't like it anymore, but the first night after I cut the tip off of it, she looked at it very puzzled, and threw it back at me!! She cried for a few minutes for a couple of nights, but has never had one since. Even after a while when she would see one, she didn't have any interest in it! Honestly, I think the thought of taking it away is much harder on the parents than it is for the babies!

I also have a friend who had success telling her 2.5 year old daughter that the "Pacifier Fairy" was going to come by and get it to give to another baby who really needed one. She talked her into putting it on the window sill herself for the fairy to pick up. The first couple of nights, she put it up there, then got it back down again, but my friend kept it up and after a few days, she put it up there and left it for the night. The fairy came to get it, and she never used one again!For a while, when she would see a baby with a pacifier, she would say "Did he/she get that from the Pacifier Fairy?". Worked like a charm.

Good Luck!

We broke our little girl of her paci right before Christmas. She turned 3 on 1/11. We just told her she couldn't have it anymore and she screamed in her room at bedtime for about 30 mins and finally fell asleep and she did that for 3 nights in a row and we really praised her for not having it. The next day we took her to build a bear and told her that was her reward for not having her paci. Now she says "I'm a big girl, i don't need a paci...that's for babies!"

My son was also very very attached to his paci - took it everywhere and had it in his mouth all night. When he was about 2 1/2 years old I quickly realized that the longer I continued to wait to say bye bye to the paci, the harder it would become - or at least the memory of getting rid of it would not be forgotten. So, one day we were shopping at Target and I had an idea - as my son was admiring a basketball goal, I asked him if he would like to trade his paci for the basketball goal. I talked with him for several minutes, explaining what it would mean to give up his paci for the goal and how he is a big boy now and babies use pacies and it would be much more fun to play basketball...... explaining why it would be a good decision and affirming it. Anyway, it worked! He put the paci that was in his mouth in the trash and we picked up the basketball goal and brought it home. Now a few hours after playing with his new basketball goal he wanted his paci (I threw away all of the pacies when I got home so I would not be tempted to give in) - I reaffirmed the decision he made and told him that he threw his pacies away. All in all, the first day and night were a little challenging - cried a little, but nothing close to what I anticipated. At night before he went to sleep, he cried some, but he slept through the night – the next night he did not cry at all. I did what I could to refocus him any time he started talking about his paci.

C.,

I took the paci away from my 2 year old son and he stared sucking his thumb....I talked to my pedi and she said he might not be ready so we gave it back to him at night and naps. That worked okey. When he was 3 year old I decide to try it again. I told him that the Toy Maker Wanted to trade his paci for a toy and he could go to Toys R Us and pick out the toy. We gave the paci to the cashier (I had told her what we were doing and to please tell him she would give it to the toy maker) It worked greated bec. When he would ask for it I would say the toy maker had it and we couldn't get it back....(he did say "we can buy a new one at Target" but then he would have to give his toy back. He cried a little but it did not last. Hope this helps

In my opinion, everyone makes it sound so easy, but I don't think that will be the case for us. My son is 3 adn we intend to give it a try any day now, using a variation on the paci fairy technique. Like your daughter, he only has it for sleeping, but he NEEDS it for sleeping. I think it is going to be hell on earth for several days while he leanrs to sleep without it. That means no sleep for him, and no sleep for me. Perhaps I'll be surprised and it will go better than I think, but I'm gearing up for the worst. We might even poke a hole in the paci so that it doesn't have the same sucking sensation and tell him that when a kid reaches a certain age, their mouths don't work on the paci anymore. And then have the paci fairy come.
Well, good luck to you!

The "Paci Fairy" came to our house. I told my two little boys (they're a year apart) that the Paci Fairy was coming. She needed their paci's for other little babies. I quietly collected them all, threw them in the trash and that was that. They didn't ask for them anymore.

Throw it away and tell her it's lost...

