What was your strategy for ditching the paci in an older toddler?

[okinawama]

DS2 turned 3 this week, and we are looking to get rid of his paci in the next month or two (we moved cross country this week and want to give him a little time to adjust prior to taking it away). He currently uses it for sleep only along with a lovie. I've heard of people cutting them, giving them to the paci fairy, turning in all the paci's for a self picked prize....if you took paci's away when the child was a bit older, which method did you use and how was the transition to life sans-paci?

[egoldber]

Bribery. :)

Younger DD was VERY attached to her paci. VERY. We talked about it and agreed on a big prize. She got a small prize each day she went to sleep without paci, and then at the end of 7 days she got her "very big prize". Hers was an American Girl Bitty Baby. (At the time, about $45. They have since greatly gone up in price!)

Like you, we had eliminated all paci use to just going to sleep at night. The first night was actually very easy. Nights 2 and 3 were hard. After night 3, we were good.

[acmom]

Both DD and DS were paci users until 3. Between 1 and 3, it was a sleep only with their lovey just like you. We did the paci fairy for both. We left a note from the fairy saying she was coming because they were 3 and no longer needed them and she would take them to little babies (both my kids loved babies at this age, so this was a big selling point for them). Then that night we snuck in and took them while they were sleeping (both usually let them fall out of their mouth once they were asleep). This way, the first night they didn't have to struggle through falling asleep without it. We left a note from the paci fairy along with a gift card to build a bear to pick a new "big kid" thing to sleep with. We made a big deal of it the next day and took a trip to build a bear, did a "big kid" lunch etc. DD had a hard first night without it and was over tired and miserable for the next day but then was fine. DS was even easier, semi-woke up a few times the first night but easily fell back to sleep and never had another issue with it.

Good luck!

[janine]

Reading along - similar issue but a few mo's behind.

For DD1 (another paci addict), we enforced night time only and then just took i away gradually until at one point it was just cold turkey. I am not convinced it will be as easy with DD2 who is an even bigger paci addict (I started telling her she is getting too big for one and she said "no I'm still little!!").

Side topic - have you or anyone had teeth protruding issue with the prolonged use?

[YouAreTheFocus]

At risk of opening myself up to ridicule, I will tell you that we just went through this about a month ago w/ our 4.5 year old. I had been agonizing about how to do it for probably a year! Then just out of the blue, one day we were at Target, and he saw a new toy that he really REALLY wanted. He brought it to me and asked "When is the next holiday?" I had a moment of inner battle--I could take the easy road and say "Easter" or take on the paci. So I said "Well, you Dad and your Dr and I have been talking about how you could get a present if you can give away your paci." And his response was "Oh, no problem! I can do that! I'll give away everything from when I was a baby!" And that was that. We bought the toy, took all the pacis out of his bed, and he never mentioned them again. I still can't believe how easy it was. And this was a kid who required 3 to sleep--one in the mouth and 1 for each hand.

Edit for PP: DS's top teeth protrude big time. A friend of his had the same issue, but his moved back after a few months. So I guess time will tell!

[okinawama]

We don't have protruding teeth, but he does have an open bite (but he also has a significant underbite as well). Having said that, DS's dentist has been very laid back about the paci.

[essnce629]

My kids were both 24 months when I took them away cold turkey. We had a rough nap and bedtime with crying the first day only, but after that all was fine.

[FTMLuc]

We cut X in the top of the nipple, so no suction. When she picked it up and tried she was shocked to discover that it no longer worked. We did it to several pacis and had them around the house, when she tried another one, the same thing happened. We told her that she was a big girl now and pacis are for babies, so they break after a certain age. It worked, just the first night was bit rough. She was 25 months at the time.

[Tenasparkl]

My kids were both 24 months when I took them away cold turkey. We had a rough nap and bedtime with crying the first day only, but after that all was fine.

We just did this at 23 months with DS and it worked fine. He cried a little in his crib, but then was totally fine and doesn't seem to miss them at all. DD on the other hand was a nightmare. We tried cutting the tips off, reading the paci fairy book etc. Eventually we just took it away around 2 and she turned into a terrible sleeper for about a year. Good luck!

[boilermakermom]

My kids were both 24 months when I took them away cold turkey. We had a rough nap and bedtime with crying the first day only, but after that all was fine.

Agreed. The first nap and bedtime after giving it up weren't fun. But it was easy after that. We collected them all, put them in a box and wrapped it in pretty paper. We sent them away for a friend who was having a baby. We told her the new baby needed them.

[anonomom]

No personal BTDT, but I had two friends who took their kids to Build-a-Bear and had them stuff their paci inside a bear. It worked well for them both (plus, it seems like a really cute solution to me).

[daphne]

At risk of opening myself up to ridicule, I will tell you that we just went through this about a month ago w/ our 4.5 year old. I had been agonizing about how to do it for probably a year! Then just out of the blue, one day we were at Target, and he saw a new toy that he really REALLY wanted. He brought it to me and asked "When is the next holiday?" I had a moment of inner battle--I could take the easy road and say "Easter" or take on the paci. So I said "Well, you Dad and your Dr and I have been talking about how you could get a present if you can give away your paci." And his response was "Oh, no problem! I can do that! I'll give away everything from when I was a baby!" And that was that. We bought the toy, took all the pacis out of his bed, and he never mentioned them again. I still can't believe how easy it was. And this was a kid who required 3 to sleep--one in the mouth and 1 for each hand.

Edit for PP: DS's top teeth protrude big time. A friend of his had the same issue, but his moved back after a few months. So I guess time will tell!

This is pretty much what we did, at almost the exact same age. I was terrified to take his pacifiers away, but he let them go w/o a struggle once we found a toy he wanted badly enough! ;) FWIW, my good friend's father & husband are both pediatric dentists & they saw no harm in long term pacifier use. My friend recommended waiting until he was 4 (she said age 3 is tough for some reason?) and she was right. It was so easy. DS is 9 now & you'd never know he was a paci addict - his teeth don't protrude at all.

[belovedgandp]

My kids had pacis until right at 3, just before 3 and 2 1/2.

DS2 had an open bite. It was 4 years ago and it has gradually moved back to a normal position.

Oldest, the paci fairy came and brought a toy. We put all the pacis up on a dresser across the room when he went to sleep. Took a while to go to sleep staring at them but it worked.

Other two we took them to Build a Bear and put the paci inside.