Looking for a Fun Way to Give up the Paci.

What about the good ole' Ballon thing? Tie them all to some ballons and tell him that they are going to babies that need them. Let them float away. Tell him that when he wakes the next day the BeeBee fairy will leave him a present for them. Of coarse you will have to put a gift outside for the next day. I saw this on Supernanny. It seemed like a cute idea.

HTH,
Margaret :)

I used this for both my boys. I worked it like the toothfairy. We put all the paci's out one night and told my son that the paci fairy was going to come and take them away for new babies and that there would be a present left instead. Worked like a charm....no crying for paci after they went away. In fact my 5 year old recently remembered (we did this at 2) and asked if the tooth fairy and the paci fairy were friends.

put them (or it)in a ziplock and let him take them to a toy store (Walmart). Have him pick out a toy and tell him we have to buy the toy with the paci and let him give the bag to the cashier and get a toy. Good luck, have fun.

if you poke a hole in it, or tear a small hole in it, then it will no longer have the desired suction. it won't work anymore. make sure there are no pieces that can break off and be swallowed. my son actually chewed a hole in his, so this was discovered by accident. that was years ago, and it worked for my younger kids. good luck.

We did the Bai Fairy (My son called it a bai). We collected all his pacifiers and put them in a pretty bag and hung them outside in a tree. Then the "Fairy" came and took them away to give to new babies and left him a gift. And later when we saw a little boy with a bai like his he got all excited and said "look mommy that's the baby that got my bai's". It was the only thing that worked for us we tried everything else first.

We tryed to put a pin prick in the tip of the pacy and when they were broken I told her that she had to put it into the "fairy door" so that the fairy could fix it and bring it to another baby to have because you are getting to be such a big girl other babies need one.... when we were down to the last one... She was really upset about it and guess what in the morning SANTA took it.....hahaha!!!! It totally worked no fuss no muss... I hope this helps...you could use Santa, Easter Bunny, who ever is supposed to come soon.... as long as it wasn't mommy or daddy to blame

MY nine year old just gave me a suggestion on this one. She said her friend told her that she put it under her pillow and received money like the tooth fairy. Your child might be too young to enjoy the money, but you can make a big production of putting it under the pillow and talking about what she can buy with it. Good luck.

L.

Swiper the fox came and swiped my daughter's paci, she was 2. It took about 3 days to adjust so during those 3 days we spent alot of time at the park and tried to keep her mind off of the missing paci. Once the paci was gone she started talking alot more and it was so much easier not keeping up with a paci!

We sent ours to Santa for the baby reindeer! We put it on the plate with the cookies and milk...Christmas morning, there were great presents and NO pacis! She asked for it a couple of times Christmas day, but we were so busy and having so much fun, it really didn't cause an issue!

I have heard of people doing similar things (especially since Christmas is so far away) by marking one day on your calendar as "Paci Fairy Day" where the pacifier fairy comes during the night and takes your pacis from under your pillow, but leaves a prize! Good luck!

When my son was close to about 2, he went to visit his grandparents while I had a business trip to attend to. My son just didn't ask for it and so they didn't give it to him. At night he would ask for it, and they blamed it on me that I didn't pack it. If he had cried and really wanted it, they would have given it to him, but he didn't. It only took 3 days with his grandparents. When he came home, he never asked for it again. I feel like I cheated, but I think just getting him in a different environment and keeping him busy worked.
Good Luck!

I am in the same boat as you...if you get some good advice let me know please. My daughter is the same age. Everytime we start to take it away something dramatic happens, she gets sick, she starts potty training and we don't want to do both at the same time, I had surgery and that was very hard for her, etc... She takes it at naptime, bedtime and when she is VERY upset. She will take it if she sees it though so I have to encourage the babysitter to "hide" it. Out of sight out of mind, you know? My pedi did say that she was not concerned at all about the paci though (she calls hers "baby") and that there were much bigger concerns for her than that. It would not mess her teeth up like a lot of people try to tell you and so on. Maybe that will make you feel better. I know some kids need that soothing sucking feeling. Mine doesn't chew on hers, she truly sucks on it which blows my mine. When she came out of the womb she had blisters on her hands and the nurses said it was from sucking. They are the ones that encouraged a paci...I hadn't even bought one because I was so against them. Anyhow, they thought that was better than her sucking on her hands and thumb and said she would probably be wanted something to suckle and would be fussy without it...they were right. She has been attached ever since. I am thinking at her third bday we are going to give up at the paci as a "right of passage" into "big girlhood???? I don't know. There are days I get so mad I tell her I am going to throw it out the window of the car or in the trash and I swear she is going to freak out and hyperventilate...then I feel really guilty. She has to be the one to get rid of it by this age. Same goes with your son. Let him trade it for something he really wants. A new pillow at bedtime, a stuffed animal, a cool new blanket to snuggle, a new bedtime book, etc... Just some suggestions.

