How did YOU take away your child’s binky?

Creed is a monster. He is obsessed with his binky all the sudden which tells me that I should have taken it away all long time ago. Damn, I mean darn {for some reason that is the ONLY word that explains my frustration with myself}. It is time to take control, but I’m nervous because I think I might like it more than he does. It is INSTANTLY quiet around here if he has it, and the thought of going to church without it gives me hives. He is almost 18 months old, and some of my other kids had their binkies until they were two. I know, I know, you could be one of those “perfect” people who takes away the binky by six months, right!?!? Well, I’m not one of those.

In an effort to take control of this situation, I’ve decided that he can’t have it unless he is sleeping. So I put the binkies in his crib so he couldn’t reach them this morning.

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After about five minutes I found him crying like a banshee by the crib. He is my fourth child so I don’t feel like a whale out of water, but it still makes me nervous because every kid is different.

As you can see, it didn’t go well.

Taking away a binky    taking away the binky taking away the binky taking away the binky taking away the binky 
His crying fit continued until I distracted him with an otter pop. {Yes, I used sugar in this effort}.

With our other kids, taking away their binkies were different experiences. My first child Oaklyn and my second child Connelly were less than a year apart. Yep, we were SUPER surprised to find out that Connelly was on his way when Oaks was three months old. Ha ha. I was soooo embarrassed, but THAT’s another story. I couldn’t take away Oaklyn’s binky because she would just take Connelly’s out of his mouth and claim it for her own. So, I waited until she was two and he was one and took them both away at the same time. Londyn my third child didn’t seem to care when we took hers away. For her, it was much easier than I planned.

For the first two kiddos, we used the “Binky Fairy” idea and traded the binkies for a toy. We walked to the end of our street with all the binkies in the whole house. We put the binkies on the curb for the binky fairy to arrive and take them. Then we walked home. We told Oaklyn {Connelly was only 12 months old, so he didn’t really get it yet} that the binky fairy “NEEDED” the binkies for other babies. After a few minutes, we walked back to the spot where the binkies were and found a fun stuffed animal in their place. {Thanks Daddy for helping us out in this effort}.

She struggled a little bit, but after a day or two the anguish was over. We kept explaining that the Binky Fairy needed the binkies for other babies and it seemed to really make sense to her.

Creed is younger than she was. Do you think it would work for him since he’s only 18 months old? Do you think he would understand? How did you take your child’s binky away? Cold turkey? I’m scared. Ha ha. No, seriously I am.

Some of you might like to see more information about Creed’s nursery, so if you would like to check that out, go to his nursery reveal.

Published on July 16, 2012

80 thoughts on “How did YOU take away your child’s binky?”

  1. We took my oldest son's binky just before his brother was born (20 months) and it was too early. We told him that babies needed binkies but big boys did not. He gave it up without a fight but I caught him sneak sucking under the end table about 3 weeks later. (He snagged his brother's!) Once more we talked about being a big boy and that was it. No more binky. My youngest never liked it, never wanted it so no issues with that one. I think only in the crib at 18 months and then gone by 24 months is a good idea.

  2. I love offering advice but sorry, I never let my kids have them from the start :/ I wish you the best of luck!! I think it will continuously get better for you! The first days are always hard.

  3. oh just give him his binky, its not that big a deal and he will get rid of it when he is ready. Why make his and your life harder than necessary. BTW my son is 29 and he got rid of his binky A LOG time ago. lol

  4. We "traded" the binky for a "big girl bed" at 18 months. Obviously this wouldn't work for everyone since not every 18-month old is ready to make the bed switch at that age, but telling her she could sleep in a big bed if she'd hand over the binky seemed to work for us. It wasn't without heartache on her part though. It was a ROUGH two days of having to be tough and not give it to her when she threw a tantrum (like you, the binky meant immediate silence for us, so it was hard not to give in) or wanted it at night for comfort and we did have to get up with her several times for those two nights, but after those two days, she was completely over it and it was well worth the work. Good luck!

