Anyone have suggestions on how to ease my son off the pacifier?

Question

He is 14 months old and he has had it since he was 8months old and i am trying to get him to stop

Answer 1

ease nothing. Just take it away. YOu will have a fit for a little bit. But I took it away and out of site and out of mind and my kids were done in about two seconds. They cryed for it a couple of times, do give them something different. LIke a drink. They will forget again. then repeat. If you keep giving in then this just tells them that if they throw a fit they will get it.

Answer 2

OK, this may sound nuts, but I have been through it with my son, and he had his pacifier much much longer than yours. So it will probably be easier for you. I wouldn't advise easing off. I tried that too, thinking it would be easier for both of us, but it just didn't work. Just take the thing away, as I assume you did with the bottle when he turned 1. Cold turkey may seem harsh, but it really works, and babies are much more adaptable than you might think. The first couple of days will be rough, but if you stick it out it will be worth it. Good luck!

Answer 3

I always planned to stop it by the time my daughter turned 2. Eventually, she kinda started showing signs that she was ready to give it up.
At home, it was constantly available to her, so she used it all the time. But being at the sitter's all day, she was so occupied that she only used it for nap time there. However, once I picked her up and we got in the car, she demanded it from out of her diaper bag. So I started there. I told her no more pacifier in the car, (it's only a 5 min. ride home anyway!) and stuck to it. Once or twice she got mad, but seemed to understand and it went quite well. Then at home when she still had it, I noticed she was more biting on it than sucking on it, so I started one day to make her leave it in her crib when I got her up. Told her it had to stay in there for nap time and night-night. Of course she wanted it a couple times and cried a little during the day, but nothing like I always hear stories about. It went quite well, too. I could tell she didn't really need it anymore at all, because I would leave it laying in her crib instead of giving it to her right away at bedtime. She'd kind of smirk, and then grab it, like she was just doing it cuz it was there. So after doing this for a little while, one Friday night, when I knew she didn't have to be up early the next morning, I had taken it out of her crib. I didn't mention it until she was looking for it, then I told her no more pacifier, it was all gone. She cried at first, but ended up sleeping normal anyway. We continued through the weekend, and things went ok for naps and stuff. So all in all, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be, probably because she was already ready to do it. Some people say take it away cold turkey, but weaning off it little by little worked best for us. I never tried just doing it all at once. Hope this helps you out a bit.

Answer 4

Just taking it away might tramatize the child. Boys tend to give them up faster than girls do. We hid them and then kept him so busy for about a week that when it came time for naps, he just fell asleep. Or you can do the "trade in". Might work. Give him the option of a toy or the pacifier, most boys will take the new toy. Depending on maturity.

Answer 5

Limit it to only at naptime and bed time. Keep them out of sight and reach so that way he isn't reminded of them. He'll have a hard time at first, but he'll be okay. I was living with a woman who had a 2.5 year old who (LITERALLY) had 3 binkies at any given time 24/7. She was off of it completly within a week, and what's funnier is after about a month or two we gave them to her and she didn't know how to use them anymore! Very cute to watch. He's still young to completely understand when you explain to him what you're doing, just be patient. Really if he's only having it at naptime and bedtime you don't need to break him of it for dental reasons just yet. Good luck!

Answer 6

Cut off all the nipples of the pacifier when your child is asleep or napping. Make sure even the pacifier he has in his mouth is done as well. When he goes up to the pacifier (make sure you leave them all where he put them), tell him its broken, so he does not blame you. He will get over them soon I'm sure of it.

Answer 7

my daughter used to have a pacifier from the time she was born and when i went to the mall and seen a 4-5 year old boy with one it freaked me out so i simply took it from her at 5 months and she was wining for a couple nights and soon forgot it!!

Answer 8

We're still in the process of weaning our daughter but what we've done so far is just giving it to her for nap and when she goes to bed at night. Next step we took was to not give it to her for nap. Now all we have to do is get her off of it at night and for that I'm waiting until one of us has some time off. Stay firm with it though. When you make a decision as to when he can have it, stick to it no matter how bad it gets. The last thing you need is for him to get the idea that all he has to do is freak out and eventually someone will give in.

Answer 9

Once my daughter turned about 8 months old she was only allowed to have a pacifier in her crib or when were grocery shopping. She's 16 months old now. When she wants paci time she'll go to her crib and say up up up up. I'll put her in it and she'll spend about 10 minutes and then start throwing the paci's out and say up up up up until I pick the paci's up and pick her up. The paci's go back in the crib and she comes out and she's fine.

Answer 10

I'll concur with the cold turkey answer. That is the best, more effective way to wean him. He'll scream for about 3 nights, but oh well. Beats having a kid with one of those damm things hanging out of their mouth.