No More Binki

Updated on October 02, 2007
E.M. asks from Olathe, KS
17 answers

My two year old loves her binki. Its time for her to give it up. Any advice or tips for taking it away without causing a major break down?

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M.W.

answers from Kansas City on

I run a daycare and a couple of my parents cut the end off of the binki and told them it was broken. It seemed to work well for both of them. I have also heard of using a "binki fairy", where they put it someplace special and the "fairy" brings them a present in exchange for the binki. Good luck!

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J.T.

answers from Kansas City on

My son was with my MIL one day and she couldn't find the bink. She told him Mommy forgot it, it must be lost and he was fine all day. From then on out whenever he asked we just told him it was lost. It went pretty well. He had binkis hidden all over the house, so every now and then he'd find one and think he was the luckiest little guy on earth, but we'd just snag it while he wasn't looking and put it up. However you choose to do it, good luck!

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C.S.

answers from Kansas City on

My daughter was 16 months old when we took hers away. One night when she was getting tired she asked for her binki I just simply explained that they are all gone. I did NOT cut them up or throw them away for her to see. We just did our normal night time routine with her and when she cried for her binki we reminder her that they were all gone. It took a couple of days for her to realize but I just thought cutting them or throwing them away for her to see would be cruel. My daughter would have tried to dig it out of the trash. Talking about the binki was easier for both of us.
Wish you all the best...I thought taking the binki away would have been more difficult but after a couple of days she just stopped asking.

M.A.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi E.,

Talk to your pediatrician to see if you should just take it away or wait until your child stop wanting it... We took away my little one's binki and now she sucks her thumb:( And there are not tips to cut there:)

Hope your's is a smooth transition, best of luck,

Mariana Abadie
www.MyKidsFirst.com

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S.P.

answers from Joplin on

We cut of the tip with our second child. He was (and still is) a very persistant child. Every day we would slice off just a little more of the binki until one day he was just carrying around the plastic part in his hand. It was comical to watch him try to hang onto the last part of the rubber part with his teeth. :)
With my first son, the preschool teacher helped out a lot. She had a rule that she didn't have binkys in the 2 year old room. Period. Since the others didn't have thiers, my son's withdrawl was a lot better.
With both boys, we used diversion in the car. (That's where I enjoyed the binky the most) We would put in a Wee Sing tape and sing our hearts out! It's hard to sing with a binky in your mouth.
Good luck.

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J.C.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi E.,

We only let our son have it at bedtime, and took it away in the morning. "out of sight out of mind". Then we continued to talk to him that on his 3rd Birthday he will have to say goodbye to it because he was going to be a big boy. On his 3rd Birthday we said goodbye to it and he never asked about it again. Then I had his pacifier bronzed along with his first shoes. If you don't want to wait until her 3rd birthday to give it up even if it is at night only, pick a special date and make a celebration out of it, just continue to talk to her about it and make her a part of the decision. Good Luck- J.

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L.W.

answers from Kansas City on

My son loves his too (14 months old), but we have started the process by only letting him have it when he is in bed. I have read a lot about the weening process and some say go cold turkey and endure 2-3 longs nights, others say have the kid trade it for something special or give it away as a gift to a younger child, and another suggestion was to cut the end off of it so it is no longer soothing to suck on and they won't want it. I guess it depends on what you feel is best for your child. Whatever you decide, good luck and here's wishing you some patience and persistance!

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A.G.

answers from Kansas City on

2 of my girls were totally hooked on their binki's too. I let them keep it until their 3rd birthday. About 2 weeks before their birthday I started telling them that they could have it until the morning after their birthday and then it had to go in the trash. If there was more than one binki they were thrown away before that. The trick is they have to be the one to throw it away. So the next morning when they got out of bed the first thing they did was to throw away that last Binki. They asked for it a few times and I told then the trashman had already picked it up.

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J.S.

answers from Kansas City on

We too started by limiting it to bed time and naps. We had our daughter put her binks in her bed before she got out. Then after a while I cut the tip. She tried to put it in her mouth and spit it out. She wouldn't have nothing to do with it after that.

