TODAY Is the Day That We WEAN Our 18 Month Old from Her PACIFIER.....

GOOD LUCK!~ I don't really have any "advice" but, I have 3 girls, and when we took the paci away it wasn't easy. With the first, I just rounded up all the binky's and put them in a bag in the top of one of the kitchen cabinets to be sure she wouldn't find them. Then at naptime, I told her to go and find a binky, as she always did... and she couldn't find one... so I kinda made a game out of it... walking around the house saying "Kilee's Binky... where are you" Looking under and behind things. Just be sure you only look in the places that you already checked to be sure there isn't a lost one there. After the first couple of days, she was fine with it. I gave her a stuffed animal to sleep with instead... I told her "just until we find the binky"
With #2, it was around christmas time, and I told her that Santa was going to take her binky to a new baby.. cause they aren't born with them and they really need hers. This approach went much better. She actually put them in an envelope to 'send" to santa for a new baby.
GOod luck, it will happen... however I don't think it's ever easy.
Julie
Momma to Kilee 11, Shyann 5, Bailey Jo 5 mos.

Hi L.,
This may sound a little nutty, but this is what worked for my son at the same age. We told him that the binky fairy was coming to take his binkys away because he had gotten so big and strong. We set them all out in a pile on his pillow and later we went to check and yes in deed the binky fairy had come and taken them away and left him a special new "sleeping guy" (stuffed animal). The binkys were never seen again and the new special "sleeping guy" became pretty important for a few months, but that faded away. We told him that the binky fairy took his old binkys for the newest and littlest babies who needed them very much because they were just born. He totally got it. He seemed to feel like he helped a baby and was now a big boy. He was so convinced that he was a big boy that he was potty trained two months later with no effort. It was a fun and positive way to handle the stress of losing his precious binky. Hope this helps. Good luck.
A.
Mommy of Jake (5) and Josh (3)

That's so funny because we just broke our 21 month old of the habit 4 days ago. I thought it would be tough, but we cut the the binky tip off about 1/3 of the way down and gave it to her. She looked at it after trying it and we told her it was broken, and we were sorry but they are all broken. She whined a bit and put it down. Then i was talking to my husband and said well, maybe we'll just throw them away because they are broken, and she overheard me. Do you know she went over, picked the binky up and threw it in the trash?? Basically, that was it. She does have a small zebra stiped pillow that she's always slept with, and i still let her have that, but the whole thing was so much easier than i expected it to be. My advice is to let her cry it out a bit, but don't give in. Let her have the"broken" one to go to sleep with, but i guarantee she won't want it after a night or two. We had planned on cutting the tip off more and more, but we didn't have to! good luck!

Hi there! I had one that wouldn't give up the bottle and one that wouldn't give up the "binky", so i feel your pain!!! My son was almost 2 when we finally got him to give up the binky. It was soo easy I couldn't believe it. My mom, (his gamma), came over and knowing my frustration with the issue, simply asked him if she could have it. He gave it to her. That was it. We immediately hid the rest of the binkys. When he asked for it we told him gamma had it. After a few days, he never asked again!
L.

Not much help from me. I don't wean them from their binkies. The only two who took one just stopped needing it one day. Not sure when, sometime clost to three I guess. They did not have them in their mouths all the time, and in the scheme of life didn't see the reason for for the rush. Of course, I am not a big 'weaning' person anyway. I let them all wean themselves from whatever they need. A habit is an unmet neet. If the pacifier represents something to your child, I would want to offer another option for her to choose instead, and let her choose it. Like...a book and a rock and snuggle at naptime so she forgets she gets a pacifier then. I would do like I do for other things when I want to be sure the need is theirs still: I don't offer, I don't refuse. And, at the times I would have offered in the past, I offer something different. When they are verbal, it's probably easier to have them express what it means to them. I control so much of my children's world that the little things that make them happy I let them enjoy until they do not want to anymore.

Amd. no, no one needed braces or took the binky to college. Haha.

Take care

Cut the tip a little more each day or every other day, it worked with my son, it only took him 48 hours to break the habit.

We weaned our 18 month old son 2 weeks ago. He needed the pacifer much like your daughter. My son is now "binky free" after having it every day since birth. My best advice is to throw them out, if your daughter asks for it, ignore it... after a few days she will be fine. You may find it harder to get her to sleep, but it will pass with time. I wouldn't suggest that you cut the pacifer. I don't think it's a good idea... I don't know much about cutting them, but I can only imagine if a piece of that rubber got caught down a little one's throat.. it would not be a good situtation.