Taking away pacifier

Roses4me

Sat, Jan 02 2010, 2:48 pm

when would you take it away? my 2.5 yr old is more attached now than a few months ago! or do I just wait till he gives it up himself??

if u take it away, how? I can't see how he would sleep without it, and in the daytime I give in because he keeps crying till I cant take it anymore!

freidasima

Sat, Jan 02 2010, 4:32 pm

Get to the point where he only uses it at night. He can keep that up forever. If he does it at sleepaway camp he might want to stop if the other boys make fun of him. Otherwise it will be his kallah's problem if it goes that far so it won't be yours...

And I'm only half joking.
Chill.
Let him enjoy.

chocolate moose

Sat, Jan 02 2010, 6:04 pm

Well....do you want to wait until it becomes a dental problem ? Or it translates into thumbsucking, gum chewing or smoking?

amother

Sat, Jan 02 2010, 6:31 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

Well....do you want to wait until it becomes a dental problem ? Or it translates into thumbsucking, gum chewing or smoking?

OH MY! what a load of hogwash
I'm not the OP but all my kids have taken pacifiers and not one of them have had it translate to thumbsucking, gum chewing or ....smoking???(was that for real?)

as far as dental problems none of it has been related to pacifiers.

back to the OP now, mine is 18 months and I'm trying to limit the paci to only at bedtime but it's hard because as soon as he wakes up he goes searching for them. I think I've left it a little late, I should have done this far earlier. But I'm going to crack down it now. My earlier kids were far easier to wean off it.

amother

Sat, Jan 02 2010, 6:33 pm

I forgot to add about that comment on thumsucking that in actuallity it was the pacifiers that PREVENTED thumbsucking. My kids were sucking their thumbs before they were born (they can tell that from looking at their lips) and tried to do it in the beginning, by replacing their thumb with a paci the thumbsucking stopped and eventually one can take away a paci but can't take away a thumb

ndw2

Sat, Jan 02 2010, 6:42 pm

I heard a kid in my class (teach preschool) say a cute ide they put the pacifier and attached to ballon sent them up in the air to send to another kid that needs it.
good luck

shmoozer

Sat, Jan 02 2010, 9:38 pm

my son is 5 yrs. old and still wants a pacifier. Of course I don't give it to him, but he would love it. I think taking it away is mean. If they still need it, give it to them. Worse stuff come out taking it away. he's always touching himself down there and I spoke to a professional that tells me that it's that baby feeling he never got rid of cuz I took away his pacifier.

chocolate moose

Sat, Jan 02 2010, 10:08 pm

Elanan101, I find it amusing that anonymous amother can post so vehemently here. Maybe they're teenagers or kids.

I can tell you that I am a real person, with a formerly thumbsucking child, and that is the research I have seen and my discussion with drs. If the child has an oral fixation, you hve to address it.

Roses4me

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 3:17 am

I think I'm going to try limit to sleep time...

I don't think he really needs it in the day time(except for nap)..just become a habit now, and this morning, I didn't give in..and he actually played much more, rather than sitting around with pacifier and blanket as I wash the dishes etc.

I also think he's not ready to give up nights..actually I've heard a lot of times that the child gives it up once they want to..with support ofcourse...like the balloon idea.

Just wanted to see how other mothers view or approach it.

I don't think it leads to such terrible problems c'v! My Dr actually encouraged it at the beginning bc he said babies have a need to suck, and it doesn't need to be on mommy all the time. But at this age he said I should look to get rid of it...so slowly I guess

freidasima

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 4:52 am

Stop listening to people so much.
He can have his pacifier until he goes to the chuppa, who cares?!
It does NOT cause dental problems and every one has some kind of oral fixation, so what? It does NOT translate into chewing gum (and what's wrong with that? today doctors even say it can be healthy!) or smoking (which is never healthy).

Should he suck his thumb? I know people who did it until their teens and later.
SO WHAT!!!
Let him enjoy. Life is long and hard. If it gives him pleasure, so be it.
Buy a whole bunch and let him choose the "color of the day". Make it fun.
WHO CARES!!!!!

Marion

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 4:56 am

DS#1 had to go cold turkey at 27 months when he chewed through the only one we had with us on vacation. By the time we got home 48 hours later he'd stopped asking and I wasn't offering!

DS#2 has temper tantrums when I don't give it to him (made worse because the day care gives in every time)...and two minutes later is happily distracted. I'm hoping to wean him in the next month or so completely.

jackiejoel3

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 5:10 am

I agree with people who said do it daytime first and then night time. It is usually years later that I take it away at night time. I also try and keep the child very busy the first few days with out it. At the park alot. Playing games with him instead of letting them play on their own it is easier for them to be distracted and by then they get used to it. avoid long walks in the stroller because they will just want to chill out and have the passy.

myself

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 7:37 am

My DS was super attached to his pacifier and although I did not want to take it away I desperately wished that he would stop sucking it. He would pop it into his mouth whenever he was tired and was NEVER able to fall asleep without it. I decided to let it run its course and and am delighted to say that a couple of weeks before his 5th b-day he decided to stop on his own accord. Its been taking him longer to fall asleep since then but he has never taken it again. One evening he complained that he can't sleep without it so I asked him if he would like to have it - his proud response was 'no'!

They all grow out of it at one point...........!

rainbow

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 8:20 am

chocolate moose wrote:

Well....do you want to wait until it becomes a dental problem ? Or it translates into thumbsucking, gum chewing or smoking?

Mine have taken it up to age 7. No dental problems. No thumbsucking. I think when the pacy is removed prematurely the child is more likely to turn to thumbsucking as an alternative means of self-soothing.
No gum-chewing either, in the ones I've allowed to have it as long as they wanted to.

On the contrary, allowing the child to have the pacifier as a means to self-soothe helps the child refrain from having to turn to other avenues such as thumb-sucking, gum-chewing, etc.

waiting

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 8:36 am

I let my DS have it till around 1 year old. I saw that becasue it was clipped onto him, he just had in his mouth all day and there was no need for it. he only gets it in the crib now. and of course if he's sick he gets it... I think a kid should have it until they are ready to part with it.

MiracleMama

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 8:37 am

Taking away a paci is really hard. I have not been successful. My 3 year old was to the point where he was only using it a night to go to bed a year and a half ago. Then his sisters were born and he had all-day access again just by "borrowing" theirs, lol! Still does. Drives me crazy, but it's only in the house, he wont go out with one because he knows he's a "big boy" - but he sneaks it in the house every chance he gets. I'm sure it will be resolved before chuppah, lol! This should be the worst problem we ever have.

chocolate moose

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 11:12 am

Just b/c some of you ppl hve not experienced what I have lived through and read about, does not mean that it does not exist.

israel22

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 2:23 pm

yeh its crazy my almost 3 year old is obssesed with it, I managed to regulate to crib time only but we tried talking her out of it and forget it! I am not sure how to convince her she does not budge! any ideas since shes pretty stuborn! wud also like to banish it! I tried pretending it was lost bargaing with her did not work....

rainbow

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 3:12 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

Just b/c some of you ppl hve not experienced what I have lived through and read about, does not mean that it does not exist.

You're right, CM. We are presenting all angles here. Smile

amother

Sun, Jan 03 2010, 6:00 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

Just b/c some of you ppl hve not experienced what I have lived through and read about, does not mean that it does not exist.

I googled "pacifiers cause smoking" and the only thing I came up with is adults using pacifiers to quit smoking Confused

I'm interested in your sources for pacifiers causing smoking. Never in my life have I heard of such a thing.