How To Let Go Of Pacifier Use (Parenting Lounge #3)

Charlotte Menke

12 years ago

[tps_header]Are you trying to stop your child from their chronic pacifier use? It goes by many names – pacifier, pacie, binky. Some moms swear by it and some hate it. It is blamed for lisps and dental problems when kids get older. But the big question is – once you start using it, WHEN and HOW do you let go of the pacifier?

Let Go Of Pacifier Use

Both of my kids have used pacifiers and I am so glad we did. They helped my kids sleep through the night and comforted them when they were fussy, sick or tired. I’ll never forget that panicked feeling of being out in public and having forgot the pacifier at home. While pacifier use is frowned upon by many, for parents like myself it was and is a lifesaver.

With my older daughter, we “planned” to let go of the pacie after she turned a year old. Our plan was to wean her slowly by only using it for naps and bedtime, then only naps, then not at all.

Did you notice the quotation marks on planned? Planning anything around kids is usually not a great idea – nothing goes to plan. I’m to blame though – even though we had a plan, I didn’t stick to it. Her pacifier use continued past my planned date, despite our desire to stop it.

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My daughter didn’t have a hard time letting go of the pacie, I did.

Finally, “I” had to go cold turkey and lose the pacifiers. The next few days were tough, but not as tough as I thought they would be.

Now my second daughter is 14 months old and I’ve started thinking about what to do with her pacifier. I asked some other moms how they handled it.

Advice and Stories from Real Moms

Only at bedtime

We started off by letting the kids use it only at bed time. If they sneak it during the day, they are picked up and placed in their bed. Before you know it, not wanting to spend the day in bed, they gave it up in the daytime and soon enough at night as well. – Lady Lilith, Little Lady Plays

Another vote to start slowly

One of my daughters was extremely attached to her pacy. We had to very gradually wean her from it. It started with only using pacies at sleeping times and then we slowly went from there. – Ginger, Gingerly Made

Let it go! Let it go!

We are trying to “give up the binky”. Thanks to the beloved movie Frozen my child now knows how to say, “Let it go!” Loud and clear she will scream it. We tried hot potato once with the binky as a distraction to get it out of sight. She might as well have been standing on tacks she was screaming let it go as if she were Elsa herself. Now we sing “let it go, let it go, the binky has got to go!” Binky goes to “its bed and gets tucked in” and she goes to hers. – Tahnee, Sincerely Rose

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Some kids just don’t like them

We started my kids off with pacifiers (from the hospital), but for some reason, they never took to them, so we never had that problem! – Lauren Kim, Mom Home Guide

Let your kid call the shots

The day my youngest daughter turned 1, my husband and I were already planning on how to wean her off the nuk. That night, she walked to the garbage can in the kitchen and just threw it away! Apparently she had to call the shots! – Rikki Kruger, omgmommymoments

Cold turkey

This was a tough one for my oldest daughter. We are an adoptive family and when we traveled to Ethiopia, the nannies would not have it. They refused to allow us to use a pacifier. Our daughter did well with it, but it was tough to start the routine to sooth her with it when we were scolded. Eventually once she was home then she used it off and on. She loved her bottle way more. Our second child loved her pacifier. Eventually we just said it disappeared and introduced the sippy cup instead. – Michelle Lepak, Dandelion Patina

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Start early – really early

Never use one. – Stephanie, Managing a Home

Thank You Moms!

I think I’ll try singing a little Frozen and losing all the pacies pretty soon. When it comes time to limit pacifier use, it sounds like distractions and gradual methods work best with most children!

Books about getting rid of pacifiers

No More Pacifier, Duck (Hello Genius) Pacifiers Are Not Forever (Board Book) (Best Behavior Series) Bea Gives Up Her Pacifier: The book that makes children WANT to move on from pacifiers! Ben Gives Up His Pacifier: The book that makes children want to move on from Pacifiers!

Leave your tips for letting go of the pacifier or suggestions for a parenting problem you need help with in the comments.

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