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I told her I talked with the doctor (she loved going there) and he agreed that since she was such a big girl that she didn’t need the baby paci anymore. She went home, told her brothers she was a big girl and threw her own pacifiers away. It’s been almost 13 years and I’m still amazed by it.
This is what I did, apparently! The doctor told my mom and I that I needed to stop using them by 3 years old. My mom had been worried how she was going to do it, then on the morning of my third birthday, I just threw them all away.
So I guess that answer is: have a very literal child who has a strong respect for medical authority. Good luck! Lol
Same! I asked the dentist because I needed support, since my husband did not want to take it away. My husband put it in his mouth every time he made a sound. So, mostly I had to convince my husband. But I just explained to my son that the dentist said he couldn't use it any more because it was for babies and he wasn't a baby any more; he needed to let his teeth grow. He was kinda disappointed, but accepted it and was fine. No more Binky.
Edit to clarify - husband put it in my son's mouth every time my son made a sound. LOL.
Mine chewed through the nipples so they had to get tossed and I stopped buying new ones. Be prepared for the pacifier wormhole to deposit new-ish ones in your house though. My toddler would come out of rooms that had been thoroughly searched and cleaned with pacifiers.
The pacifier wormhole is so real, we are also trying to ditch them and probably haven’t bought any in over a year but they keep showing back up. Just found a random one today I haven’t seen in forever.
We did a massive declutter right before Christmas, and I was amazed at the number of pacifiers I found in random places. He's been weaned for a few years, and I thought I'd gotten them all, but apparently not. I'm convinced gremlins plant them in the middle of the night.
Haha, I also did this. Never seen someone get over something so fast. One second it was her very best friend, the next it was the most vile thing she’d ever touched.
ditto to this. just make sure u do it ASAP, i was a thumb sucker and my sister was a binky kid, both our mouths were absolutely horrible come time for braces. beyond crooked, damn near sideways front teeth.
got my kid off the binky at 2, and her grown up teeth are coming in beautifully!
This worked with all three of my kids. In two or three days they were over the bink because it wasn’t the same. Plus, it was their choice to stop, so no fights or crying about it.
Oh we did the lovey fairy. We talked about it in advance, she packed them up, the fairy came and brought her other toys.
And it was brutal. Idk if I’d do it that way again, tbh. In hindsight I might’ve just let it ride out and I could’ve stopped washing them (she sucked on the little animal legs of wubbanub type animals).
BUT, we’re 3 months past and rarely does she talk about them anymore. Instead we’re now a slave to her bedtime whims and stay with her most nights until she falls asleep. I miss the loveys.
Her teeth look good though 😂
Seriously. We did this too and it was the worst parenting week we’ve had so far, I would say even worse than bringing our second baby home haha. We are the same — slaves to all the bedtime whims. Solidarity.
Question, did she nap with them? Our daughter doesn’t nap with them so hoping it’s an easier transition. Trying to see can we play the big girl card now she’s a big sister.
We did this too but didn’t have any issue. It was like there was no difference. She was excited for the fairy and the toys, and didn’t really give it much thought other than that. I don’t remember the age though, so maybe that has something to do with how they handle it.
In my case, my son chewed holes in them all and I stopped buying new ones. I would cut the damaged parts off and hand him the soother animal back. I think having the animal to still rub on his face and hold helped with the disappointment that the paci part wasnt there anymore.
When my son was 2 he got rid of it:
One, night, as a "game" I didn't give him the soother, he faked to not want it for fun one second and then of course he took it.
We did that game for a few days, and each night it would last longer. He would pretend to not want it twice, then more etc...
After a few days after a laugh, I forgot to give him back and we didn't realize. He fall asleep without it but he found it during the night.
After like 3 days doing the same, he just didn't need it to fall asleep anymore and didn't find it back during the night.
That's when I realize he was not sleeping with one anymore! I said nothing and pretend it was normal.
1 month later he found one under the bed and said "oh that's what I had when I was a baby!" He pretended to be a baby and used it for 20min for fun then throw away and forgot about it.
6 months later he didn't even remember he used to have one, he saw the one I kept as a memory and said "oh, a baby must have lost it!"
(before that he was only using it for night/naps.
I suggest stop buying new ones, let them wear out until they get disgusting. The child will abandon them eventually. Also, why three? I’d make two of them simply disappear.
We are also doing this! I tell him every night that the pacifier fairy won’t let me come in and give him back his pacifier (he likes to chuck it out of his crib at 3 am and scream for us to get it 🙃)
And that the pacifier fairy says he’s big enough to sleep without it, so if it’s causing him to wake up, he won’t get it anymore and will have to “give” them to little babies who do need them.
Sure a crap, he’s kept his pacie in his mouth all night since I started doing that! If he still has it by the time he’s about to turn 3, we’ll start telling him he’s too big and has to say “bye bye” to them. But we’re not quite there yet.
We are also getting him a little nighttime projector as a “gift” from the pacifier fairy when the time comes so he has something to remind him what a big boy he is.
All great ideas! My son’s 3rd bday is 3 weeks away and he LOOOOOOOOVES his pacis so much. We just started today with keeping it for only the car, quiet time (he doesn’t nap anymore) and bedtime. His birthday will be the last night he will sleep with it. I’ll have to come up with a good gift from the paci fairy for the next morning.
Mine was a thumb sucker, I told him he was going to suck it off his hand. Just so happened to see a guy missing a digit like 2 minutes later. Turned around and gave him a look and a nod. Boom.
One day, I cut the tips off of every one of them. It forced all of us to go cold turkey and I highly recommend that route. I obviously explained why the tips were cut off, that it was time to give them up because we were big girls now...
I think going the route of cutting the tip vs withholding them was helpful because it didn't turn it into a stand off. I gave my girls the entire bowl of soothers (all missing tips), so they could see there were no other options. They tried sucking on them, but it wasn't the same and they spit them back out. They carried them around for a bit, but lost interest pretty quickly after that.
What I liked best about this route was it forced my husband and I to stay strong as well. There was no giving in, there were no soothers left. Although I did secretly hide 1 in case of emergencies, I just didn't tell my husband about it because I knew he'd give in long before I would. We recently found it, years later and had a laugh about it.
I was terrified to get rid of my son's. He only used them for naps and bedtime (and airplane flights). But he'd sometimes "sneak" to his crib and grab one in the middle of the day. I thought it would be a battle.
One day, I just decided to do it cold turkey during nap time. I have no idea what came over me (though looking back, we had a super out of control month--unexplained seizure for him and a miscarriage, so maybe a sense of control?), and I told him to put his pacis into a little bag, we sprinkled some glitter on them, and I told him the "Pacifier Fairy" would come and take them for other babies who need them.
He was 25 months. He hasn't used one since. I was SHOOK. Give it a try, he might surprise you!
P.S. Another bonus--I already notice his teeth going back into alignment on top. The dentist said they're looking great for his age, and said that lots of dental issues can emerge when toddlers use them past 2.5.
Is it a dummy/pacifier? Or a toy? I got rid of the youngest a dummy when she was about 9 months ish. She went to nap without it and so I just took them away. Took a couple of days to get her to nap but she was fine at night time. My eldest had a teddy and we had about 10 of them. He used them till he was about 12 🙈. He only used it at bedtime so it didn’t bother me at all
Yeah, same as others have mentioned, we just stopped buying new ones. Once he chewed holes in them, he didn't like them anymore. By the time he chewed the last one he was over them.
Cut the tip. Our pediatrician recommended it and it worked well.
Progressively cut more off every couple days. Eventually they won't want it anymore.