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C.C.

answers from Springfield on

We used the "binky fairy". We tied a pretty ribbon through the binkies and hung it in the tree outside about dusk. Telling our child that the fairy comes and takes the binkies to new babies around the world, and for your good deed, leaves you a special present in their place. We boxed up as pretty as we could a present she wanted and the next morning, she ran outside to the tree to find the present hanging there. She was proud and happy and made no mention of the binky again.

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M.B.

answers from Kansas City on

It is so hard! I just went through a similar situation with my 2 year old. She kept biting a holes in them, so I knew it was time. I just didn't replace the one with the holes and she would say that it didn't work. Everytime she asked, I'd give her the one with the hole. She would throw it and one day I said, maybe we should let the birds have it (she loves animals) and we did!
It took about 2 weeks and she did cry, she would also ask for it back, but it was gone. Good Luck!! (You are not alone)!
There is also a story online about giving it to a new baby or using it to buy something she loves at the store,but that didn't work for me

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A.O.

answers from Dallas on

We first started with limiting it to just at bedtime or keeping it only her bed. Couldn't wander the house.
Then surprisingly one day we reminded her to take it to her bed since it wandered out. We couldn't find it at all that night. It just got lost and she dealt with it.

I also had a friend that told the story that the binki fairy comes by to take binkis to babies that need them. That worked for her.

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A.L.

answers from Joplin on

A relative of mine had a daughter who would not give up her pacifier. She loved my little ponies at the time and her mom told her she could get a pony, but she had to pay them with her pacifier. She had three pacifiers and she gave the first ones up easily. The last one took a few days, but she took it to Wal-mart and handed it to the lady taking money. (The mom told the check out person what was going on.) Not sure it will work for you, but that is one solution. My kids, I just took it away. It was rough the first few days, but then it gradually got better.

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K.M.

answers from Kansas City on

HI, I had a 3 yrs old and he was the worst he DID not want to give up his binki, no way, no how. We talked about it and how big he was getting, and at the time he he was going to a daycare, and they had a baby room, and I took him in the baby room everyday for one week, we talked to the babies, and talked about the babies not having binkis and that they might need one, then we marked on our calendar the day we were going to have a BINKI PARTY,(a big day where he would give all his binkis to the other babies) the night before the "Party" we gathered up all the binkis and he put them in a special box, we then took that box up to the baby room at the daycare and I told him he was so big giving all his binkis to the new babies that needed them, then we went home and had cupcakes and celebrated him being a BIG BOY. He did ask about them once, but I reminded how big he was and that he gave the binkis to the babies. Good Luck, I know how tough it is!!

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R.M.

answers from Kansas City on

E.,

My (now 20 year old) daughter also loved her binky...until she was past 2, as well. We waited until close to Easter and then we told her that it was time for her to leave it for the Easter Bunny so he could give it to another baby who REALLY needed it. She fell for it hook, line & sinker and that worked like a charm. Together we rounded up all the pacifiers in the house and put them all together in a new Easter basket and left them on the porch the night before Easter Sunday. The next morning she went to find her Easter Basket that the E-Bunny had left for her and was quick to point out that he'd taken her basket to a smaller baby who needed her binkys. She'd ask about her binky once in a while after that, but it wasn't long before she forgot it entirely.

Good luck!

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M.S.

answers from Joplin on

Well, there is probably no way at this point to avoid a breakdown, but we found that limiting the binki to bedtime only for a short time and then cutting the nipple in half worked wonders for us. Of course, at 2 you can reason a little more with your child than we could ours at 1. The worst part of it all was the night or 2 of crying and not having the "plug" anymore for church to keep him quiet!LOL! I really think it was harder on us than him, but at 2, you are looking at interfering with speech and oral development as well as life coping skills. So, stick with it and you will all be fine! Best of luck to you both!

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B.H.

answers from Kansas City on

never tried it, but i've heard of cutting the tips off, so she won't like it

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