Weaning Toddler from Pacifier

On my grandson's 2nd birthday my daughter cut all the tips off the paci's (a WHOLE ziplock baggie full!) but also tied one to the end of his birthday balloons, wrote on the balloons, "bye bye paci Ian's 2" and let them go. She told him that his paci went to the moon. When he asked for them she would remind him that it went to the moon. I would suggest not giving her a paci that is cut because it poses a chocking hazard for her. GOOD LUCK!!

Have you thought of the pacifier fairy? Your daughter gets to put her pacifier under her pillow when she goes to bed and the next morning she will have a surprise. I have heard of baby dolls, to trikes being left by the pacifier fairy. Since they don't need the pacifier anymore they are big kids and big kids get big kid things. The other way is alittle more brutal; when I was babysitting my cousins when I was 14 they were 2 & 3 and still had their pacifiers. I thought OH NO. So one day I laid them down for their naps without them (I had already put them up in one of the kitchen cupboards. When they asked for them I told them that I would go look for them. Of course I couldn't find them and went back in and told them how sorry I was but they were big boys and big boys don't need baby things. They went to sleep. It was differant when mom and dad came home. They knew I was going to try that so they were prepared. However, I wasn't. Because I "lost" their pacifiers I had to stand in the naughty corner. But it worked and they never said another word about them. Good luck.

Hello! Im not sure why you cut the pacifier, Ive never heard that before.

Im not sure why the hurry to get rid of the pacifier either. Does it bother you? She will indeed give it up in time when she feels ready. No need to push it or discourage her in any way. Some children need more comforting than others for whatever reason and this is just one way of her comforting herself. She will surely be stopped before she begins school and if not she will certainly not want to use it in front of the other children because they will make fun of her.

This is a good way for her to give it up naturally. I have 3 kids. 1 gave it up after 3 yrs, 1 sucked his 2 middle fingers and had a blanky until kindergarten and my youngest threw it across the room at 3 and never took it again

I have heard of cutting the tips but never tried it. Here's what we did.

When we wanted to start weaning the paci we would tell them that the paci had to stay in their beds. They could have their paci any time they wanted but they had to be in their bed to get it. That worked great for our now 3 yr old. He would just get it at nap and bed time. Our now 21 month old was a little different story. She would be downstairs playing and realize she wanted it and go upstairs and sit in her bed for a little while to suck on it. Once she got her fix she'd leave it in her bed and come back down to play. After a few weeks of this we would sneak the pacifiers out of their beds sometime during the day. When they laid down for bed that night if they asked for it we'd get them one and let them go to sleep. Then would try again the next night. This worked the first night for our oldest. He went about 3 nights without it and then wanted it one night. I went and got one for him and then hid it again the next day. He never asked for it again. Our younger one was a little more attached and still steals the baby's paci (12wks) when she's having a really rough day. We just talk to her about being a big girl and that the paci is for the baby. She always just sucks on it for a min and then gives it back to the baby.

Good luck as this can be a tough process. I hope this helps.

Keep at it. She will eventually be able to nap without it, once she has given it up at night. You could try cold turkey to see if she can get to sleep at night without it. After a few nights, she will be done with it.

I just did this with my son who is 30 months. We tried when he was younger and we had the same problem with severe tantrums and his refusing to sleep. This time it was just sooooo easy. I just sat him down before bed and told him that we were going to try sleeping without one since he was a 'big boy'. I had to go into his room and tuck him in repeatedly but eventually he fell asleep. If you stick with it I think that she'll come around eventually but I wouldn't feel any pressure to take it away at a certain age. We waited until now and the transition has been remarkably simple. Maybe she's just not ready?

For my son, we just threw the pacifier away. That way we couldn't cave and give it back to him. We told him that the trash man took it. Since, it was completely gone, he had no choice but to live without it. It really went well, and he got over it so fast. Every child is different, so I don't know if this will work for you. But, since she still has the pacifier and now it is a little different, it may be making it even harder than if she just didn't have it at all. I would also just be careful with cutting some of the pacifier. She could bite on it and the rubber may rip off more easily since it has been cut. I wouldn't want her to swallow some of the rubber or worse yet, choke on it.Good luck!

Just stick with your plan and don't back down. I know she is grumpy but she will adjust. Cut a little more off of it and continue on with your schedule. If she is tired enough she will sleep!

FROM; L.
Actually i have baby boy doing the same,as ur daughter.actually i suggest that u apply strong coffee paste on the tip of pacifier.and when she start crying for pacifier then u give it by applying a coffepaste on it.and i think she doesn,t need more.s reply me back if this idea works or not.

For my daughter, we tried several times to get her to give up her paci. We tried cutting the tips, and going cold turkey. Finally, we decided to wait until she was a little older. She was almost 2 1/2 years old, and she gave them all to Santa when she saw him. We made a big fuss about how she was such a big girl and helping other babies get pacis for Christmas. When she asked for it, I printed out a picture from the internet and we colored it and put it on her wall. She asked for it some, but we reminded her that she gave it to Santa. She still asks for it occassionally. She was very attached. However, nap times did change dramatically. She now only naps 1-2 days a week, even though she's in her room for at least an hour. Good luck.