Is there something that he has wanted for a long time? A big boy riding toy maybe. Have him gather all of his bee-bees in a plastic baggy and "pay" for the toy at the store with bee-bee's.
Or if there is a new baby around he could mail the bee-bee's to the new baby.

I remember reading about 2 methods that stick out for me, although I haven't tried either one yet (but will in a few months when my daughter turns 2 - Lord help me!).
One was something about tying it to a ribbon and hanging in a tree in the yard so the 'paci fairy' could come get it...sounds a little odd, but I could see with the appropriate ceremony (and perhaps a little fairy surprise) it could be effective. The other one is to 'mail it' to a baby who 'needs a paci and doesn't have one' ('because pacis are for babies'). If you are fortunate enough to have parents with AMAZING tolerance and skill, you could send him off to their house for the weekend and 'forget the paci'... hee:)

I am planning to take the paci away while nothing else major is going on - like transitioning from crib to bed, potty training, etc. I think one thing at a time is best.

Good luck!

When my friend's daughter was 2 (she was also on the paci) she went to a "happy no paci party". A couple of weeks later I was at her house and I said, "C, you don't need that silly paci. Why don't you just throw it in the trash can and we can have a happy no paci party for YOU!" Since she remembered the party she had been to, she went right to the trash can and tossed the paci. After a couple of days mom made cup cakes and invited a few neighbor friends and we had a "happy no paci party". It worked well, although there were tough times. She cried a little longer for a few days and she found all the old ones in the house! However mom just stuck to her guns and made it through. I do also like the paci fairy idea and know several people who have used it and it worked, some it did not. Just depends on the kid. Good luck.

One day at Kohl's, I was shopping with my two-year old little girl. She was in the cart and had picked up a Dora backpack. To keep her quiet, I let her play with it while I shopped. When it came time to leave, we put the backpack back where it went and got in the car. Within 60 seconds of driving off, my daughter realized that her paci was missing. She must have dropped it somewhere or put it inside the Dora backpack that we left at Kohl's. She cried the whole way home while I calmly explained that her paci was bye-bye. When we got home, I quickly hid all the rest of the paci's and that was that. The first couple of days were hard, but when she realized that her paci was gone for good, she got over it. She's four now, and if you ask her where her paci is, she'll tell you that she lost it at Kohl's. It's a funny story that she likes to tell....so, maybe you could accidentally "lose" you son's paci. Good luck!

hi!
i got two of my sons off at the same time (the younger was turning 1 and the older was turning 2)...i found all of the paci's, threw out all but 4...and for a week i snipped them daily until my older son had to hold it on his mouth b/c there was nothing left...he said, "mom, its broken." i said, "so what should we do baby?" and he threw it in the trash. i followed suit with the rest of them and that was that...but i had also done a lot of praying before hand so i knew they were ready to give it up...every kiddo is different. had he not thrown it out on his own, i would have been all for these fairy/balloon ideas!

blessings,
M.

we did not use a paci, but we nursed forever... and we counted down the days together, and then made a cake to celebrate, called the grandparents, etc. it is a rite of passage!

The best one I have heard is from Jo from Super Nanny. The paci fairy comes and takes them (usually you have more than one.) This is how Jo tells her family to deal with this situation...tell your child that there are other babies who need paci's and the paci fairy needs your child's to give to the other babies, now that he is a 'big boy'. The fairy will come by (pick a night) have your child put the paci's (one example was - a mailbox) in the mailbox and the next day, he can go with you to check and see that the fairy came by, took all and let a present. You can buy a small gift and the child is happy he helped someone else. Hope this helps.

my son was on his paci for a long time too. what we did was make a welcome basket for a baby and put in all his baby stuff. He got to give the basket to a friend for her baby. he never asked for his paci or any of his other baby things again. and he was so happy when he say the baby playing with one of his old toys.

I saw a lady at a toy store bring her child with his paci and let him pick out a toy. Then when they went to pay for it, the mom told the cashier "My son would like to pay for his new toy with this" and had the child hand her the paci. While the child wasn't looking, the mom swiped her card. That way the kid was "choosing" the toy over the paci.

I have heard of people tying the pacifiers to balloons and letting them float away.

S.

There are a few things I have heard of. The first is to give it to the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, but it's obviously not that time of year. The second is tying them to balloons and letting your child let them go, and the third is giving them to a child younger than them as a gift. (My neice wrapped hers up and gave them to my daughter. We didn't use them, but my neice thought she was doing a wonderful thing for her cousin.) I hope I helped! J.

Well, I did this with daughter and son with no problems. But it only works if it is set up right before hand, but perhaps you can get it to work for you. First off, my kids really only used a paci in their cribs at night and naps, someitmes in the car too. I never let them have any drinks in bed ever. So when I thought it was time to lose the paci (13 mths for daughter and 18 mths mths for son (he was attached more)) then I told them that now that they were a big kid they could have a sippy of water in bed at night instead of just the old paci and they chose the water cup over the paci and they watched me throw the paci away. They love having the water and haven't asked for thepaci back. Neither of them cried at all for their paci's and they make sure every night they get their water. I figure that is a habit that can continue as they grow older and eventually have it in a cup beside the bed, which I do now myself. Hope this helps you.