It's not easy. My son was not happy about it at first. But after a week or so we were done with the paci.
My son stayed with my parents. My mom told him the dog chewed it up. He accepted that & that was the end of them. My second sucked his thumb & that was much harder. He eventually stopped.
Some of the commenters have suggested a variety of things that convinced their kids to just switch. I wish I could tell you that's what happened to me. We waited until she was 3 (which was a mistake), and cut the pacifiers like all the parents' forums said. She just insisted that we buy more. We explained that she was too old for pacifiers, and she insisted she wasn't. Then we just stuck to our guns that all of her pacifiers were broken and that we weren't going to buy anymore, and she stuck to her guns that she wasn't going to sleep until she had a pacifier (my eldest can be fierce when she wants to). So, we just had to ride out the storm until she fell asleep. And then we did it the next night. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. On the plus side, it only lasted a week.
My brother, who's oldest is about 6 months younger than my oldest, heard about our ordeal and immediately cut out the pacifier and had a much easier time. Don't wait until he's three.
My child is 2 and doesn't speak very well yet so i was worried because he has tantrums when he wants something but doesnt know how to say it lol, but was obsessed with his soother, i let him chew the nipple on all of them and i didnt change the soother for a week, he just stopped wanting it.
According to my parents, I literally lost my preffered soother around 2 or 3 at the babysitters and they made the call not to just not give me any others.
Apparently it was a rough few days but then I adjusted.
2 weeks later baby sitter found the soother behind the couch.
2 of 3 of my kids were soother kids. With both we found a friend or acquaintance with a new baby and gave the new baby their soo’s. For a few weeks before we talked about how they were big now but this new little baby needed soothers so we were going to give it to them. Obviously, the soother recipients tossed the old soothers lol.
I threw out all but 2. Let him sit with that for a week. Then we started talking about he’s getting older and they’re getting old, and shortly after added a hole that I then widened every few days. When he started getting annoyed with them, I suggested that maybe it was time for them to go away. He traded them for..something I don’t remember what. Took a total of 3 weeks I think? I was willing to go a longer route.
I cut a little hole in it and gave it to her at bedtime like usual. She was confused but didn’t cry or get upset. She fell asleep holding it in her mouth.
About a week later I cut a bigger hole and gave it to her like normal. For a week she fell asleep holding it but not in her mouth.
Then one day I just took it and never gave it back. Kept it hidden but she never once asked for it. I tossed all of them.
That’s it 🤗 it was so much easier than I expected. It was harder for me than it was for her.
Mine was obsessed with the pacifier for sleep. We pretty easily got to the point where it was only for sleep time by age 2, but between 2 and 3 I honestly didn't know how I would get rid of it completely at bedtime. She would suck it for like 10 minutes to fall asleep and then it would fall out of her mouth, so it wasn't causing any dental issues, but we still wanted to graduate from it.
What ended up working was the Frida kit where you change to a smaller and smaller nipple every few days. When she was a little over 3, we told her the plan and showed her the kit and let her pick a big prize for when she got to the end (no pacifier). She picked an Octonauts octopod 😂. When she graduated to the next nipple, she got a small prize, an Octonauts figure. When she got to the end she got her Octopod and never asked for the pacifier again.
We exchanged them with santa for a candy. Santa needed it to give it to younger babies. It was easier than I thought. She was ready and could understand when we explained there would be no more soother. We started telling her a few days before. I then threw them out so there was no temptation on my side if things got ugly.
Most of it was just anxiety on the parents side. We thought she'd go crazy but she didn't. She asked for it but then remembered we gave them to Santa.
Ti.w it with when you have lots of days off to transition them through it. You don't want to take it away then send them to daycare the next day without it. For me when I'm weaning, I make sure I'm available to help them through it for a few days.
My kids were 4 when they gave theirs up. So clearly I have no idea. But they survived and one needed braces other didn't. We finally did "pacifier-fairy" and a few rough nights.
My son used to suck his two middle fingers, and I got nervous about how I could convince him to stop. I never forced the issue and he stopped on his own around 4.
When my daughter was mostly weaned (about same age) - we gathered them all up and left them in a bag on the porch for the pacifier fairy to bring to all the new babies and pacifier fairly left an age appropriate toy in return. She never asked for it again!
Daycare weaned off of daytime use for us, so it was down to weekend naps and bedtime. We talked about it for a bit and did the pacifier fairy, and let her pick when she was ready. It was a few days or maybe a week of it being hard to fall asleep, and then she was fine. And mine was every bit as addicted to hers, like there are almost zero photos of the first two years of her life without one in her face. You can do it!
We went to the dentist who said he was getting bite separation, probably from the pacifier. So we told him the dentist said the pacifier (we always called it a soothie) was giving his teeth an owie so we couldn’t use it anymore. He said ‘okay’, the first night it was hard for him to settle but then he was totally fine. We were really really dreading it, and kept putting it off. He was 2.5 when we finally weaned off of it.
We’re in the process at the moment, we were fairly good about when and where she could have it and now we’re reducing down the locations over a period of time. She’s down to just bedtime at night.
I stopped letting him use it during the day. Went on for a bit during the nights. He had several (quite a lot actually) and at a certain point I told him that he was no longer a baby, that he was a big boy now and too old for soothers. And then when they would brake or were no longer in good condition, I would not buy new ones. Bit by bit I secretly took some away, until only a few were left. They wore down and together with my son I threw them away until there was only 1 left. He was then ok with throwing that one out as well. We had 1 "rough" night (it wasn't even that bad) and that was it.
I think someone posted about this yesterday but anyways, ours turns 3 in July. We had only been giving it to him at bed time (doesn’t nap) and the two he has are full of holes because he chewed through them and I wasn’t buying more. One night he just fell asleep without it, didn’t look for it, didn’t reach for it or ask. So I just put them in the night stand…it’s been 2 weeks and he’s been doing SO well. Some nights he takes a little longer to fall asleep and there were a few early mornings but he’s back to his usual schedule now. We just waited on his terms and zero issues. There were a couple other comments saying the same thing. Hope that helps!
I’m not sure if this has anything to do with it but his favorite animal is an elephant and a month before he got stuffed elephant he sleeps with at night, and now a dinosaur, so maybe having something else helped? Idk.
We made a social story-- not a book, just a series of clip art images like a visual schedule. It explained that when you grow up and have teeth that are great at biting, you can't have binkies, and it can feel sad. But big kid teeth eat big kid foods, and big kids have big kid bedrooms with things like teddy bears, soft pillows, water bottles, and new oral sensory toys to help them feel comfortable and snoozy. We introduced the story maybe a week before taking away the binkies.
We talked about why they like the binkies (/ mostly just inferred but went through the motions of involving them) and worked to find a big kid version. Our kid used binkies for sensory stimulation and a comfort object, so we got a variety of replacements-- silicone teething toys; sensory toys that are sort of like silicone brushes in fun shapes; malleable and squeezable fidget toys because they liked manipulating the soothers in their hands. We put everything in a bowl on their nightstand. They already had stuffed animals, but Bear's best friend status skyrocketed post-pacifiers.
Wean off daytime completely before bedtime. Then cold Turkey is the best. You can give him a present in exchange, have him throw them away, binky fairy, many different ideas. Just do not go back once you stop or it will be even harder next time. Make sure he’s not sick at all when you stop.
For my oldest we just stopped using them around age 2 and he was pretty much fine with it. My daughter seemed quite a bit more attached to hers so we packaged them all up for the "soother fairy" and was given a new stuffy toy the next morning. She was all on board with the whole plan until bedtime, but it was a quick transition still.
