My son just turned 15 months, I would like to break him of the pacifier. He only uses it for bed time and nap time. Can anyone give me any advice as to how to accomplish this task.
Hello....well both of mine were 12 months when we took theirs. They only used theirs at nap and bed time. We just took it away. We never gave in....just threw them away. And surprise you know they had no problem! I think because they were not that "attached" to it, that helped. My DH and I agreed before having our first that when they turned one that they would no longer use a pacifier. We stuck to it....and we are very happy about it! I have always heard the longer you wait the harder it is. I also read an article that it supposely only takes them 72 hours to get over it and forget about it. Good Luck!
Some older kids respond to the "paci needs its mommy" trick. You can tie a paci to a string on a balloon and set it free for it to find its mommy paci. But your baby seems a little too young for that. But that is YOUR call! I say let him have it a little longer! They grow up TOO FAST! I am telling you in a few months you will ask yourself where did the baby go? BUT, you can gradually decrease the time he has it until he if free of it. You will have to do that in addition to distraction methods. Maybe play/cuddle with toys instead of the paci. Its not too hard. My first son just gave it up himself. My second never really wanted one!
Good Luck!
Carrie
p.s. you can just take it away and see the response!
I've heard that a baby finds the pacifier soothing because it's "his" or "hers". If you give them something else to cuddle with, you can then take away the pacifier. My daughter is almost a year old, and she only uses the pacifier at night & naptime. We're transitioning her to the blanket now (pacifier and blanket). In a couple months, we'll take away the pacifier, but she'll still have her blanket to cuddle with at night.
Some people might think that we're just getting her attached to something else that will need to be taken away. I, personally, do not care how long she holds on to her blanket because it does not have the side affects that the pacifier does.
Just my opinion... I hope this helps!
Well the only way you can do this is by taking it away slowly. Start at nap time for a couple of days then once he is ok with not having it for a nap you can start with taking overnight. With anything once you start you can't stop this will only confuse him. So the best thing for you to do is not to give in once you start.
Dearest Tia: I have learned many precious things about dear children, and, you know what.....(I have 6) patience is key. Is it really necessary to get rid of the pacifier if the child isn't really developmentally ready to let go of it. does the time matter - does it count - is there some table that tells us a child must be rid of the bottle and pacifier at specific ages. You know something...I have friends who homeschool their children and are stay-at-home Christian moms that believe that one should breastfeed for 2 years plus and they have no problems with this. What does the child want - need? Pay attention to that and you'll have successful children.
God bless,
Michelle G.
Ah, he seems to young to get rid of the pacifier..
I had a child very much attached to her pacifier. When ready to "get rid" of it, I cut the tips off the pacifiers. When she went to suck on it at night, it didn't fill the need she wanted, so she naturally stopped using it. You could also tie in the "oh no, it is broken" routine and then throw them out together.
On that show nanny 911 I have seen her tell the children that we have to give them to other babies that need them and let the child put it in a baggy for them to go. I have also seen where they tie it to a bloon for the babies in heaven to use. My son was VERY attached to his and it is just like a bottle and I told him he was too old for it now. That he was a big boy now. It was a hard couple of days but if you stick to it he will be fine!!!!
Start cutting a little of the nipple off. Your son will notice the difference and will not want to suck on it as much. It worked for my daughter. Make sure you find all of the pacifiers in the house and throw them out. Only have one that has been cut. Just keep cutting back until there is no nipple left. I hope this helps!
Do whatever feels best to you. :)
with my twins, one night I just had removed them from the cribs. i "looked and looked for them" when they 'asked" for them - they were about 18 months - and i "couldnt find them". It was a rough few nights after that but after about a week they're fine. Good luck and stick with it - dont give in.
amanda
Throw it away and don"t buy another.
