Binky Age?

It's different for every kid and every parent has a different tolerance level. My daughter definitely needed it....she had food allergies and reflux and would go to be with one in each hand and one in her mouth. We got to a point when it was only for bedtime/naps. When she was around 3.5, she told us she didn't need it anymore and we put it away quick. Other parents would say we were awful for letting her keep it that long. I spoke to a pediatric dentist, and he said if they need it, they need it. He had one kid with a binky and one with a thumb, and they both had them well into toddlerhood. Now they say that it helps to prevent SIDS. I do cringe when I see 5 and 6 year olds with them out and about, but who am I to say what their kids need. I had family trying to take it away from my daughter when she was an infant claiming, "she doesn't need that" and I wanted to snatch away their gin and tonic..."you don't need that either!" :)

My son was off the binky at age 2. I wanted him off a lot earlier but due to circumstances in his life I didn't feel it was hurting him any, his teeth were fine and it is just a comfort factor for them any how. I took him off the bottle at 6 months mainly b/c if he could drink juice out of a cup he could drink formula out of a cup. Now I have worked with children for many years and if you do deside to take the binky away it is all up to you when I do have tips to help if cold turkey dosen't help. You can try cutting the nipple since then it won't flex when sucking, I told my son that the doggie peed on it and that worked perfect for him. From working with small children most get rid of the binky between 18 months to 2 yrs. Just remember it is what helps sooth them so if the teeth aren't being effected by it then there is no problem holding out.

My youngest was a paci girl. When she turned two she was only allowed to have it at nap and night time. She was okay with this. By the time she was 2 1/2 she had only two left. She was chewing holes in them and they were getting moldy inside. We knew for her to start preschool she had to not have it at all, so one day when we took it out of the dishwasher we showed it to her (even though she had one left in the drawer) and let her look at it. She said it was "gwoss". I asked her what to do with it then. She put it in the trash herself. I told her that was the last one and she had no more. She took that at face value and said "I big girl and don't need it". It was her decision. I wouldn't force the paci away, it needs to be their idea, however the longer it is in their mouth when they are older the worse it is for their teeth. Our pediatric dentist knew she took a paci without us even telling him by the shape of her mouth. (He also knew our oldest was a thumb sucker) If you plan on preschool for your daughter, you may want to check into policies of the preschool. Some will allow them and some won't. Since my DD was starting at three the fact that she was done at around 2 1/2 was perfect. Preschool wasn't so traumatizing. Hope this helps some. Good luck and God Bless.

She will let you know when it's time. I am not one to take away things just because someone says it's the right time. My daughter fell off the couch and broke off her front tooth at about 11-12 months. The doc said off the bottle right away. So it was gone cold turkey. It has been so long I don't know what I actually did but I do remember going in to her room when she was 7, or 8, or 9, or 10 and I would find her sucking on her fingers. Her jaw was deformed, her teeth mis-shaped, etc...if they need to suck and don't have a Binky they will find something to suck, it may be a finger, a blanket cornet, a doll's foot, etc...if they need to suck they need to suck.

Let her tell you when she' ready. She will leave it laying around, leave it for hours and hours, maybe only wanting it in bed, maybe only at night time, but if she needs it she needs it. When she is done she just won't notice it anymore or want it. J handed me his bottle one day and said cup. He noticed the bottles one day and sort of wanted it but I said no, you'r e a big boy and drink out of cups and he just went on his merry little way.

6 months---best thing I ever did! I can't stand the sight of a 2 year old with a pacifier in their mouth!

I loved the binki. I kept it tell they were about 2 1/2. I loved that they slept through the night and had a security to help them sleep.

Being the mom of a DS who is almost one and a half - Who ADORES his 'B' (now that it has a name - I feel it going to be A LOT harder to get rid it). My SIL insisted that I take it away from him before he can refer to "it" -- WELL i totally dropped the ball on that and kinda sorta wish that I did as she strongly suggested. Now its kinda a part of him (in his little head) he's always had the Binky, its Always been there for his comfort.... and SOON mommy is going to be the Evil one to make it disappear :-( my DH is more about him getting rid of it, me on the other hand is torn - whats the big deal? LOL I guess I'm just hoping that out of the blue one day he decides its not for him anymore......... IDK GL with which ever you choose!

I think it depends on the kid. If yours is really needing to suck, then it's better to suck on the binky than a thumb. But you also need to try to transition their comforting habits from sucking to another habit like cuddling a blanket or lovey. It's easiest to do that after 3 months and before they turn 1. Our oldest liked her binky for sleeping, but that was it. She wasn't overly attached to it. We weaned her from her bottle at one. It was a rough weekend, but then it was over. But she turned to her binky for comfort. This might sound mean, but I didn't want her to get attached to it so I took it away the next week. I did that by giving her a stuffed toy and blanket every time I gave her the binky. So when the binky went bye-bye, she comforted herself with those instead. Actually her main soothing technique is to hold her ears.
Our youngest was never very attached to her binky. We stopped using it around 6 months. Not deliberately - we just forgot it a couple of times. But she is VERY attached to her bottle. I've started weaning her so she only gets it before her nap and bedtime, but it's going to be tough when she turns 1 in a couple of weeks and we take it away. I've started giving her a blanket and she's becoming attached to it, so hopefully that will help the transition.
Good luck when the time comes! Just remember, it will be difficult for a few days, but don't give in because it's harder to really break it off if you do.

it's easier to get rid of the bottle if you get rid of the binky first. My kids were all different.

1st baby off binky at 3 months (mainly because it was recalled and he wouldn't take anything else but after a few days he was over it) off the bottle when the dr told me at his appointment at 14 mths.. new mom had no clue they wanted them off the bottle at 12 mths. bottle was gone that night after his appt. fussed off and on first night without the bottle then he was over it.

2nd baby had colic for 5 1/2 months. She had her binky until 9 months--fussed a few nights.. was off the bottle at 12 months.

3rd baby weaned himself off the binky at 5 months and he kept throwing his bottle across the room at 10 months and several of them cracked (they were plastic) so I told him if he threw one more bottle that was the last one so he weaned himself off the bottle at 10 months when he threw another one and never fussed for it.

Once you decide to take it away stick to that decision because once you give it back it is much harder to get rid of it...plus you are sending a message that if they whine or fuss enough they will always get their way. I didn't have whiny kids, they knew when I said no it meant no and even now as teenagers they don't argue with NO. A lot of babies will fuss for a few nights missing the binky or bottle but they will realize that it's gone and you won't have to deal with them being totally addicted to it as a 2 year old and a hard habit to break.

I feel that once your baby no longer needs the suckling sensation that newborns need then is time to get rid of the binky before it becomes a habit and most babies grow out of that need by 6 months. If they don't suck on their fist a lot they are growing out of that stage.

You will get several opinions as to how long to keep the binky or bottle but letting you know my experience with 3 kids and none of them were attached to a blankie, stuffed animal or anything else. They learned to become independent and entertained themselves at a young age. now as pre-teen and teenagers they can do every chore, cook just about everything we can cook, and are hard workers, very involved at church youth group, and like to read and play games so they are rarely bored.