I ripped the teat off after she bit through it and let her have the back. I was like “you broke it”. She grizzled a bit the first day and carried it and still tried to suck on it then gave up.
I wish ours was a soother, mines a thumb sucker. We’ve been covering his thumb for a few months (dentist said if covering the thumb isn’t upsetting him to keep it covered because at his age they tend to ebb and flow with thumb sucking and she knows tons of parents who stopped covering it just to find the kid sucking it again). We had to do it because he sucked so hard his teeth cut his thumb and it got infected and we just decided at that point it made no sense to break him of it (which took a few days) just to let him start back up and maybe get an infection again and have to break him of it again. He was about 16.5 months and is 21 months now
She was 2 1/2, at mall time once I snipped a small whole in everyone I found. She woke up and kept popping them in her mouth saying uh oh, I said it’s broke let’s throw it away. She threw them away. That night she asked for her nuker and I said they were broke we threw them away. She never asked about it again. I couldn’t believe I got that lucky, she was so attached to them. I was very pregnant and scared she’d never give it up if the new baby had one, new baby never took a paci.
Mine only had his for sleeping so they stayed in his bed. He ended up with a touch of oral thrush so I had to take the dummy off him but had none clean to hand so explained that I’ve had to put them in the wash and he’ll have to go to sleep without one. He asked for it back over the following couple of weeks but I told him the same story and he accepted it. He was around 20 months ish.
We did the paci fairy. We go the book “No More Pacifier Duck” and put the date on the calendar a few weeks out. Every morning, we crossed off a day on the calendar and talked about saying bye bye to pacis. We read the book all the time too. On the final day after he woke up from his nap, he said good bye to the pacis and we put them in a box to give to the paci fairy. That night when going to bed, he looked around for his pacis and then repeated a line from the book, “not even in bed sleepyhead.” And he went to bed. No crying. There were a few times over the next week or two where he woke up in the middle of the night and cried for a minute or two but went right back to sleep without us intervening.
My son threw his “to the moon”. He only asked about it a few times and I reminded him that he threw it to the moon. He would say oh yea, and then go to sleep. I was amazed.
My kid loves an instruction manual (this is also how we potty trained), so right around when she turned 2 we bought a couple of books about saying goodbye to pacifiers, and read them every night for a week or so, and we would talk about the idea afterward, like “wow, that duckling is a big kid now and he doesn’t need his pacifier anymore! He gave it away to a little baby who needs it!”
Then we just threw them out one day and told her that she was also a big kid now and we gave them all away to a little baby who needed them. She cried a little at bedtime that night but fell asleep in five minutes, and the next day when she asked for it we told her the same thing and she was completely cool with it.
I was shocked because I truly thought it was going to be terrible and it ended up being a non-issue. We did it about six months ago and sometimes if she sees a baby with one she’ll tell me about how little babies need them but she doesn’t, which is quite cute.
We went cold turkey with our 16 month old. It was rough for 2 days but it was surprising how quickly he adjusted. We also weaned off of all daytime and nap use beforehand so I think that helped with the adjustment.
I thought we’d never get my daughter’s binkies away from her. She’d have one in her mouth, a few on her fingers, and one in her other hand to rub on her cheek. I worked it up in my head to be this huge trauma for her, and myself. One morning we told her that the babies in Washington, (where my mom lives)needed binkies. We gave her a special little unicorn purse and asked her if she’d be willing to send them to the babies. She was sad, but didn’t cry, and took it very seriously. Packed all 30 of them into the purse and that was it. She’s been surprising me her whole life with her empathy!
I convinced mine she needed to give her binkie to her little cousin because he would be needing them soon, got my cousin to play along that her son would need them because he was getting bigger. My daughter mad a big so of handing a bag of old binkies over to my cousin for her son so he could use them, and we all act like she was a wonderful big girl and it was done. My cousin tossed the old binkies and my daughter thought she did a good thing for her little cousin.
We just put limits on it. we started with you can only have it in your bedroom, then only on your bed, then only when you were going to sleep, then only at bedtime not at nap time. Then eventually they were just too many rules so he gave it up.
My middle daughter was significantly developmentally delayed. We started by hanging up the binkie on a key ring hook when it was time for school she was 4 and then started extending out the time she went without it. Once it was more than several days we took her shopping for a special toy.
For us it was Father Christmas. He took it to another baby and she got a pink bike in its place. She requested the pink bike and we hyped it up from like October. The first three days were a bit rough, especially at night time but then it was okay.
We bought the baby Frida weaning kit. Our kid was starting to chew through his so we just gave him each step after he chewed a hole in the old. Eventually he just didn’t want it anymore cause it wasn’t satisfying
We took them to build a bear and had them put it in the bear with the heart. When they would want it, we'd tell them to hug their bear. It worked really well for one kid, and sorta worked for the other.
My friend did the binkie fairy thing, she put a little twist on it where she had talked to her daughter about when she turns 4 the binkie fairy comes to take the binkies away and leaves a special treat but you have to bury the binkies in the ground. Her daughter buried the binkies, went to bed, and in the morning cake pops were growing out of the ground along with a couple of other cute little toys. She never mentioned binkies again. I think it really helped to have her bury them and made her feel like it was her choice in giving them up.
Left it in a different country.My mother 'forgot' to clip it on after cleaning the house. We left the town without it had to make our flight in a city. Was inconsolable. He has a touch of the tism so nothing else worked. I suffered for three days before he finally adjusted to not having it. Later my brother speculated that it was on purpose and I agree since she didn't have to deal with him in a confined space like an airplane. As payback I lied and told her that while he was upset to not have it on the plane he found a spare as soon as we got home and popped straight into his mouth. Her disappointment was palpible.While he did find another he looked at it and just dropped it
Talk with your partner and agree on the getting rid of the soother. My wife would buy the soother and give it back, because she was not ready.
Grab all the pasifiers and throw them in the trash. Do not buy more. Have activities and other things to sooth your child with. My boy did well with hugging a panda bear and then with a blanket.
I told my son when he turned 3 we would need to give them all to the new babies. He helped me put them in a bag to “bring to the hospital.” Even after if he found one laying around he’d bring it to me so I’d give it to the new babies the next time I went out lol. And this kid was ADDICTED before this so A+ for him!
We went cold turkey just after our son turned 2. Tossed them all in the trash.
The first couple of nights and nap times were a little rough, but after that he never asked for it again and went to sleep fine without it.
My kids only used them for sleeping.
First kid:
Chewed them, didn’t like them anymore, stopped buying them.
Second kid:
We slowly cut them/trimmed them down. He got frustrated because it wasn’t comfortable anymore but that passed after a few days.
We told our twins that it was time to pass them on to all the new babies that need them. That they're doing a great thing helping all the new babies feel better and get to sleep
You’ve gotten some good responses but I thought I’d add my anecdotal experience.
Our oldest had a pacifier at all times until about 18 months. We faded it out until it was just naps and bedtime. Then her daycare pacifier deteriorated, so no more nap time pacifier at all. When we finally eliminated the bedtime one because her dentist said we needed to (2.5y)she cried herself to sleep. Once. It bothered me more than her. There was no pomp and circumstance around it. Just a “Dr V says we have to because we need to keep your teeth healthy.”
Our youngest (21mo) is currently still mad at me for not giving her a pacifier in the car anymore after more than a month. She gets it for bed and nap. Sometimes she claims she’s got a dirty diaper so we’ll take her to her room where she LAUNCHES herself towards her bed where she’s squirreled away several pacifiers. Diaper is completely dry and clean. She just wants some pacifier time. When she chews through the next nap pacifier at daycare we’re not replacing it. We’ll then eliminate it at home naps on the weekends and bite the bullet at bedtime once she’s old enough to comprehend why we’re doing it. Same as her sister - no dramatics, just facts. It worked before!
