Is there a right time to take away the pacifire?

Question

My daughter will be 2 in November and she is OBSESSED with the pacifire. I get sick and tired of people telling me to take it away...she cries non stop if she can't have it. I just don't think there is a right time or certain age. I was 3 when I gave up mine. Any advice from parents that have gone thru this stage already or going thru it now

Answer 1

You're her parent, not those other people. You know your child better than anyone. If she's not ready then she's not ready. We decided to let each of our kids make the decision on their own. One threw it away on his third birthday (he said he was old enough) and the other threw it overboard on a cruise (at least that's what he said he did... but he was about 3 1/2 so who knows where it really went).

My advice would be to look at her with love and do what feels right to you... and remember that she won't still have it when she leaves for college, so sometime before that she's bound to give it up! :-)

Answer 2

You are right..

I have gone through this stage before and I am going through it right now!! I know exactly what you are saying. My step mom will yank it out of her mouth and ask her what she is doing with it in her mouth. My daughter is three. She had cancer at two weeks old and my views on child rearing (on certain subjects) became a lot less "text book" than with my 5 year old. I did everything by the book with my 5 year old. Binky taken away at 9 months before he missed it. Bottle taken away at a year. With my daughter, she will be three soon and she is still crying for her Binky. Kids need a security. For her it is her Binky. For others, it is a stuffed animal, a blanket, a bottle, etc. Don't take it away with out replacing it with something else she likes. In the end, she will lose it when she is ready. I have never seen a kindergartner with a Binky. It is not as big of a deal until they get to be 3 1/2 to 4 years old and then it can affect their teeth. I say let her be little and don't worry about all the critics out there who think they are the model for parenting! It's more important that your child receive love and security and comfort at this age. Let her be little...she won't be that way for long.

Answer 3

Don't worry about what other people say about your 2 year old daughter and her pacifer. When you feel it's time to start working on it, then it's time. I didn't have this problem with my son as he didn't use his pacifer that much as a newborn or infant. But I do know alot of parents that run into this problem. I would just take it day by day. Maybe just try each day to get her to go without it for a little while. But it is up to you when you want her to stop using it. NO parent is the same and everyone parents differently.

Answer 4

I don't think that there is a right time or a wrong time, but you probably would have had an easier time when she was younger, before it became the power struggle that it seems to be now. (While you are trying to break her of it and she is crying, keep in mind that she is manipulating you the best way she knows how.) I've heard of people taking it away gradually, for example, by only letting her have it in her bed or crib, then eventually only at night, etc. Also, I've heard of people convincing their child to give it to the a new baby (if you know one) or the paci fairy, and getting a reward for giving it up. My Brother-in-Law took it from my nephew one day, and that was that. Sounds like your girl won't have it be cold turkey though. My step son used his pacifier until he was 7 (odd-I know) and it screwed up his teeth horribly! Good luck, & hope this helps.

Answer 5

My son gave his up just before he was three. We told him that he had to send it to santa to get his presents. We did this several weeks before xmas to remind him and he agreed. On the day happily gave it up in exchange for his presents but cried for it later on when he went to bed. We reminded him again and he was ok with it as he remembered about all the presents. He sucked his fingers instead for a couple of weeks but stopped doing that of his own accord. If you don't want to take it away so suddenly then try letting her have for less time each time until she just has it at night. Then see if shes more ready to give it up then. My dentist told me that children shouldn't really have a pacifier after three years old as it can cause deformities of the jaw with prolonged use.

Answer 6

My daughter luckly gave it up at 3 months, I froze them and gave them back to her for teething, and when I saw she was sucking on them I took them away.

But I do have advice my cousen's granddaughter was the same. She poked a hole (or cut, which ever makes it go FLAT) in ALL of them! And her granddaughter quickly gave it up.

Another friend threw her son a "big boy" party where he threw away ALL of his pacifiers and bottles and got a couple presents.

Another friend went to toys r us and worked out a deal with the cashier where the pacifiers "paid" for a new toy (of course YOU really pay).

Take your pick, I suggest the first one.

I think the PERFECT time to take it away is when they start TALKING. I HATE seeing a child with a pacifier in their mouth while TALKING!

I was also planning to let my daughter keep hers as long as she wanted because before the freezing thing she only took them at night and naps, any other time she would spit them out, so I was going to let her have them until she didn't want them. But again I was lucky she gave them up and I quickly stopped an addiction in the making when she starting sucking on the when I was using them for quick teething relief.

Answer 7

When my son turned 2 I told him that he could not have the pacifier out of his room. He had about 6 in his crib with him, but he knew that nap time and bed time were the only time he could have one. Then at age 3 we told him he was a big boy now and the pacifiers had to go to all the new babies in the world and we quit cold turkey. He complained the first night, and then never mentioned them again. Of course at age 3 he got a big boy bed too, so he was very excited to be all grown up. Don't worry about your daughter's teeth yet, she'll be fine.

Answer 8

It's not like she can take it to kindergarden.

Start by making pacifier free zones. We started to limit pacifier use to a specific chair, bedroom, and the car. Then we started telling her several months ahead of time that on her birthday she was going to be a big girl and big girls didn't use pacifiers. She actually stopped using it a couple of months before her birthday on her own. We had her favorite one sewn into a Pink Poodle at Build a Bear Workshop.

Answer 9

on my daughters 4th birthday is the day we insisted she throw the paci away. her upper jaw now overlaps her bottom jaw on the side and will most definitely have to have braces because of this. its not my place to tell you, just my experience, but i would get rid of it at 2. tell her there are other babies out there that need a paci and she is now a big girl. take the paci and mail it to your mother or someone you know and tell her that you two are sending it to another little girl who needs it. this way she doesn't know its in the trash. that made it a lot easier for my daughter to get rid of it. it is going to be hard the first few nights when you finally do get rid of it....so don't give in. just comfort her and remind her that she is a big girl. good luck

Answer 10

My daughter was the same way. People said the same things to me about her being too old for them. My doctor said it was normal and to try to slowly wean her off like say only at nap time or once in a while when she really wanted it. Most of the time if she got busy playing she'd drop it and I'd hide it until she really wanted it...when she went to preschool she forgot all about it.

I too kept mine until I was over 3 years old...my mom said I finally just got to where I didn't want it. It's just a security thing...same as a blanket or toy.