Hope you get several responses to this one. My Daughter was done with the bottle and pacifier before he was a year old. We had several pacifiers. One day, she seemed uninterested in them except for nap or bed time. I started throwing them away. We got down to 2. I kept one at my Mom's and one at home. After a couple months, I put her down for a nap and she wanted her pacifier (called a binky then). I acted like I was hunting it and then told her I couldn't find it. I calmly talked to her until she fell asleep. I knew where it was just in case she really made an issue of it. She got it several times after that, but as I thought she made a big enough fuss over it. I eventually was able to throw those 2 away. That was how I handles it. Hope you get other responses.
Tia, I might not be popular for giving this answer....but I wouldn't rush it...my now 7 yo daughter took a "pappy" at nap and bedtime til she was 4 and then the "pappy fairy" came one night and took it and left her a stuffed animal. Sometimes kids need that comfort. If you are worried, consult your dentist (which is what I did...talked to the pediatric dentist) and made sure that her teeth weren't being affected then didn't worry about it since she wasn't doing it in public, etc.
Good Luck!
What worked best was to just take all the paci's in the house and put them in a top drawer right when our son turned 1. Every child is different and I won't lie it was a rough couple of days! But after 2-3 days he seemed to forget all about them but he has gone to holding a "blankie" for a lovie. During nap and bedtimes I would take extra time to read him a book and let him cuddle with his blankie while drinking his milk and rocking him to sleep. Eventually I was just able to read him a book in his crib and he would just fall asleep. It takes time and patience good luck to you sweetie! Stay strong. :)
My son was 18 months old when we decided to take the pacifier. We slowly took it to just nap and bedtime, then one night i couldn't find it and that was when we decided to completely stop using it. cold turkey! We have 2 nights of a fussy wake up in the middle of the night, but his dad went (because i knew i would cave and turn the house upside down to find one) in and checked on him and tucked him in again and gave him a hug and kiss and that was it, no screaming nights for a week or whatever you normally hear. We were just sick and tired of having to have a pacifier all the time! I am so happy that we stoppped it when we did, because i see 3 and 4 year olds with them still and i'm just in awe! Try nap time/ bedtime on a weekend when you don't need to get up for work or anything and see how it goes... just remember one thing try not to cave in and give him one! trust me it'll be hard but my son is now 22 months old and it's a lot easier when your out and about not having to worry about the pacifier they may or may not be throwing out of the storller/ cart! Good Luck!!! Be Strong!
Hi Tia - first of all, I would offer you shouldn't feel "pressured" into breaking the paci habit. Both our boys, 20 mos and 34 mos gave theirs up very easily and our 20 mos old was very attached to his paci! At around 15 mos we just let them use it for naps and bedtime. At around 18 mos we just didn't offer it to them. Our older son never once asked for it or indicated he missed it. Our younger son would go to sleep easily at nap time without it but wanted it at nighttime, so we'd give it to him. Before he turned 19 mos he was using it so infrequently that when he asked for it at night, we just said it was "bye-bye" and did the sign for "all gone". He cried for a few seconds but then got interested in reading books. I think this happened for two or three nights in a row and then it was over. Never heard about it again from him -my parents were shocked because every time they saw him, he had it in his mouth and almost every picture of him he's got one in his mouth.
Bottom line, don't stress over getting him to give up the paci. If it helps him calm down and go to sleep and he still shows an interest in it, let him have it. As a single first time Mom, I'm sure you feel compelled to want to do everything "right" (don't we all!)... in hindsight, I think what was the big deal with the paci anyway? (I never wanted my boys to use one). Relax, let him use it for awhile if it helps him AND you a little! :)
With my son after he broke the passy,I had him take the pacifier and trow it in the trash himself and told him to say "I am a big boy now, and the passy is for babies not big boys". It help him trowing it away, so when he asked for it the next time I said remember you are a big boy now and you trew it in the trash and the trasman took it away.
My son was also about 18 months. Hope this helps.
There are such conflicting views on whether or not a pacifier is a healthy habit and when to break it. Check in developmental ages and stages material if you haven't already. 15 months is still a pretty oral stage and if it's not interefering with his verbalizing,and he's just using it to go to sleep I think it's a good thing!
Blessings,
Sheila
Developmental Therapist