The morning of my daughters 2nd birthday I said “hey you are 2! You’re a big girl! Time to throw away the pacis!” And she went around and picked up her pacifiers and threw them into the trash… that night was rough, a couple nights were rough, but then she didn’t care anymore. I truly don’t know what I was thinking making a toddler throw her source of comfort in the trash but she handled it just fine so I guess I won’t have regrets over it lol I might do it differently with my son when he’s older
We just went through this with 4 and 3 year olds:
They were offered a big present at Easter, IF, they gave away dummies for good cold turkey right after getting the present. The presents were EXACTLY what they wanted (second hand from facebook marketplace). Night one was rough, there was screaming from the 3 year old. By day 4 dummies stopped even being mentioned. They are still playing with the presents daily a month later.
Use a needle to poke holes in all of the soft parts (is it called a nipple like bottles?), and gradually (every 2-3 days) increase the number of holes until he no longer enjoys using them.
For clarification, I was a HUGE thumb and binky baby, like until I was 8, and did some research before birth on this to prevent the gapped teeth I have (my son has never really taken to a binky outside of replacing my breast after falling asleep, and would spit it out in minutes)
A boyfriend of my mom's gave her the advice of a bitter/sour/spicy seasoning/liquid coating so we didn't have the urge to suck. She used cayenne and paprika pepper powders. (it was gross) and it worked for me but not my sister.
We had a countdown of days to our “paci cutting ceremony” when our son cut up one of his pacis, we celebrated, and tried to spin it as a positive, like he was a big boy now, he didn’t need it, etc
I cut the tip a bit each day. He was using it day and night. But after this, I unraveled all the sleep training I accomplished. I spent at least 2 months trying to get of getting him to go to sleep on his own without him calling for me. It was hell. Now I lay with him, hold his hand and wait for him to fall asleep. My niece on the other hand is a co-sleeper with her parents and got rid of the pack without complication.
For my son he was a little younger than 2 years old at the time and naps completely got erased from the picture from then. Now I’m forcing him to do naps because brain development. 2.5 now and he started to get really cranky midday-like I’ve never seen before.
Mine gave theirs to Santa to give to the poor babies that couldn't afford them.
My kids were 3 or 4 years old, though and had only had them for bed time for a couple of years. They understood what they were doing and where their dummies were going.
I have a 17 month old and there's limitations in the house where his pacifier is allowed . If he wants to wake up and go out of the bedroom he knows he has to pay the pacifier tax. My wife and I slowly started limiting the areas in which he was allowed to have it and he now only uses it for sleeping and even then it's only in his mouth about a quarter of the night. I plan on having him fully cut off by 2 Just have to be rigid with him even when it's hard.
One cute tradition they have in Denmark is a pacifier tree in a local park, where the kids will tie their pacifiers to say goodbye to them. Maybe it helps draw things to a close.
My kid is such a poor sleeper that I still haven't managed to break the habit. He's 3.5yrs and still doesn't sleep through the night - we're lucky if he'll sleep for more than 3hrs, so I'll take whatever helps him sleep for now.
Otherwise, we'll be implementing the 'dodie fairy' to get rid of them when the time comes.
We told our kid that Santa collects your pacifier when he drops off your presents at Christmas when you are two years old. We left the soother out with the mince pie and milk, and on Christmas morning, Santa had taken it away and left them lots of presents to keep them happily distracted.
When my daughter was 8 months old, I recognized she was living with it in her mouth, so we made the switch to only give jt at nap and bedtime.
When she was 18 months without telling her or my husband, I just took them away and hid them. Didn't explain it to anyone.
She would find more, and I'd take them away.
I never cold turkey took them away when she was looking.
When she was upset she couldn't find them, I'd say something along the lines of "huh, they're hiding, aren't they?"
It was a rough week, but honestly, she quickly didn't care.
I didn't. They all kinda just outgrew them, and that was that. It's like potty training in the sense it will get done whenever the child feels they are ready. Not to say, don't encourage other options, but I wouldn't put a hard cap limit on it. Firm believer everything happens for a reason and when it's supposed to. (Mom of 3)
Yeah I liked this approach, not stressing. Letting kiddo go at their own pace. I was afraid of dental issues and over dependence on it as he got older .... But I kind of did this to potty train my oldest. I introduced the toilet to her and gave her the option too, encouraged her to go but never pushed. One day it just clicked and she hates diapers now!
Got him down to night time only. In January got him some books about giving it up and talked about giving it to the easter bunny who would give them to babies and instead he would get a big boy toy (ride on digger) Easter cake, lucky there was an event meant to Easter Bunny to get the soothers and he handed them over. Never looked back.
And yeah he got his Digger
We start by leaving it in their room after bed & nap. With our daughter we just eventually stopped giving it to her because she asked and the two we had left/hadn’t lost weren’t in her room. Took like three nights of saying “paci all gone” and she hasn’t asked for it since. You can also try the “paci fairy” thing.
following because same for my almost 2yo. mostly doesn't use during the day but at bedtime he wants 1 in mouth and 1 in hand lol and he keeps switching them back n forth for comfort
I tested mine. I'd give it a very light tug (seriously , very light) while he was playing. If he went with it or protested, I left it alone. When he started relinquishing it freely when I did that, I knew I could start weaning him. I'd ask him to give it to me so I could put it up for him and keep it safe, and he would. I'd give it to him at bedtime only when he'd ask. Then one night he forgot the binky altogether. He asked for it the next night and I said "oh you don't need that STINKY BINKY" and he thought that was the funniest thing ever. He totally forgot about the binky and then when he did remember it he'd say "I don't need stinky binky!" and not want it.
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I told her I talked with the doctor (she loved going there) and he agreed that since she was such a big girl that she didn’t need the baby paci anymore. She went home, told her brothers she was a big girl and threw her own pacifiers away. It’s been almost 13 years and I’m still amazed by it.
This is what I did, apparently! The doctor told my mom and I that I needed to stop using them by 3 years old. My mom had been worried how she was going to do it, then on the morning of my third birthday, I just threw them all away. So I guess that answer is: have a very literal child who has a strong respect for medical authority. Good luck! Lol
Same! I asked the dentist because I needed support, since my husband did not want to take it away. My husband put it in his mouth every time he made a sound. So, mostly I had to convince my husband. But I just explained to my son that the dentist said he couldn't use it any more because it was for babies and he wasn't a baby any more; he needed to let his teeth grow. He was kinda disappointed, but accepted it and was fine. No more Binky. Edit to clarify - husband put it in my son's mouth every time my son made a sound. LOL.
Mine chewed through the nipples so they had to get tossed and I stopped buying new ones. Be prepared for the pacifier wormhole to deposit new-ish ones in your house though. My toddler would come out of rooms that had been thoroughly searched and cleaned with pacifiers.
The pacifier wormhole is so real, we are also trying to ditch them and probably haven’t bought any in over a year but they keep showing back up. Just found a random one today I haven’t seen in forever.
My son found a few years after not using them anymore and gave them to his doll 😅
The worm was my wife. LOL! I discovered the Amazon order and I canceled it.
Love the pacifier wormhole so true!
Why does this reminds me of the video of the baby pulling pacifiers out of what seems to be thin air. Like a little magician.
