Weaning son from pacifier?

Question

Last week my husband and I started to wean our son from the pacifier. We decided to do a gradual process, so he only gets it now for naps and bed time. He was doing really well by throwing it in his bed when he would get up. Yesterday he started to have a problem and cried when he put it in the bed. I figured it was the normal "grieving" process. Today, he has been really bad and pulling me to his bedroom and wants me to put him in his bed. I put him there 15 mins ago and he is singing and talking in bed. Could he really not want a nap and just wanted his pacifier and I have a smart son that if he acts like he wants to go to bed... he knows he gets it. Or, are we starting to wean him too young. He is 14 months

Answer 1

Fortunately, we took away both our children's pacifiers when they were 6 months old. Our ped said that by that age, the paci is just a habit, no longer because they have that need to suck. Because I was also nursing this may have been easier than for most. Yes, they cried, but we all got over it pretty quickly.

Because your son is older, and smarter, you'll need to do this cold turkey. Every parent goes through some phase where they need to let their kids cry it out. Sounds cruel, and feels even worse when you are doing it, but really you are helping him to self soothe and learn to be independent. If he were a little older, you could try to make him think that this is his idea. I saw this once on TV and thought it made sense. The parents explained to their child about the pacifier fairy. She collects all of the pacifiers of the 'big kids' and bring them to babies who need them. They tied all the pacis to a balloon, and let the child release it outside. Cute, cheesy, and they said it works. But who knows.

My personal advice is to do it cold turkey. My son is 15 months, and if it were me, I would throw them all away and make the best of it. I did it with bottles, just one day...poof, no more bottles, only cups with straws. It was rough, but worth the fight.

Good luck- I know it's not easy.

Answer 2

14 months is the perfect time to wean your son from his pacifier. We tried the gradual process of weaning our first son and it took forever. He didn't give up his pacifier until he was almost 2.5 years old and it broke and we threw it in the trash. We had several nights of waking up looking for it. With my youngest son I took it away cold turkey at about 13 months old. He looked for it that night but then he totally forgot about it. I think the younger they are the easier it is to get rid of. It becomes really hard when you let them have it sometimes and not other times. It is totally up to you but I would suggest throwing them away, dealing with the few days of upset and moving on to better things. As soon as my youngest was done with his pacifier we noticed all sorts of new launguage from him

Answer 3

that is definatly too young!!! wait untill he is about two... then tell him that the pacifier Fairy is coming to take his binkies... have him put them on the porch before he goes to bed tell him that the fairy will take his binkies and bring him special big boy toys.. when he is sleeping exchange them for a special toy or something he really wants... do this over a couple night but some out each night untill they are gone... if you want to keep them in a baby box or something mke sure he will NOT find them untill about 9 because if some children find them to early they will go strait back into using them.....

Be sure that your child is old enough to understand this before you do it maybe two and a half? you know your child and you know when is the right time... dont do it when he is only 14 months

Answer 4

the best way to do it is to put a very small hole in the pacifier so that he cannont see it...once he starts to suck on it will go flat and tell him that it is broke

Answer 5

I think he is still a little too young.  I would take him off it at 2 years of age.  When you do have a pacifier party and tell him he is a big boy now and other babies need his pacifiers.  Them put them in a specially decorated bag and tell him you are going to give them to the Pacifier Fairy.  Then let him see you put the bag in the mailbox.  Them tell him the Pacifier Fairy is going to bring him a gift tomorrow morning to thank him for the pacifier's for other babies.  Buy something little for him, place it in the special bag and put it in your mailbox.  When he wakes up he'll be running for the mailbox.  It works like a charm.  : )

Never cut a hole in a pacifier and give it to a child to suck on.  The chemical inside are toxic.  Not to mention you have weakened the structure of it and more pieces could come off.

Answer 6

good for you my crazy dumb aunt lets my 4 year old cousin use a pacifier and drink from a bottel .keep up the good work

Answer 7

If he is a year old he should of been off the pacifier a long time ago.  Sorry to say that is one of my pet peeves!  Take the thing away from him all together.  After a day he will be fine.  If not cut the end of it off and give it back to him.  He will hate it....

Answer 8

My daughter is 15 mo and I plan to break her when we move her to a toddler bed or when she turns 2, whichever comes first. She only gets her binky at night and she tends to spit it out in her sleep anyhow.  I figure as long as it's not in all night and she doesn't get it during the day, it can't hurt to let her have it while she's drifting to sleep.

I think you're just going to have to go cold turkey on the paci if you want to wean him.  It'll probably be hard for 2-3 days and after that he will adjust just fine. Right now he knows he can get it if he throws a tantrum. You have to wait it out.

Edit:  I've read a lot of responses that say to trade it for a toy or sew it in a bear. 14 month old children have no understanding of that concept. He's still going to want his binkie and he's not going to understand that he gave it up for a toy or that it's sewn in a toy. That might work for an older child but not for a 14 month old.

I agree with the woman who said not to cut the pacifier. It is a choking hazard. Although she was wrong in stating that there were hazardous chemicals inside the nipple.

Answer 9

He only uses it for sleep. I don't see the problem. Honestly, I think kids will give this up when they are ready.

Every time a mother asks this question, I want to remind them that after they take away the paci, they should do the same thing to themselves. That means NO help falling asleep. No warm milk, no reading books, no soft sheets, no comforts for sleeping, just like the baby.

BTW, my son never took a paci, but if he had, as long as it was only to sleep, I'd let him have it for as long as he wanted.

It seems to me, there are always mothers on here asking how to get their child to sleep. I often wonder if those are the same mothers who have taken away the soothers.

For the teeth people - I took a paci until I was almost 6 and my teeth are near-perfect. My Hus never took a paci and his teeth are terrible.

Answer 10

no he's definitely not too young.

try having him throw all of them away in order to receive a new toy. My aunt did that with my cousin and she never asked for another one after that.

I think it's weird that he was doing so well and now all of a sudden he's having problems. Sounds to me like he may be getting sick.

Answer 11

A great idea I got from a mag article is Build A Bear.  I know this sounds wierd but you can make him a bear and have him but his pacifier inside it with the heart before they sew it up.  That way he will know his pacifier is in there and he will have a stuffed animal to hold onto now, which is more appropriate as he gets older.  If you are not farmiliar with Build A Bear or there is not one close to you do it at home yourself in a pillow that he likes or a favorite stuffed friend.  Hope this helps!!!

Answer 12

Flat out take it away and introduce an new comfort item, like a new stuffed animal or blanket. Give the new item to him when he is upset.