My husband and I took away the paci from our daughter when she was around the same age as your daughter. We told her that the "binky (as it is known around here) fairy came and took them to give to little babies who needed them since she was a big girl and did not need them anymore. She had her moments of really wanting it, and even found a couple strays that I missed. When she found a stray, I would take it and tell her, "Oh no, the binky fairy forgot this one and baby Tyler really needs it." Tyler, a friends infant that my daughter knows helped in the story since she could put a face to a baby that she knew and liked, as opposed to a faceless baby who was getting her binkies. She is now about to turn 4, and we have never looked back!

Good luck!

C.:

Here is my take on it. I am on the extreme opposite of everyone here. My daughter is 14 now and I worked in day-care with 2-3 year old children for 20+ years. This is what I did and it is only my opinion so I hope everyone doesn't get bent out of shape.

I never "took" away the paci or bottle either. I felt like she is a baby once and when it is over it is over. In our society we are constantly saying hurry up and do this hurry up and do that, they are too old for this, does your child still do that. So she took her bottle until she was finished with it. When she gave it up then I put them away. In essence switching from a bottle to a sippy cup is no different. It is still sucking on something and carrying something all the time it is just that one has a nipple and one doesn't.

I never "took" the paci away either. She did lose it at the baby-sitters house one night and I thought I would see how it went. She was used to having three, one in each hand and one in her mouth. When these were lost, I had one in reserve, of course, in case we needed it. She would just say "Where is paci?" I would say I don't know where is it? She would respond and say "at Bonnie's houes?" That was the end of the paci, but I still have one in the drawer for a keep sake that I pull out once in a while and tease her with.

My thought is that it is the same thing as telling a person o.k. you are XXXX age and you are too old to have your mornining coffee, or your are too old to smoke, etc., but because they are adults we don't do that. These are children and we are bigger so we can "take" their comfort item from them.

By the way my daugter was 3 when she gave up the bottle and 3.5 the paci. No damage done to teeth, psyche, etc.

Like I said, just my opinion.

J.

The best advice I got was from my sister in law! She told me to cut off the nipple from the pacifiers and when my daughter wanted one of them we picked it up and said ooops its broke. She was 17 months old

With my other paci girl I just put them in the drawer when she was 17 months old also and never gave her one again! Just cold turkey!

Both worked very well for me!

Crying for two or three days and she was over it!

K.

C.,

My daughter was also two when we decided to get rid of her pacifier before our other daughter arrived, I dreaded doing it but knew it had to be done. She had really started liking the Kelly Barbie dolls, so she got to go to the toy store and pick out two new dolls, she had all of her pacifiers in a ziploc baggie, and when we went up to pay she paid for her dolls with her pacifiers, the lady at the register took them for us and then disposed of them after we left. She did very well until that evening when she broke down crying and asking to take her dolls back, but she was consolable. It basically took 2-3 days of going through little crying fits but then she would be okay. Anyway you do it, you just have to stick with it and they will get over it, It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Hope this helps. Take care and good luck.

H.

Hi:
I know that our society puts a lot of pressure on moms to wean their child from the pacifier at a specific age. But after raising 3 of my own, I have come to believe that it really doesn't matter if they still have the paci at bedtime only. As long as it is an orthodontically approved paci and it helps them feel safe at night-who cares how long they have it? I guarantee they will not take it to school with them, nor will they graduate college with a paci. One of my boys kept his until he was four (bedtime only), the other two kids (son and daughter) lost interest in it on their own. The four year old weaned himself because I talked a lot about going to kindergarten the next year, and what a big boy he was becoming. I would ask on occassion if he was ready to get rid of it, and one day he said, "yes". I let HIM throw it away and we took the trash out together. He never asked for it again. I also have a good friend who took her child to Toys R Us and let her child pick out a stuffed animal to replace the binky. Overall, I think we worry too much about caving in to what others feel is "right" and we make it harder than it needs to be. Hope this is helpful! T.
Mom of 25 yo, 20 yo sons and 13 yo daughter.