Taking the Binky Away

I took my daughters away when she was about 2. We started with only having it when she took a nap or went to bed. she would ask for it other times just to see if i would give it to her and we would laugh and make a joke about it. It wasn't to long before i told her she didn't need it anymore because she was a big girl and she was ok with that. My sister had her daughter give all hers to Santa Clause. That worked to.

We had a throw away the binki party. We collected all the binkis and our daughter threw them away. We took pictures had cake and celebrated the day.

My son was just over 2 when we decided to do this. At that time he only took it when he slept or in the car (we have a long communte) We use the Nuk brand and i simply cut the end off of it and told my son "Look at your Baa. What happened? What should we do with it?" He took it and put it in the trash and that was it. He cried for about 20 minutes the first night and then only about 5 the second night and the rest is history. We reminded him both nights that it was broken(his response to the missing end) and in the trash. I exptected it to be more difficult and even kept one hidden just in case. However,if you have tried to take it away and then been unsuccesful, you child will be expecting you to give in again and be more persistent with his crying/behavior etc. and it may take longer. You definitely have to make him a part of the process in getting rid of it physically though

We started by limiting it to naps and bed times too and didn't take one with us when we left the house. Helped they started learning to fall asleep in the car without one. We probably started this around two and as they got closer to three we started talking about the "pacificer fairy" much like the tooth fairy. We talked it up for a while about how she would come and take them to other babies and leave a special surprise. We left them out one night and in the morning there was a fun gift to hopefully sidetrack them. There were a few rough bumps but worked pretty good. There were probably about 3 when we did this so they were a little older and could understand better what we were doing. Good luck.

Have you watched "The Nanny" She did this thing about telling the child that their are babies in the world that need binkys and that he isnt a baby anymore he is a big boy and he dont need the binky anymore, she had them fill out an envelope with the North Pole address and she said that Santa would deliver them to the new babies on Christmas then an envelope came in the mail from the North Pole with new toys for the child that gave up the binky, she had him put the binkies in the envelope, let him do it on his time, just keep reasurring him that he is a big boy and that other babys need the binkys.

Hope that helps and good Luck

S., I just got my daughter to give up her binky right after her 3rd birthday. We started talking in March about the binky fairy and the other babies needing it, but the thought of not having her bink upset her (we also had some reasons why we didn't push it til now). Finally, we struck upon putting it in a build-a-bear. We talked about it alot in the week ahead and when we went, she was prepared. (About an hour after she asked how to get it out, and when I told her it was there for good she was fine.)She hasn't looked back. HOWEVER, the first week or so I feel she has had a hard time soothing herself without the bink so be prepared for some trouble falling asleep without it initially. Good luck!

S. - Don't punish yourself. Let him have it at naptime and night time. Just keep it in the bed - put it in a very special place where it will be waiting for him next time he is ready for bed. Just don't let him walk around with it in his mouth all the time. He needs to have his moth free to talk and to eat. I vote for gradual, selective use of the binky - it is not going to hurt him while he is sleeping. That way you too get to sleep at night without the exhaustion of him crying. Sincerely, G.

S., let me first start by telling you what I did with my children, who are now 12 and 14. Neither of my children wanted a binky at all. When I went for my 1 month check up with the pediatrician, I was told to do anything and everything to get them to take a binky. With a lot of hard work and syrup, they both took a binky. The reason for the binky according to my pediatrician was becuase so many new mothers think that their babies are always hungry and this gives them the sucking motion without feeding them. Anyway, my dr. also requested that they are taken off of the binky at 9 months. He said that if they have it any longer, it is TOO hard to get rid of it becuase they have already developed the part of the brain that reminds them when something is gone.......thus making it difficult after the age of 9 months to get rid of it. I did exactly that and let me tell you that I never had a problem with not having the binky. However, I know many people who do...........

My only suggestion is to poke a needle size hole in the binky so that the suction is a little less. Then every day or every other day make the hole a little bigger until your child gets to the point that it isn't giving them the same effect that it use to and they don't want it any more. But make sure that if you poke the hole in one that you do it to all of them otherwise when they hand the one back to you and ask for another, that they get the same effect.

Sorry that I couldn't be of more help.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

S.,
My daughter is 2 1/2 and still has a binky. But, the rule is only at nap time and bed time. That's the next challenge, I suppose, and not sure how to approach that one yet. My daughter was in the habit of coming home from daycare and grabbing a binky out of the kitchen drawer, which told me she was probably too old to have one. We moved them up high when she was about 2 years old and it took about 3 days of tantrums (and willpower from us) during that time period; but we explained to her that she could only have a binky when she went to sleep. She was completely fine after that. And I did not take an "emergency" binky with us anywhere. I'm not saying that's the best way, but I felt that it was a small step in the right direction, and a good compromise for now, plus I was no longer toting around a toddler with a binky. Good luck.

Hi S.,

When our son was 2 yrs old we decided it was time to do away with the binkys. We cut the tip off of it and he tried to put it in his mouth. It was funny at first, he looked so puzzled. We told him that his binky must be "broken". Although we prepared ourselves for the worst, he didn't have such a hard time like we thought. He helped us throw all the "broken" binkys away and he didn't ask or look for it again. Good luck and hope this info helps!

My daughter was about that age (2, plus a few months) when we were able to get rid of it. She wasn't completely attached though - only "needed" it at naptime - plus she conveniently lost them one by one until there was just one left. (Can't imagine how that happened...wink, wink.) Then, we gave her last binky to Santa Claus! We talked it up with her about how many other babies out there needed a binky, and if she left her binky for Santa Claus, he would reward her with an extra present!

Wow, I just saw the other response! I came up with this idea all on my own and now I see that the Nanny does it too!