  5. My daughter just turned 2 and still has hers. She only gets it for nap time and bed time. I know i probably sould have taken it away 6 months ago esp now that I am due with another in 2.5 months. I contemplated just stopping them but i dont know if she will sleep with out it and I dont know if I have the strength to deal with it right now.
    My friend had her kids put them in the garbage with her (she took them out later) and gave them a prize instead. I have also heard of people who bury them in the garden with their kids in the evening and then in the morning put a large sucker in place. I like that idea but i think your kiddo would have to be older to understand that they are gone now.
    I now feel like I should just stop cold turkey, it would prob only take a couple days before she stopped looking for it but i am not sure what will happen when the new baby comes… maybe we wont use them for the new one…..

  6. WARNING: Adilynn learned to climb out of her crib the moment we took away her paci… at 18mo. Then we had to put on child-proof door knob things… and then she learned to take those off… and then we had to start spanking…
    I will never give another child a paci. well, until our baby girl comes in September… then I'll be so sleep deprive and crazy, I'll do anything for a paci… and then hate myself 18 months later. 🙂

  7. My kids kept their nuks until they were 3 and then we packaged them up in an envelope and put them in the mailbox for the babies who needed them. Do what is right for your child, don't worry about what people think 🙂 24 months is probably a good age but my kids had a hard time so they got them for nap, car time and bedtime until 3. 🙂

  8. If he wants his paci, then he can have it. He just has to get in the crib and stay there until he is done sucking it. Developmentally, he should have cause/effect at this point, so he will start to understand "want paci=stay in crib." If he wants out of the crib bad enough to re-enter society, he has to give up his paci.

  9. We cut a tiny slit in the end of her paci. It basically makes it not have the suction. She continued to hold and carry it around for a few days and would tell me it was broken and eventually she just lost interest in it. It was an easy way for her to understand that it was time to let it go since it was "broken".

  10. We quit the binky by age two with our son who ALWAYS had to have his binky for bed time and just for "quiet" areas in general. I felt terrible doing it, but we cut a small hole in the very tip so that it deflated and soon enough he didn't want the binky anymore because it was "broken" he said. So he stopped asking for it and we eventually just threw it out a few days later. It wasn't the big dramatic thing I imagined. I'd just try that and when he notices it changed say…OH NO, binky is broken!!!

  11. I followed SuperNanny and she said the best age was at 2 years old. We started the wein off at 2 years old. She could only have it for naps and bedtime. And then at about 2years and 4 months we told her that we needed to give them to the binki fairy, gave her a toy in exchange. Of course there was a meltdown for a good solid week i'd say. but i felt it was like potty training in the sense that you have to mentally be willing to deal with the drama for a few days to a week. I really hope all goes well! Good luck!!

  12. I used to teach at a 2 year old pre-preschool/day care, (just me and 10 2 year olds for 8 hours a day, yay! 🙂

    Anyway, when binkies started to get to be problem we would (with parents permission of course) just cut a little slit in the bottom, then let them have it like normal. Usually on day 2 or 3 they would just throw it away themselves. If they didn't then every few days I would cut just a little more off the bottom, until there was just a little nub left.
    Only one little boy ever held on long enough to get it cut all the way off. Which only took a total of about 2 weeks. But I suspect his Mom was giving him a normal binky when he was home.
    I've never had to do it for my own kids cause they never got hooked on them, but it worked well for me.
    Good Luck!

  13. Ok, moms that say they'll give it up on their own… I don't believe that, at least not before it's an embarrassment for them and for mom. though honestly i don't have much experience either. my first never wanted it. i gradually just lost them all for my second one. By ten months the last one disappeared. i braced myself for a rough few nights, but he didn't care. i got lucky. i would say go cold turkey. at that age, outta sight outta mind… eventually. but brace yourself for a few rough days and DONT GIVE IN. i think keeping them in the crib is just asking for fits every time he sees them. it's definitely harder b/c you're attached to them. good luck.