What worked for us in the past is to have another "baby" around - family, cousin, friend - that he is close to that NEEDS Bee-Bee's. If the baby is crying, tell him that he lost his Bee-Bee and ask him if he is willing to share his Bee-Bee with him, since he's not the "baby" anymore. And this other baby needs his Bee-Bee's.

Worked for our 3 kids. There was always another baby nearby when it was time for mine to give them up. And I was shocked to learn when they said YES MOMMY. Yes we did have a few cry sessions for them, but once I reminded them of how "little susie or johnny" had his now and he lost his, they were fine. I never had any drawn out cry sessions.

Good Luck!

I heard a story of the parents taking their daughter to build a bear and using the old paci as the heart of the new bear. Of course, my son probably would've dug it out! But it was a very cute idea. And it's something they could still sleep with and keep forever.

Preparation is the key. When my son was your son's age around July of last year, I told him that at Christmas Santa would leave him presents and take all his paci's to babies who needed them. He was only getting a paci at night or in the car, and at first he said no, he wouldn't give them to Santa. But not long after that he initiated a conversation about giving them to Santa and from that point on I talked about it until the weekend before Christmas, at which point they mysteriously disappeared. He went two or three days without asking for one and when he did I told him that Santa had taken them. There was no fit, no big to-do and it was done. He still talks about it when he sees babies with paci's. And my son has a very strong temperment. So whichever great advice you choose, my best suggestion is preparation. P.S. Don't let anyone tell you that you waited too long to take it away. We're all doing the best we can and we shouldn't have to worry about what others think - just do what's best for you and your family. Best wishes!

I love the build a bear idea! A friend of mine took her daughter to a park with a pond, tied a rock to the pacifier and had the child throw it in the lake. I know I might have issues with actually doing that since it's not exactly a biodegradable product, but it worked really well for her baby. Just thought I would share :)

I only have one son and he used his 'fire', that's what he called his pacifier, until he was 4 and a bit. My son would suck on the pacifier and if he had been without it for any extended period of time he would have a fullblown episode. Once he had his pacifier again he would whimper and sigh and even moan like he was eating something really good. They were very comforting to him. We were at the point where he would get his own new pacifiers when we went to the store. He knew which aisle to go to. He ended up developing an allergy to the latex and would get painful blisters in his mouth. I guess that was the silver lining in our little cloud. We kept taking him to the Doctor who kept telling us it was a virus. We figured it out when he wore a 'Livestrong' bracelet and broke out in hives. After that we had to tell him that he would get booboos in his mouth again if he used the pacifier. We tried the balloons, zoo, fairy, etc... We had our rough days but they didn't last forever.

You could tie the bebe's to ballons. let them fly away and say you are giving them to the bebe fairy, she is going to give them to new babies who need bebe's.

If there's a Build a Bear (or something similar) near you, have your son take his pacifier with him and put himside the bear (or whatever stuffed animal he chooses). Then he still gets to sleep with it, he has a toy to replace it, and he'll no longer be sucking on it.

As a side note, I'd recommend against tying it to a balloon and letting it float away. It is a cute idea, but when the balloon breaks it becomes a hazard to wildlife that might eat it and then choke.

Hi J.-
I feel your pain with the paci. Both of my boys were paci boys. I had a friend that shared with me a fun way to let go of them and both of my boys did well with it. Anyway- we talked for several weeks about how the babies at the hospital need paci's. I also told them that there was a "Paci Fairy" and that she gave the new babies paci's. After a few weeks of talking about it, i bought a bunch of helium balloons on my way home. The boys and i went outside and attached their beloved paci's to the balloons and then i let them send them to the "Paci fairy" for the babies. They really had fun with it and thought they were being so big. Hope this helps!

I took my son to build a bear. He was a little over 2. He didn't fully understand what was going on but played along. By the time we got back to the car he was crying for his binky and trying to tear open the dog we put it in. This lasted for a few days of him trying to tear open the dog. Eventually he was fine. However, naptime was over. I couldn't get him to take a nap. For my daughter it was her choice and things went a lot smoother. I would make sure it is his choice to give it up for something else. Either way, he'll get over it.

You could also try cutting off the tip of the paci. This has worked for many of my friends. The suction doesn't work then, and the kid loses interest in the paci. One friend's son was close to 3 and super-attached to his paci. She never thought this would work, but it did immediately. If he still wants it after the first little cut, you can just keep cutting more and more off until it no longer works for him. Just make sure he can't find anymore whole pacis around! Once he's not interested, it seems like it would be even easier to do one of the fun things others mentioned.

Take a field trip to the zoo and look at the baby giraff and when he wants it say you can't find it. that the mama giraff must have taken it for her baby.