Help with a 1.5 year old addicted to pacifier

[Anonymous]

Cut the tip of the pacifier and tell her it's broken. This works.

[Anonymous]

Mine are teens now but the two who were pack addicts used them until 4/5. The one that didn’t want a pack never used it and never wanted it.
I remember with my oldest falling for this “you must take it away at age 2” BS and we then spent months in a revolving door of vomiting because she just put her fingers or other objects into her mouth. at least the pacifiers were clean. She did need braces but not due to the pacifiers. She just had a really small palate and crooked teeth. Her brother that used the pacifiers even longer did not need braces. The braces thing is almost all predetermined at birth.

[Anonymous]

Our dentist and pediatrician told us by 3....ours only used it at sleep time but when new baby arrived and she was stressed out she started wanting it all of the time. Her teeth were noticeably forward and my husband was very distressed by her pacifier mouth and wanted to take it away then...I refused as she ( and i) were going through stress of entire life bring different with new baby. I bought paciifers aren't forever book and she loved the book, asked older colder cousins what they did with they did to sleep without theirs, and read the section on back about a pacifier fairy where you turn your pacifiers in for a special treat /celebration. She was very excited and asked all her cousins to join but I dreaded it as she's a horrible sleeper already and I didn't want sleep to be worse without it... I told her for months it would be after we go to the beach ( she turns 3 in July). She started biting holes in all of her pacifiers and 2 or so weeks ago she stopped asking for them and they all laid under her bed.. I have no idea how but she stopped fully on her own once all of the ones in her room had holes.

Yesterday we had paci fairy ceremony with her cousins and threw them all away and she got a stuffed animal and ice cream and all is okay. I'm super glad she had maturity of age to understand and do it on her own.

So give it time and invest in the book... if yours doesn't chew holes themselves then you can create holes for them eventually

[Anonymous]

He would probably want to kick my butt for putting this out on the internet - but one of my twins (5 yrs old) still uses a paci to fall asleep each night.

His teeth are completely fine, because it falls out of his mouth pretty much the moment he falls asleep, so there’s next to no impact on his teeth. Knowing this, I went from actively trying to discourage him from using them, to being pretty much at ease with it.

It works as part of our nighttime routine, and aside from some gentle teasing by his twin, it’s never been a problem.

Don’t stress about it OP. She’ll be fine.

[Anonymous]

We gave a deadline of 3 years old and warned them about it. We were super nervous because they loved the paci but, in the end, it was no big deal. One of those surprising moments where we were worried and it ended up being easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The pacifier was my DD's comfort object. I just let her use it until she gave it up on her own at 5. We had some rules along the way as she got older---only at home, and then only when she was in her room. I know people will disagree with me, but I didn't see any harm in letting her use it for the long term.

This is not a good idea.

It’s ok. It really is. Don’t take away the thing your child needs to self soothe.

If they require a pacifier to sleep or be calm then they can’t self soothe.

You could say the same for all the kids who can’t sleep in the same room as other people, or without blackout curtains or without sound machines.

[Anonymous]

Same here. Two of my three kids loved the pacifier for sleep/rest. We had rules, only in bed, in the stroller or car seat. Never playing, walking around.
I sucked my thumb until kindergarten. I remember trying to quit, it was tough, but I only sucked my thumb in bed by then. My parents were very chill about it, they bought me a doll as a reward for trying to quit and were supportive but did not tell me I had to quit. I wanted to because I thought since I was in school, I shouldn't suck my thumb anymore.
I never needed/had braces (my brother did so my parents would have gotten me braces if needed) and still (at 50) never had a cavity.
Go easy, set some boundaries but know that your kid will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Well, if we're being very honest.

I sucked my thumb at night until like-- well into elementary school. Can't remember exactly when I stopped? But, I remember it was late enough that my teeth would leave red marks in my thumb the following morning.

Happy to say though, my teeth are fine! Now in my 30's and never once even had braces or anything of the sort, and my teeth are straight as can be.

[Anonymous]

I dont have advice about weaning from it (I would probably just go cold turkey because I think kids that age are incapable of understanding only allowing it under certain circumstances) but for if you have another kid, just don’t allow a pacifier from the start. I never gave my kids pacifiers for this reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I dont have advice about weaning from it (I would probably just go cold turkey because I think kids that age are incapable of understanding only allowing it under certain circumstances) but for if you have another kid, just don’t allow a pacifier from the start. I never gave my kids pacifiers for this reason.

Pacifiers are actually now encouraged for newborns (at least they were for me) because it reduces the incidence of SIDs.

[Anonymous]

Take a pin and poke a hole in the tip - they won't want it any more.

[Anonymous]

I'd start gently creating some rules for her to use it, with the idea that it will gradually decrease the use.

Question: at childcare when she's upset and crying (child took a toy, you just left, she gets hurt) does she suck her thumb to calm down or use her pacifier? Or does she get a hug from a teacher and calms down herself? I bet she CAN calm herself down and she doesn't NEED it as much, but it's a habit at home to use it and to "need" it. BUT if she's sucking her thumb at childcare when she's upset, that's different.

Here are perhaps the first limitations:

She can use it in the car (and leave it in her carseat - not taking it into the store, etc.)
At home, she can use it in her room (so if she really wants it, she needs to go into her room and do whatever but not bring it outside her room)
in her crib for bedtime (but not while reading books before bed)

So she'll have a "car pacifier" a "bedroom pacifier" - which also is the one she uses in her crib

And, from now on, she can NEVER speak with it in her mouth - this leads to lisps and a whole lot of misshaping herm outh to say words.

BUT you can't make her feel that when she talks her pacifier gets taken away - then she'll simply shut down. Instead, if she is talking around it then tell her to take it out to tell you so you can understand. Don't take it from her, don't insist she put it in her pocket, just she needs to take it out, hold it in her hand, tell you/have the conversation, then she can pop it right back in.
That way she isn't learning the wrong way to form the sounds. (test this by putting a spoon in your mouth and try to speak - you will say words incorrectly or be unable to form some sounds or words)