  14. None of my kids ever liked them, so we didn't have to take them away. But my advice to you is to try whatever you think works, but GO WITH YOUR GUT! If you feel that wrenching it away from him is making him terribly upset and it's just not the right time, then don't do it. This is an 18-month-old baby! It's not like he's filling out his Harvard application while sucking on his Nuk. 🙂
    I had friends have super great luck with the trick where they cut off a little bit of the binky each night until it was just a nub.

  15. Mine's almost 18 months too and has her binky. We limit it to naps, bedtime, and extreme situations (i.e. the time she choked and turned bright red and wouldn't stop crying afterwards). I'm not in too much of a hurry to take it away and think that we'll do it around the 2 year mark. Although i can't offer you "been there" advice, what we'll probably do is just cut the binky and call it broken.

    can't wait to hear what you end up with!!!!

  16. My oldest son was VERY attached to his. He really needed it for comfort (he was a difficult child) and I needed it for sanity! I let him have it a lot longer than your son because I didn't wean him from it until he was three, but I had 100% success with my method. He never cried or asked for it.

    When he was about 2 1/2, I started talking to him about how "big boy three year olds" did not use pacifiers and how on his birthday he would need to get rid of them if he wanted to be a big boy. He actually got really excited about it and I pumped it up a lot. On his third birthday (he was still very dependent on them), he woke up and we made a big production of him gathering all his pacifiers and throwing them away. He did end up wanting to keep one of them, but I reminded him that he wanted to be a big boy so he tossed them all and never looked back!

  17. You take him to Build-a-Bear and have him put the binky in the bear before they sew it up. That way he knows he can't get it back but it is still with him inside his new Teddy. It works really well 😉

  18. Honestly I wouldn't stress too much. 18 months is still fairly young. And kids develop a LOT between 18 months and 2 years. I think when he is a little older he will be able to understand and be reasoned with better. When my daughter was almost 2 we just had a talk about how she was a big girl and big girls don't use binkies. I asked if she wanted to throw them away and she said yes (I'm sure she didnt get that I meant permanently). For about 3 days naps and bed time were a bit more challenging, but she only actually asked for her binkies once or twice and then she got over it. It really wasnt too bad. Good luck!

  19. We waited until our kids were 3 (I know, I know…) and we had a "cut the paci" birthday party. We invited all the cousins and we cut the cake and cut the paci in one fell swoop. We had been building up for it for months so they knew it was coming. Both kids had a hard time falling asleep the first night, but they were great from then on. Oh, and since they were about 2, we had limited the pacifier to only in the crib. If they wanted it at times besides for nap/sleep they had to go in their crib i.e. away from the action – so it wasn't that desirable. Good luck!!

  20. Neither of my girls are binky kids.. they never really had one.. they both pretty much gave them up by 3 months old. I have a 2.5 yr old and a 10 month old. Every kid is different like you said.. And there's nothing wrong with you taking it away at 18 months but I dont think there's anything wrong with letting him keep it a while longer if he really needs it. I'd probably try to ween him off slowly.. you know let him have it all day one day.. then.. take it away for an hour the next.. slowly taking it away for more time each day while distracting him with something else.. or maybe taking it when he's busy with something else.. then only letting him have it at bedtime & naptime.. then start taking it away at naptime and hopefully then u can slowly take it away at bedtime. Good luck. My nephews binkies past 2.. one of them had it until he was 3.. lol!

  21. When it was time to take them away from our twins, we cut the tips off. They don't have the right feel or satisfy the need to suck so they weren't interested. (They would pull them out of their mouths and look at them like "What the heck??" then suck on them for another minute before repeating the process. It was so funny!) Didn't take them long at all to give them up! Good luck!!

  22. I JUST limited my two year old to having hers during naps and for bed. She turned two maybe 3 weeks ago. My boys (one is 4 and one is 8 months) never liked a binks. But my 4 year old still sucks his thumb at bedtime and I don't care at all. It comforts him. Personally, I think 18 months is still pretty young (and don't forget he will be starting nursery soon!) and I would just let him have it. I'm pretty structured, but for some reason it's just not a huge deal to me. Good luck!!