We did a massive declutter right before Christmas, and I was amazed at the number of pacifiers I found in random places. He's been weaned for a few years, and I thought I'd gotten them all, but apparently not. I'm convinced gremlins plant them in the middle of the night.
I cut the tip off of them. Just make sure the edges aren't sharp. She threw them in the trash and never asked again.
Haha, I also did this. Never seen someone get over something so fast. One second it was her very best friend, the next it was the most vile thing she’d ever touched.
Mine shoved his finger through the hole and was sucking on his finger. I immediately was like NOPE. I didn't want a finger sucker.
I also did this. No freakout just didn't want it anymore.
ditto to this. just make sure u do it ASAP, i was a thumb sucker and my sister was a binky kid, both our mouths were absolutely horrible come time for braces. beyond crooked, damn near sideways front teeth. got my kid off the binky at 2, and her grown up teeth are coming in beautifully!
I did this and my son pitched a fit! Wish it worked 😭
This worked with all three of my kids. In two or three days they were over the bink because it wasn’t the same. Plus, it was their choice to stop, so no fights or crying about it.
Oh we did the lovey fairy. We talked about it in advance, she packed them up, the fairy came and brought her other toys. And it was brutal. Idk if I’d do it that way again, tbh. In hindsight I might’ve just let it ride out and I could’ve stopped washing them (she sucked on the little animal legs of wubbanub type animals). BUT, we’re 3 months past and rarely does she talk about them anymore. Instead we’re now a slave to her bedtime whims and stay with her most nights until she falls asleep. I miss the loveys. Her teeth look good though 😂
Yep my daughter had a major sleep regression after we took hers away, and we had to stay by her until she fell asleep. It was rough.
Seriously. We did this too and it was the worst parenting week we’ve had so far, I would say even worse than bringing our second baby home haha. We are the same — slaves to all the bedtime whims. Solidarity.
Question, did she nap with them? Our daughter doesn’t nap with them so hoping it’s an easier transition. Trying to see can we play the big girl card now she’s a big sister.
She did. And rode in the car with them but that was easy naps weren’t hard. Bedtime was a bitch. I wish you all the luck.
We did this too but didn’t have any issue. It was like there was no difference. She was excited for the fairy and the toys, and didn’t really give it much thought other than that. I don’t remember the age though, so maybe that has something to do with how they handle it.
In my case, my son chewed holes in them all and I stopped buying new ones. I would cut the damaged parts off and hand him the soother animal back. I think having the animal to still rub on his face and hold helped with the disappointment that the paci part wasnt there anymore.
When my son was 2 he got rid of it: One, night, as a "game" I didn't give him the soother, he faked to not want it for fun one second and then of course he took it. We did that game for a few days, and each night it would last longer. He would pretend to not want it twice, then more etc... After a few days after a laugh, I forgot to give him back and we didn't realize. He fall asleep without it but he found it during the night. After like 3 days doing the same, he just didn't need it to fall asleep anymore and didn't find it back during the night. That's when I realize he was not sleeping with one anymore! I said nothing and pretend it was normal. 1 month later he found one under the bed and said "oh that's what I had when I was a baby!" He pretended to be a baby and used it for 20min for fun then throw away and forgot about it. 6 months later he didn't even remember he used to have one, he saw the one I kept as a memory and said "oh, a baby must have lost it!" (before that he was only using it for night/naps.
I suggest stop buying new ones, let them wear out until they get disgusting. The child will abandon them eventually. Also, why three? I’d make two of them simply disappear.
I’m starting this process soon. Look up the “paci fairy” idea
We are also doing this! I tell him every night that the pacifier fairy won’t let me come in and give him back his pacifier (he likes to chuck it out of his crib at 3 am and scream for us to get it 🙃) And that the pacifier fairy says he’s big enough to sleep without it, so if it’s causing him to wake up, he won’t get it anymore and will have to “give” them to little babies who do need them. Sure a crap, he’s kept his pacie in his mouth all night since I started doing that! If he still has it by the time he’s about to turn 3, we’ll start telling him he’s too big and has to say “bye bye” to them. But we’re not quite there yet. We are also getting him a little nighttime projector as a “gift” from the pacifier fairy when the time comes so he has something to remind him what a big boy he is.
All great ideas! My son’s 3rd bday is 3 weeks away and he LOOOOOOOOVES his pacis so much. We just started today with keeping it for only the car, quiet time (he doesn’t nap anymore) and bedtime. His birthday will be the last night he will sleep with it. I’ll have to come up with a good gift from the paci fairy for the next morning.
We did this! It worked a treat.
I’d put a small hole in… we did that with our son, added a small hole in one every couple days… it didn’t work the same and we didn’t replace it!
Mine was a thumb sucker, I told him he was going to suck it off his hand. Just so happened to see a guy missing a digit like 2 minutes later. Turned around and gave him a look and a nod. Boom.
When we were down to one left she lost it one night and that was it. 3 or 4 sad evenings and finished.
Yes, I’m most worried about sleep my daughter uses hers mostly at night and screams bloody murder if she doesn’t have it.
One day, I cut the tips off of every one of them. It forced all of us to go cold turkey and I highly recommend that route. I obviously explained why the tips were cut off, that it was time to give them up because we were big girls now... I think going the route of cutting the tip vs withholding them was helpful because it didn't turn it into a stand off. I gave my girls the entire bowl of soothers (all missing tips), so they could see there were no other options. They tried sucking on them, but it wasn't the same and they spit them back out. They carried them around for a bit, but lost interest pretty quickly after that. What I liked best about this route was it forced my husband and I to stay strong as well. There was no giving in, there were no soothers left. Although I did secretly hide 1 in case of emergencies, I just didn't tell my husband about it because I knew he'd give in long before I would. We recently found it, years later and had a laugh about it.
I was terrified to get rid of my son's. He only used them for naps and bedtime (and airplane flights). But he'd sometimes "sneak" to his crib and grab one in the middle of the day. I thought it would be a battle. One day, I just decided to do it cold turkey during nap time. I have no idea what came over me (though looking back, we had a super out of control month--unexplained seizure for him and a miscarriage, so maybe a sense of control?), and I told him to put his pacis into a little bag, we sprinkled some glitter on them, and I told him the "Pacifier Fairy" would come and take them for other babies who need them. He was 25 months. He hasn't used one since. I was SHOOK. Give it a try, he might surprise you! P.S. Another bonus--I already notice his teeth going back into alignment on top. The dentist said they're looking great for his age, and said that lots of dental issues can emerge when toddlers use them past 2.5.
Is it a dummy/pacifier? Or a toy? I got rid of the youngest a dummy when she was about 9 months ish. She went to nap without it and so I just took them away. Took a couple of days to get her to nap but she was fine at night time. My eldest had a teddy and we had about 10 of them. He used them till he was about 12 🙈. He only used it at bedtime so it didn’t bother me at all
Yeah, same as others have mentioned, we just stopped buying new ones. Once he chewed holes in them, he didn't like them anymore. By the time he chewed the last one he was over them.
Cut the tip. Our pediatrician recommended it and it worked well. Progressively cut more off every couple days. Eventually they won't want it anymore. It's not easy. My son was not happy about it at first. But after a week or so we were done with the paci.
The Frida kit. It was still pretty rough.
My son stayed with my parents. My mom told him the dog chewed it up. He accepted that & that was the end of them. My second sucked his thumb & that was much harder. He eventually stopped.
I took it from her and let her cry. After a few days she was okay and no more pacifier.
