Weaning the Pacifier

There are many different ways or stories but my number one advice to anyone taking it away, is when you decide to do it, stick with it. Be prepared to not give in. It might be easier than you think, or it could be difficult but just stick with it.

With my first she was 18 months, we cut the tip completely off. (So there was no choking hazard. She picked it up, saw it was broke, said "its broke" and threw it in the trash. She asked for it for at least a day afterward but we just reminded her it was broke and that was that. There was not one tear through this whole thing.

My youngest was around 26-28 months. One day she lost one in the grocery store. Later that night she asked for her paci, then said its lost in the store right after. I said "Why yes, yes it was" Sorry, no more paci. She asked for it, we reminded her she lost it. She never cried, but a couple nights were rough where she didn't want to go to sleep. But that was all.

In both instances it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. Both were very attached. Good luck!

My son was 2 years old when we decided to ween him from the paci! We first cut the tip off and every few days we'd cut more and more of the paci off. He finally lost interest in sucking the paci, but he would carry it around with him until he lost interest in it completely! Of course we told him he was a big boy and didn't need his paci anymore, but I think it made him feel like he made the decision to not have a paci anymore! Good luck! :)

We started weaning by leaving it in their crib, so they could still have it when sleeping. But then to take it away completely it can be as simple as crying himself to sleep a few times. So sad:( For us personally, we have no issue with them keeping it at sleep time until they are 2 or so. It is a natural thing to suck. It's so soothing for a baby. We found with 3 of our kids that they came to a place where they were ready to ditch it, and it wasn't a big deal to take it away at that time. My youngest son is 17 months and both him and my husband and I are perfectly content with giving him his paci at night. :) Good luck!

We were lucky enough to have a new baby born in our family when it was time for each of our sons to give them up. So, we did the collection and made a big production of bring them to the new baby! It worked - although they both had issue going down right away for a few days but it was not that big of deal! I agree with Momto2princesses - if you are going to do it stick with it!

Our son was down to the paci in the crib only. We used the "bye bye binky" method (Google it) which includes cutting down the paci. It worked fine. I wondered how hygienic it would be, but as our paci was only in the crib , it wasn't too bad. Maybe get down to crib only and then start cutting it down?

Try the Binky Fairy technique. Have him/her walk around the house with you and pick up all the binkies and put them in and envelope. Then walk out to the mailbox and let him/her put it in the mailbox and tell him you are leaving them there for the Binky Fairy. Then you go out and replace it with an envelope with a prize in it that the fairy left - sort of works like the tooth fairy. Also - maybe sprinkle some glitter on the ground by the mailbox to show she was there. It's fun for the kids and gets them excited about giving it up.

If he is old enough to understand Santa then you can do the paci-fairy. This is how it goes. You tell him to put his paci on the table and tell him the paci-fairy is going to come and take it to a a baby who needs a paci. He is a big boy and when the paci-fairy comes she will leave him a present! It works well if they are old enough. The present can be a truck or car from a dollar store or anything you want. My daughter- in-law got carried away when my grandaughter gave up her paci. She was about 2.5 though. I don't know if a 15 month old would get this,

my daughter was done at 15 months with the pacifier - she only used it at nite. one nite we got home past her bed time and she had fallen asleep, when i put her to bed she was so tired that she didnt have the pacifier and slept fine throughout the nite. the next nite i put her to bed without it and she fussed for a little bit (maybe 15-20 minutes) and then ended up going to sleep. she never had the pacifier after that and it worked wonders. hopefully yours will be easy - my cousin used the cutting the tip off and it worked for her. good luck

My son was 2 years old when the dentist told us it was starting to affect his teeth. We gathered up all his pacifiers and put them in an envelope, addressed it to "babies" and put it in the mailbox right before naptime. When he got up from his nap we checked the mail, and there was a box with some new bath toys and a thank you note for the pacifiers. He absolutely loved it, and only asked for a pacifier one more time. He just turned 3 and still talks about how he sent his pacifiers to new babies that needed them.