  23. Oh, man… That's tough. My first literally chewed holes in his, so we just showed him the holes and told him to throw them away. In a few weeks, he had thrown them all away, and that was that. I think he was probably 2 – 2 1/2 years old. I was "good" about not letting him have it except for bedtime or in the car on long trips (or when waiting at the doctor's office or somewhere he needed to be quiet), but not when it was playtime at home. I was so proud of myself. Ha! When my 2nd came along, I let him have it a lot more because, well… I liked having at least one child quiet. 🙂 I started noticing that he had a paci sized space between his top and bottom teeth (his teeth wouldn't close all the way), and decided that whether he liked it or not, it had to go. I explained that it was messing up his teeth, and that he was too big for it now, and we took them away. It was hard. Everytime he got hurt or sad, he cried for his paci. He still does it every now and then (6 months + later). He was 2 1/2 – 3 when we took it away. If I remember correctly, I tried to cut back on his paci use before taking it away all together, and we started the "only at bedtime" rule. Keeping them out of sight during waking hours was helpful, but he did cry for it a lot. I think it might have been a little better if I NEVER gave in, but of course, I did sometimes (especially if he fell down and hurt himfself or something). Anyway… it's such a hard thing. I think you might be OK to wait a little longer… maybe until he's two? It will be rough whenever you do it, but he might be a little more understanding when he's older. Good luck!! 🙂

  24. I was expecting my second kiddo exactly when my first girl was going to turn 2. I wanted her to be completely over her binky a few months before her brother arrived so she was also about 18 months when we (and by we I mean me) decided it was time for her to give it up. I hear you on being nervous to do it. Life is a lot easier when you know you have that binky as an option, but honestly the whole ordeal was way less difficult than I expected it to be. I cut a little bit of the binky off every day, (but let her have it as normal) so after a few days there wasn't much to hold on to. Without anything on it to suck on she lost interest in it. Good luck, though. I know it can be stressful.

  25. i have no advice just sympathy for you. my son had his binky for sleeping after he turned 2 and he didnt give it up until he got hand foot and mouth and cut himself off cold turkey.
    Good luck!

  26. No binky but we had a bottle issue like that with the last child. I went the out of sight out of mind route. Just put it away one day never to be seen again.

    ~Bliss~

  27. I took mink mink (Thats what she called it ) away at a year & a 1/2 . My hubby told me to . He thought it was bad for her teeth . I so was not looking foward to a long car ride without it . He made me go cold turkey . She cried for a few days but then was fine . Hearing her cry was hard on me , but I had to keep with the plain to make it work . We looked around the house for ALL mink minks , so she wouldn't come up with one .
    I have a friend who let her little girl have one until the day befor pre-k . Now at 6 she has alot of teeth work to be done .
    I wish you lots of luck !

  28. I was terrified to take away my son's binky. So terrified that I never got the courage to do it until we had lost all of them- he had a little problem with throwing them when he was mad, and then they'd disappear (again and again..it took a few times for me not to run to the store).Finally, one random day, I just decided to do it when I couldn't find a binky, and it went much better than expected. I just told him they were lost and that I couldn't find them. A few times he did find them though (one morning he woke up, ran to a vent, and pulled out a binky- gross), but I just kept telling him they were lost. Bedtime was the hardest…but after a few days it got much easier.

  29. When we were ready to take away our first child's binky, I cut off the nipple part and told her it was broken. (She didn't know we had a stash of them in the bathroom drawer!) We put it on the table and every once and a while she would go over to the table and put it in her mouth. Then she would take in out, look at it and sigh and say in a sad voice, "Oh, broken." Then she would put it back. We put it in the crib with her that first night. There were no tears at all.

    Our second child was very different. She found the secret stash right away!

  30. Gasp my son turned 3 and I can't get rid of his. He doesn't want to give to the fairy, he has to have it when we leave places I can't just leave it in his bed, and my dentist said it was fine. Up to you!

  31. I have five children and only my oldest still wanted the pacifier at a year old. To brake her of it we just got up one day and threw them all away. She cried a little at nap time for a few days and then forgot it even existed. I would say to do it like a bandaid….fast and all at once.