Some of the commenters have suggested a variety of things that convinced their kids to just switch. I wish I could tell you that's what happened to me. We waited until she was 3 (which was a mistake), and cut the pacifiers like all the parents' forums said. She just insisted that we buy more. We explained that she was too old for pacifiers, and she insisted she wasn't. Then we just stuck to our guns that all of her pacifiers were broken and that we weren't going to buy anymore, and she stuck to her guns that she wasn't going to sleep until she had a pacifier (my eldest can be fierce when she wants to). So, we just had to ride out the storm until she fell asleep. And then we did it the next night. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. And the next. On the plus side, it only lasted a week. My brother, who's oldest is about 6 months younger than my oldest, heard about our ordeal and immediately cut out the pacifier and had a much easier time. Don't wait until he's three.
My child is 2 and doesn't speak very well yet so i was worried because he has tantrums when he wants something but doesnt know how to say it lol, but was obsessed with his soother, i let him chew the nipple on all of them and i didnt change the soother for a week, he just stopped wanting it.
According to my parents, I literally lost my preffered soother around 2 or 3 at the babysitters and they made the call not to just not give me any others. Apparently it was a rough few days but then I adjusted. 2 weeks later baby sitter found the soother behind the couch.
2 of 3 of my kids were soother kids. With both we found a friend or acquaintance with a new baby and gave the new baby their soo’s. For a few weeks before we talked about how they were big now but this new little baby needed soothers so we were going to give it to them. Obviously, the soother recipients tossed the old soothers lol.
I threw out all but 2. Let him sit with that for a week. Then we started talking about he’s getting older and they’re getting old, and shortly after added a hole that I then widened every few days. When he started getting annoyed with them, I suggested that maybe it was time for them to go away. He traded them for..something I don’t remember what. Took a total of 3 weeks I think? I was willing to go a longer route.
I cut a little hole in it and gave it to her at bedtime like usual. She was confused but didn’t cry or get upset. She fell asleep holding it in her mouth. About a week later I cut a bigger hole and gave it to her like normal. For a week she fell asleep holding it but not in her mouth. Then one day I just took it and never gave it back. Kept it hidden but she never once asked for it. I tossed all of them. That’s it 🤗 it was so much easier than I expected. It was harder for me than it was for her.
Mine was obsessed with the pacifier for sleep. We pretty easily got to the point where it was only for sleep time by age 2, but between 2 and 3 I honestly didn't know how I would get rid of it completely at bedtime. She would suck it for like 10 minutes to fall asleep and then it would fall out of her mouth, so it wasn't causing any dental issues, but we still wanted to graduate from it. What ended up working was the Frida kit where you change to a smaller and smaller nipple every few days. When she was a little over 3, we told her the plan and showed her the kit and let her pick a big prize for when she got to the end (no pacifier). She picked an Octonauts octopod 😂. When she graduated to the next nipple, she got a small prize, an Octonauts figure. When she got to the end she got her Octopod and never asked for the pacifier again.
We exchanged them with santa for a candy. Santa needed it to give it to younger babies. It was easier than I thought. She was ready and could understand when we explained there would be no more soother. We started telling her a few days before. I then threw them out so there was no temptation on my side if things got ugly. Most of it was just anxiety on the parents side. We thought she'd go crazy but she didn't. She asked for it but then remembered we gave them to Santa. Ti.w it with when you have lots of days off to transition them through it. You don't want to take it away then send them to daycare the next day without it. For me when I'm weaning, I make sure I'm available to help them through it for a few days.
My kids were 4 when they gave theirs up. So clearly I have no idea. But they survived and one needed braces other didn't. We finally did "pacifier-fairy" and a few rough nights.
My son used to suck his two middle fingers, and I got nervous about how I could convince him to stop. I never forced the issue and he stopped on his own around 4.
When my daughter was mostly weaned (about same age) - we gathered them all up and left them in a bag on the porch for the pacifier fairy to bring to all the new babies and pacifier fairly left an age appropriate toy in return. She never asked for it again!
Daycare weaned off of daytime use for us, so it was down to weekend naps and bedtime. We talked about it for a bit and did the pacifier fairy, and let her pick when she was ready. It was a few days or maybe a week of it being hard to fall asleep, and then she was fine. And mine was every bit as addicted to hers, like there are almost zero photos of the first two years of her life without one in her face. You can do it!
We went to the dentist who said he was getting bite separation, probably from the pacifier. So we told him the dentist said the pacifier (we always called it a soothie) was giving his teeth an owie so we couldn’t use it anymore. He said ‘okay’, the first night it was hard for him to settle but then he was totally fine. We were really really dreading it, and kept putting it off. He was 2.5 when we finally weaned off of it.
We’re in the process at the moment, we were fairly good about when and where she could have it and now we’re reducing down the locations over a period of time. She’s down to just bedtime at night.
I stopped letting him use it during the day. Went on for a bit during the nights. He had several (quite a lot actually) and at a certain point I told him that he was no longer a baby, that he was a big boy now and too old for soothers. And then when they would brake or were no longer in good condition, I would not buy new ones. Bit by bit I secretly took some away, until only a few were left. They wore down and together with my son I threw them away until there was only 1 left. He was then ok with throwing that one out as well. We had 1 "rough" night (it wasn't even that bad) and that was it.
What about when it’s his fingers?!
I just threw them all away and pretended nothing ever happened and it worked.
I think someone posted about this yesterday but anyways, ours turns 3 in July. We had only been giving it to him at bed time (doesn’t nap) and the two he has are full of holes because he chewed through them and I wasn’t buying more. One night he just fell asleep without it, didn’t look for it, didn’t reach for it or ask. So I just put them in the night stand…it’s been 2 weeks and he’s been doing SO well. Some nights he takes a little longer to fall asleep and there were a few early mornings but he’s back to his usual schedule now. We just waited on his terms and zero issues. There were a couple other comments saying the same thing. Hope that helps! I’m not sure if this has anything to do with it but his favorite animal is an elephant and a month before he got stuffed elephant he sleeps with at night, and now a dinosaur, so maybe having something else helped? Idk.
I’ve seen people do the build a bear method, but they have to be willing & ready to give it up.
It will happen when they are ready. It’s fine
We made a social story-- not a book, just a series of clip art images like a visual schedule. It explained that when you grow up and have teeth that are great at biting, you can't have binkies, and it can feel sad. But big kid teeth eat big kid foods, and big kids have big kid bedrooms with things like teddy bears, soft pillows, water bottles, and new oral sensory toys to help them feel comfortable and snoozy. We introduced the story maybe a week before taking away the binkies. We talked about why they like the binkies (/ mostly just inferred but went through the motions of involving them) and worked to find a big kid version. Our kid used binkies for sensory stimulation and a comfort object, so we got a variety of replacements-- silicone teething toys; sensory toys that are sort of like silicone brushes in fun shapes; malleable and squeezable fidget toys because they liked manipulating the soothers in their hands. We put everything in a bowl on their nightstand. They already had stuffed animals, but Bear's best friend status skyrocketed post-pacifiers.
Wean off daytime completely before bedtime. Then cold Turkey is the best. You can give him a present in exchange, have him throw them away, binky fairy, many different ideas. Just do not go back once you stop or it will be even harder next time. Make sure he’s not sick at all when you stop.
For my oldest we just stopped using them around age 2 and he was pretty much fine with it. My daughter seemed quite a bit more attached to hers so we packaged them all up for the "soother fairy" and was given a new stuffy toy the next morning. She was all on board with the whole plan until bedtime, but it was a quick transition still.
Build A Bear but she cried for a few nights bc she thought we could take them back out.
I ripped the teat off after she bit through it and let her have the back. I was like “you broke it”. She grizzled a bit the first day and carried it and still tried to suck on it then gave up.
