Monday, August 25, 2008

Pacifier / Thumb-sucking

What are your tricks for getting a kid to give up the pacifier or thumb-sucking?

5 comments:

Momma Basel said...

4 yo never took a pacifier or did any thumb-sucking, so we haven't gone through this process yet.

HOWEVER, 2 yo is strongly attached to his pacifier. We've weaned him down to just bedtime and naptime, and that's been a big process. We've been telling him that when he turns 3 (in November), he won't need it anymore. I'm not sure what we'll do that first night though.

Suggestions, please??!!

Anonymous said...

My 3 yo just went through the whole nuk experience. We prepped him starting 3 months before his birthday that when he's 3 we're going to put his nuk in a moose. So when he turned three, we went to build a bear and put it in an elephant (he didn't want a moose anymore). the first night was tough...he kept saying I want my nuk now. he was so sad.
I think I might just tie my second child's nuk to a balloon and let it go. That was it's gone and you can't feel it in the animal. And it would save us 20 bucks :)
Good luck to everyone who has nuk addicted kiddos.

Anonymous said...

I've been thinking about this too, as my kids are all thumb suckers. At first, I thought it was great because I didn't have to buy/keep track of/remember to pack pacifiers, but now I'm realizing its not so great after all.

With a pacifier theres a million ways to take it away, from doing like MB said with the stuffed animal or the balloon, or having the "NUK fairy" take it away....cutting off the tip so they don't want it anymore, etc. Not so much with the thumb. I've heard of the bitter Apple spray for it so it tastes gross, but I've also heard that that's failed miserably with the people that I know that have tried it. My oldest is just over 2 so it's not a huge issue yet, but all of my kids are addicted to it to the point where I can tell already that its going to be a big struggle. Any suggestions?

Meghan Theiss said...

Let them give it up naturally at around 9 months old. My nurse mother-in-law told me to watch for the child to naturally give it up around 9 months old, so I did, and all my kids were done with the pacifier before 1 year old. I just didn't force it around that age, and they learned to soothe themselves other ways.
--Meghan

Anonymous said...

I think we phased out the "binkie" at around a year. At about 9 months she was only allowed to have it at naptime and bedtime and she really didn't look for it at other times anyway. I even went into her room after she fell asleep and snagged it so she wasn't looking for it all the time. Then I just stopped giving it to her and she was fine.
Sometimes it would take a little longer for her to settle down but I didn't give it back once we had "taken" it. She never did suck on anything else either. So I guess I don't have any good suggestions other than once you take it, don't cave and give it back!! Sometimes that is hard.