  32. As a nanny, I've had to break binky habits for many kiddos. Sometimes I think it's best for the parent to leave the kid with another person and let THEM break the binky habit. It sounds crazy, but the majority of kids I have cared for do better when it's not Mom and Dad doing the "evilness". Case in point: I nannied for a 3yo and a 3mo. The 3yo had 10 binkies and they were always in her mouth. We worked down to only one binky at naptime. Then no binkies during the day, only at night. Her parents couldn't break the night-time habit so they went out of town for a weekend and I simply told her that she would try to sleep without one. When she did I made such a huge deal about it that she never had them again. When the 3mo got to a year old, we did the same thing. She didn't get binkies unless sleeping. We made such a huge deal about her throwing the binky back in the crib after her nap, that she eventually tossed them out and took naps without them. I think she was completely off binkies by a year and a half.

    Be patient, Mama. 18mo toddlers aren't going to understand the reasoning, so just praise and praise when he goes without. 🙂 I find that consistency and positivity are the best ways of handling it. Distractions help too. He now has to learn a new way to soothe and entertain himself. It's quite a change!

  33. I'm a mom of four kids…they all had binkies, and they all got rid of them by age two. The hardest was the oldest, our son. We had several (never know when you might LOSE one!)He only used them while sleeping. We finally got rid of all but one, and that one was GOLD! He chewed and gnawed, and sucked for a couple of months on that one lonely binky, until it was thin and worn. It finally got a hole in it, and didn't have any bounce, and he didn't like it. He pitifully held it out to me, and said in his tiny voice, "Binky bro-oke". I said, "yep, it's bro-oke. But you can still have it." *big cheerful smile at him* But he didn't want it! So that was the end of THAT! 🙂

  34. At about 18 months old we only gave our son his binky for nap and bed times, and then about 20 months old we only gave it to him for bed time, and then at 2 years we just took it away-it was rough the first few nights, but he quickly got over it…He is particularly stubborn, so I was nervous, but we never gave in and he hasn't looked back since. I think you should do what you're comfortable with. I only have one kid and had goals-1 year no bottle, 2 years, no binkie, and 3 years potty trained…we almost made all our goals (potty training took a few more months) anyways, not that you need to hear all that…just go with your gut…but when you decide its gone, don't give in to the wailing…you'll never hear the end of it!

  35. Honestly I didn't take my oldest's away until he turned three. I just told him three year olds didn't use "nonies" and he never questioned it-he's just that kind of kid. Neither of my younger boys ever took a pacifier much to my dismay. Good luck!

  36. I'm only on child #2 and I'm already a softie. Child #1 kept his until 2.5. He's a perfectly adjusted 5 year old now and it took 2 days of him asking and not getting it until he moved on. I am not as worried about it this time. #2 is 16 months and carries it everywhere. He's also cutting teeth and it helpd a LOT for those stinkin' molars. So, don't worry. He won't go to college with it. My father in law, a dentist, says as far as teeth goes there is no concern until they are getting permanent teeth for it affecting bite. You have a ways to go there. I would not worry until 3 years personally.

  37. I think cold turkey is the way to go. Do it at a time you are prepared to help comfort and provide a bit of understanding.

    THe fairy thing never really worked for us… our 2 would have never chosen to give their dummies up – so we took them away and were clear about it too. We had one night with a few complaints and grizzles but then it was ok…. WAY easier than I thought it would be.

    Just don't back down when you make the decision to go cold turkey – that's it!

  38. I had two that loved their paci's. They won't take them to kindergarten, they eventually lose interest. One flushed his down the potty at age 3 and we told him they were all gone. No problem. The other just lost interest about 3.5 yrs. They can't talk with binky in their mouth and since mine won't shut up, lol, they got rid of them. My husband and his brother STILL suck their thumbs in private and I think I would rather let them have the binky until they are over it, lol.