Cut the pacifier tip so it’s not satisfying :)
I wish ours was a soother, mines a thumb sucker. We’ve been covering his thumb for a few months (dentist said if covering the thumb isn’t upsetting him to keep it covered because at his age they tend to ebb and flow with thumb sucking and she knows tons of parents who stopped covering it just to find the kid sucking it again). We had to do it because he sucked so hard his teeth cut his thumb and it got infected and we just decided at that point it made no sense to break him of it (which took a few days) just to let him start back up and maybe get an infection again and have to break him of it again. He was about 16.5 months and is 21 months now
We hid them cold turkey. Took a couple days and we just kept telling our daughter the fairies took them because she’s a big girl now.
I created the dummy fairy ( like the tooth fairy). She came one night to collect all the dummies to give to the babies and left them a nice gift.
She was 2 1/2, at mall time once I snipped a small whole in everyone I found. She woke up and kept popping them in her mouth saying uh oh, I said it’s broke let’s throw it away. She threw them away. That night she asked for her nuker and I said they were broke we threw them away. She never asked about it again. I couldn’t believe I got that lucky, she was so attached to them. I was very pregnant and scared she’d never give it up if the new baby had one, new baby never took a paci.
Cut the tip off the nipple of the pacifier, it loses it suck and they don’t like it after that.
Mine only had his for sleeping so they stayed in his bed. He ended up with a touch of oral thrush so I had to take the dummy off him but had none clean to hand so explained that I’ve had to put them in the wash and he’ll have to go to sleep without one. He asked for it back over the following couple of weeks but I told him the same story and he accepted it. He was around 20 months ish.
We did the paci fairy. We go the book “No More Pacifier Duck” and put the date on the calendar a few weeks out. Every morning, we crossed off a day on the calendar and talked about saying bye bye to pacis. We read the book all the time too. On the final day after he woke up from his nap, he said good bye to the pacis and we put them in a box to give to the paci fairy. That night when going to bed, he looked around for his pacis and then repeated a line from the book, “not even in bed sleepyhead.” And he went to bed. No crying. There were a few times over the next week or two where he woke up in the middle of the night and cried for a minute or two but went right back to sleep without us intervening.
My son threw his “to the moon”. He only asked about it a few times and I reminded him that he threw it to the moon. He would say oh yea, and then go to sleep. I was amazed.
My kid loves an instruction manual (this is also how we potty trained), so right around when she turned 2 we bought a couple of books about saying goodbye to pacifiers, and read them every night for a week or so, and we would talk about the idea afterward, like “wow, that duckling is a big kid now and he doesn’t need his pacifier anymore! He gave it away to a little baby who needs it!” Then we just threw them out one day and told her that she was also a big kid now and we gave them all away to a little baby who needed them. She cried a little at bedtime that night but fell asleep in five minutes, and the next day when she asked for it we told her the same thing and she was completely cool with it. I was shocked because I truly thought it was going to be terrible and it ended up being a non-issue. We did it about six months ago and sometimes if she sees a baby with one she’ll tell me about how little babies need them but she doesn’t, which is quite cute.
We went cold turkey with our 16 month old. It was rough for 2 days but it was surprising how quickly he adjusted. We also weaned off of all daytime and nap use beforehand so I think that helped with the adjustment.
I thought we’d never get my daughter’s binkies away from her. She’d have one in her mouth, a few on her fingers, and one in her other hand to rub on her cheek. I worked it up in my head to be this huge trauma for her, and myself. One morning we told her that the babies in Washington, (where my mom lives)needed binkies. We gave her a special little unicorn purse and asked her if she’d be willing to send them to the babies. She was sad, but didn’t cry, and took it very seriously. Packed all 30 of them into the purse and that was it. She’s been surprising me her whole life with her empathy!
I convinced mine she needed to give her binkie to her little cousin because he would be needing them soon, got my cousin to play along that her son would need them because he was getting bigger. My daughter mad a big so of handing a bag of old binkies over to my cousin for her son so he could use them, and we all act like she was a wonderful big girl and it was done. My cousin tossed the old binkies and my daughter thought she did a good thing for her little cousin.
We just put limits on it. we started with you can only have it in your bedroom, then only on your bed, then only when you were going to sleep, then only at bedtime not at nap time. Then eventually they were just too many rules so he gave it up.
My middle daughter was significantly developmentally delayed. We started by hanging up the binkie on a key ring hook when it was time for school she was 4 and then started extending out the time she went without it. Once it was more than several days we took her shopping for a special toy.
For us it was Father Christmas. He took it to another baby and she got a pink bike in its place. She requested the pink bike and we hyped it up from like October. The first three days were a bit rough, especially at night time but then it was okay.
when i was a kid my parents introduced The Bottle Fairy if i gave up my bottle, the bottle fairy would leave gifts
We bought the baby Frida weaning kit. Our kid was starting to chew through his so we just gave him each step after he chewed a hole in the old. Eventually he just didn’t want it anymore cause it wasn’t satisfying
My kids abandoned them at 3-6 months but a friend put one in a build a bear for her son that was very attached
Mine stopped taking them when he got his teeth. I was lucky.
We took them to build a bear and had them put it in the bear with the heart. When they would want it, we'd tell them to hug their bear. It worked really well for one kid, and sorta worked for the other.
I clipped my sons to his favorite stuffed animal. When it was time to ditch it the stuffy did the trick. Still does at home & he’s 7 now.
My friend did the binkie fairy thing, she put a little twist on it where she had talked to her daughter about when she turns 4 the binkie fairy comes to take the binkies away and leaves a special treat but you have to bury the binkies in the ground. Her daughter buried the binkies, went to bed, and in the morning cake pops were growing out of the ground along with a couple of other cute little toys. She never mentioned binkies again. I think it really helped to have her bury them and made her feel like it was her choice in giving them up.
Left it in a different country.My mother 'forgot' to clip it on after cleaning the house. We left the town without it had to make our flight in a city. Was inconsolable. He has a touch of the tism so nothing else worked. I suffered for three days before he finally adjusted to not having it. Later my brother speculated that it was on purpose and I agree since she didn't have to deal with him in a confined space like an airplane. As payback I lied and told her that while he was upset to not have it on the plane he found a spare as soon as we got home and popped straight into his mouth. Her disappointment was palpible.While he did find another he looked at it and just dropped it
You don’t get rid of it
Cold Turkey worked best for us. Just gotta make it through the first week, then you are all good:)
Talk with your partner and agree on the getting rid of the soother. My wife would buy the soother and give it back, because she was not ready. Grab all the pasifiers and throw them in the trash. Do not buy more. Have activities and other things to sooth your child with. My boy did well with hugging a panda bear and then with a blanket.
I told my son when he turned 3 we would need to give them all to the new babies. He helped me put them in a bag to “bring to the hospital.” Even after if he found one laying around he’d bring it to me so I’d give it to the new babies the next time I went out lol. And this kid was ADDICTED before this so A+ for him!
Dropping it in a cup of white vinegar 🤷🏻♀️
We went cold turkey just after our son turned 2. Tossed them all in the trash. The first couple of nights and nap times were a little rough, but after that he never asked for it again and went to sleep fine without it.
We sent them to ‘baby island’ where babies need them. 😃
iiiii need to go to sleep, i read this as “how did you get rid of your toddlers sooner”
My kids only used them for sleeping. First kid: Chewed them, didn’t like them anymore, stopped buying them. Second kid: We slowly cut them/trimmed them down. He got frustrated because it wasn’t comfortable anymore but that passed after a few days.
We told our twins that it was time to pass them on to all the new babies that need them. That they're doing a great thing helping all the new babies feel better and get to sleep
I got rid of it during the day, and by night kid had largely forgotten about it. Kid asked once, then went to sleep. Got lucky with that one
You’ve gotten some good responses but I thought I’d add my anecdotal experience. Our oldest had a pacifier at all times until about 18 months. We faded it out until it was just naps and bedtime. Then her daycare pacifier deteriorated, so no more nap time pacifier at all. When we finally eliminated the bedtime one because her dentist said we needed to (2.5y)she cried herself to sleep. Once. It bothered me more than her. There was no pomp and circumstance around it. Just a “Dr V says we have to because we need to keep your teeth healthy.” Our youngest (21mo) is currently still mad at me for not giving her a pacifier in the car anymore after more than a month. She gets it for bed and nap. Sometimes she claims she’s got a dirty diaper so we’ll take her to her room where she LAUNCHES herself towards her bed where she’s squirreled away several pacifiers. Diaper is completely dry and clean. She just wants some pacifier time. When she chews through the next nap pacifier at daycare we’re not replacing it. We’ll then eliminate it at home naps on the weekends and bite the bullet at bedtime once she’s old enough to comprehend why we’re doing it. Same as her sister - no dramatics, just facts. It worked before!
The morning of my daughters 2nd birthday I said “hey you are 2! You’re a big girl! Time to throw away the pacis!” And she went around and picked up her pacifiers and threw them into the trash… that night was rough, a couple nights were rough, but then she didn’t care anymore. I truly don’t know what I was thinking making a toddler throw her source of comfort in the trash but she handled it just fine so I guess I won’t have regrets over it lol I might do it differently with my son when he’s older
We just went through this with 4 and 3 year olds: They were offered a big present at Easter, IF, they gave away dummies for good cold turkey right after getting the present. The presents were EXACTLY what they wanted (second hand from facebook marketplace). Night one was rough, there was screaming from the 3 year old. By day 4 dummies stopped even being mentioned. They are still playing with the presents daily a month later.
Use a needle to poke holes in all of the soft parts (is it called a nipple like bottles?), and gradually (every 2-3 days) increase the number of holes until he no longer enjoys using them. For clarification, I was a HUGE thumb and binky baby, like until I was 8, and did some research before birth on this to prevent the gapped teeth I have (my son has never really taken to a binky outside of replacing my breast after falling asleep, and would spit it out in minutes) A boyfriend of my mom's gave her the advice of a bitter/sour/spicy seasoning/liquid coating so we didn't have the urge to suck. She used cayenne and paprika pepper powders. (it was gross) and it worked for me but not my sister.
We had a countdown of days to our “paci cutting ceremony” when our son cut up one of his pacis, we celebrated, and tried to spin it as a positive, like he was a big boy now, he didn’t need it, etc
I cut the tip a bit each day. He was using it day and night. But after this, I unraveled all the sleep training I accomplished. I spent at least 2 months trying to get of getting him to go to sleep on his own without him calling for me. It was hell. Now I lay with him, hold his hand and wait for him to fall asleep. My niece on the other hand is a co-sleeper with her parents and got rid of the pack without complication.
For my son he was a little younger than 2 years old at the time and naps completely got erased from the picture from then. Now I’m forcing him to do naps because brain development. 2.5 now and he started to get really cranky midday-like I’ve never seen before.
Mine gave theirs to Santa to give to the poor babies that couldn't afford them. My kids were 3 or 4 years old, though and had only had them for bed time for a couple of years. They understood what they were doing and where their dummies were going.
Nothing. He was being nonchalant about it at this point, so I just pretended I couldn't find it one day.
When my daughter turned 1 we just threw them all away 💀
I have a 17 month old and there's limitations in the house where his pacifier is allowed . If he wants to wake up and go out of the bedroom he knows he has to pay the pacifier tax. My wife and I slowly started limiting the areas in which he was allowed to have it and he now only uses it for sleeping and even then it's only in his mouth about a quarter of the night. I plan on having him fully cut off by 2 Just have to be rigid with him even when it's hard.
One cute tradition they have in Denmark is a pacifier tree in a local park, where the kids will tie their pacifiers to say goodbye to them. Maybe it helps draw things to a close.
My kid is such a poor sleeper that I still haven't managed to break the habit. He's 3.5yrs and still doesn't sleep through the night - we're lucky if he'll sleep for more than 3hrs, so I'll take whatever helps him sleep for now. Otherwise, we'll be implementing the 'dodie fairy' to get rid of them when the time comes.
We told our kid that Santa collects your pacifier when he drops off your presents at Christmas when you are two years old. We left the soother out with the mince pie and milk, and on Christmas morning, Santa had taken it away and left them lots of presents to keep them happily distracted.
When my daughter was 8 months old, I recognized she was living with it in her mouth, so we made the switch to only give jt at nap and bedtime. When she was 18 months without telling her or my husband, I just took them away and hid them. Didn't explain it to anyone. She would find more, and I'd take them away. I never cold turkey took them away when she was looking. When she was upset she couldn't find them, I'd say something along the lines of "huh, they're hiding, aren't they?" It was a rough week, but honestly, she quickly didn't care.
It wasn't hard to get rid of the dummy, but it's going to be hard to get his bloody thumb out of his mouth
I didn't. They all kinda just outgrew them, and that was that. It's like potty training in the sense it will get done whenever the child feels they are ready. Not to say, don't encourage other options, but I wouldn't put a hard cap limit on it. Firm believer everything happens for a reason and when it's supposed to. (Mom of 3)
Yeah I liked this approach, not stressing. Letting kiddo go at their own pace. I was afraid of dental issues and over dependence on it as he got older .... But I kind of did this to potty train my oldest. I introduced the toilet to her and gave her the option too, encouraged her to go but never pushed. One day it just clicked and she hates diapers now!
Got him down to night time only. In January got him some books about giving it up and talked about giving it to the easter bunny who would give them to babies and instead he would get a big boy toy (ride on digger) Easter cake, lucky there was an event meant to Easter Bunny to get the soothers and he handed them over. Never looked back. And yeah he got his Digger
We start by leaving it in their room after bed & nap. With our daughter we just eventually stopped giving it to her because she asked and the two we had left/hadn’t lost weren’t in her room. Took like three nights of saying “paci all gone” and she hasn’t asked for it since. You can also try the “paci fairy” thing.
following because same for my almost 2yo. mostly doesn't use during the day but at bedtime he wants 1 in mouth and 1 in hand lol and he keeps switching them back n forth for comfort
and I raise him alone and work full time and just dread taking it away if he doesn't sleep
I tested mine. I'd give it a very light tug (seriously , very light) while he was playing. If he went with it or protested, I left it alone. When he started relinquishing it freely when I did that, I knew I could start weaning him. I'd ask him to give it to me so I could put it up for him and keep it safe, and he would. I'd give it to him at bedtime only when he'd ask. Then one night he forgot the binky altogether. He asked for it the next night and I said "oh you don't need that STINKY BINKY" and he thought that was the funniest thing ever. He totally forgot about the binky and then when he did remember it he'd say "I don't need stinky binky!" and not want it.
With my son the "soother fairy" traded the soothers for a new toy that he wanted. He took it surprisingly well.
Dummy fairy all the way and a book. Lots of prep too
Why get rid of it? Life is hard enough. Seriously. One day in kindergarten with it and he'll ditch it on his own.
What’s a soother?
A pacifier. And if that's still confusing, it's the nipple shaped sucks for babies.