  39. whoa no need to stress, we let our 2nd boy have one until he was almost 2, and one night he just forgot to ask for it, (which meant he could totally sleep without it) and we just never gave it back and he was good. He also has a blankie which may help to have some other transitional object. Just be glad he's not a thumbsucker like my oldest girl. She is 6 and still wont give it up. Ugh. That shoudl make you feel better;)

  40. My baby was almost 3 and had it in her mouth 24/7, she gave it to me to give to a baby fish so as we drove over the Outer Bridge Crossing in NYC we pretended to throw it over the bridge to give to a baby fish. She never asked for it again! True Story!
    Susan

  41. Hey Brooke,

    I'm a child developmental specialist and I have a little one of my own that used to LOVE her binky. Here is what I tell my client's and what I did with my little girl to get over the binky.

    First you need to only have one binky in the house. Then you begin by only having the binky during nap time and bed time. Ask your little guy to either give you the binky or to put it back in his bed and say goodbye. Turn around and walk out the door and don't mention the binky again. This is not going to be an easy transition but if you stick to it and don't make a big fuss about it, it should only take a week.

    After he is comfortable with the new binky routine and you are ready to take away the binky for good, out of sight take some scissors and snip the tip of the binky. Give it back to him at bed time/nap time and don't say anything or make a big deal. After a few days cut a little bit more. Repeat this until you eventually only have the plastic part.

    Snipping the binky slowly takes away the comforting aspect of it and by the end, he will only be able to hold it. Eventually he will loose interest in it and might even choose to get rid of it himself.

    Best of luck! You're on a long road but you can do it and so can Creed!

  42. We told my son that the "b" (binky) fairy was coming to take it and would leave a treat in it's place. We had him put his binky in a special baggie and place it on the front door step. When he was done with his nap he woke up to a HUGE bag of suckers in it's place. He never asked for it again.

    Mind you…this was after several failed attempts of bribery. I think it's about age…and it's about persistence of the parents. Eventually…they all give in!

  43. My daughter successfully came off the binky but I can't take the credit. She got a cold so she couldn't breathe out of her nose for a couple of weeks. Good Luck!

  44. Soothers. I love them for babies. Our first was do easy to take it away. 10 mths he just stopped. Our second baby I took it away at 14 mths and I regret it. It was so hard. We had to snip the tip of the soother off a little at a time till there was nothing she could bite onto again. I wish I would have let her have it a little longer. Now our third baby is just one. I have no idea when we'll get rid of it. Good luck!!!

  45. I'm in the 'let him keep it' camp. My 2.5 year old still has his to sleep and when he's upset. He knows that "bubble" doesn't leave the house or car and he's good about 'putting it away' before we leave. It is somewhere that he can get to it, but if he gets it out during the day I ask him if he is going to sleep, he always replies "no" and laughs and then he goes and puts it away again. I think 18 months is too young. They don't understand why you are taking it away and really, there isn't a good reason. In most of the world children that age are still nursing. The sucking motion is good for their little brains.

  46. You have to take the reinforcment away. If you cut a small part off of all the binkys it will not create the same reward. A few days later if they are still using them cut a little but more off.
    The best wasy is cold turkey painful but short in comparison.

  47. As you know, it's different with every child and some kids just need that comfort more than others. I think that designating it for sleeping only is a great way to start. It's what I did with my daughter (now 27 months and 98% binkee free for the last few months) although I had a tiny basket I put it in so she couldn't see it. She knew it was there, but it seemed less tempting. Also, I would sneak shortly after she fell asleep (during the night & her nap) and covertly slip it out of her mouth and put it away. I can think of only 1 or 2 times that this woke her and I just gave it back and let her have it at that point. It made me feel better knowing that she wasn't sucking on it all night, but she got the soothing she needed from it, also she got used to not having it while she slept which I'm sure helped.

    Bottom line, if they're ready, it shouldn't be such a painful separation. They understand more that we realize, I kept telling her she was too big for the binkee, and she finally 'got it'. On the other hand, my cousin let her daughter (now 19) have her binkee until she was 5, and there was no oral damage or any other problems caused by it. So it just depends. Good luck!

  48. cold turkey! i was so scared that my kids would be walking around at 5 and still have one, i took them away at 4 mths and about 6 mths!!! just be strong and take it away, he will be fine. plus it can really cause orthodontic issues if they have them for too long, and speech problems like a lysp.

  49. We tried snipping off the end of the binky. My daughter gave it to me and said it didn't work and we didn't have any more problems. Good luck!

  50. My third was the hardest. She kept them until she would chew holes in them. We had managed to acquire a stockpile of them so I kept telling her that once it had a hole in it, she had to throw it away. And that I wouldn't buy any more. I let her actually put them in the trash can. By the time we got to the last one, she was SO CAREFUL not to chew on it so it would last longer. She finally got a hole in it and she got to throw it away. She had a hard couple of nights, but after that it was okay. Good luck with it!!

  51. We did the snipping technique and it worked with my son. He wasn't happy but it only took 2 days for him to get over it. We literally lost my daughter's last paci which was tramatic but we went with it because she was almost 3 and it needed to go. Neither of my kids used pacis outside of the crib after about 8 months old. Once they were mobile – so were the pacis so I kept them in the crib only and for long car/plane rides. Good luck!

  52. Let him have it for a while yet unless you're dead set on getting rid of it. Both of my children had theirs until they were three years old. My daughter was a horrible sleeper and the binky was a life saver. At around two, we let her have it only when she was in bed, for naps or at night. When we finally did get rid of it, we took here to Build-a-Bear and put her Binky inside the bear she made and named the bear Binky. This worked really well for her.

  53. My son was 2 1/2 years old and ALREADY potty-trained. His 3 1/2 yr. old sister did mostof the training! He desperately wanted some underwear with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck on them. So, I told him that on a certain date,(about a week from then) that he was going to get up in the morning and tell his binky "bye-bye" and we would throw it away. Then, we would IMMEDIATELY go to the store and get his new underwear because now he was such a big boy. We had a few tears throwing "binky" away, but after he got those underwear, he forgot all about it. He wanted to shoe them to everyone! So, thank goodness, it was rather easy for us.

  54. when my daughter was 10 months, we decided to take it away. she could take it out and put it in, but she wouldn't ever, so she would cry all night for us to come back in and replace her pacifier. as you know, that is NOT fun. she was a horrible sleeper anyway, so i was nervous, but we did it cold turkey. it took ONE NIGHT. i couldn't believe it. she still slept crappy (and we waited another month before letting her CIO, just so we weren't taking away all the comfort at once), but she was over it. the only time we really missed it was in the car. *sigh*

    my son never took one. a blessing and a curse, but i'm glad i never had to stress about taking it away.

    remember that you're doing this for the greater good. and YOU'RE the parent. you can do it!

  55. Hi Brooke! I'm not sure if anyone else suggested this, but this has worked every time with my boys. They were about the same age or maybe a little younger than Creed. I just cut the tip off the binky (a little at a time). The first time I cut my oldest son's binky, he didn't want it. I'd give it back to him & he'd shake his head "no" and never wanted it again. My second son reacted a little different. I just kept cutting the tip & eventually there wasn't much left & he decided it wasn't all that great on his own… hope you figure out what works for you!

  56. I took my son's away when he turned one for everything but sleeping. By 18 months we took it away for sleeping, too. I think it was harder on me than him. He didn't seem to notice much, but I have to admit I missed having an easy way to get him to quiet down (Church! Argh! We did keep an "emergency" one in the church bag, but I think we only used it once or twice.). I let him gnaw on good ol' teething rings when he seemed like he just needed to put something in his mouth. Good luck!

  57. Only my oldest took a binki. At 4 months I took it unless we were in the car or she was in her bed.

    At 18 months, I think I would have just put him in the crib with his binki. This did make my daughter a GREAT sleeper. She would even play an hour after she woke up because she wanted to stay with the binki.

    I waited until she was almost three (until after the next baby was born.) Then we went to "build a bear" and had the binki put into a bear. I really thought she was going to throw a royal fit, but she didn't. That was the end of the binki.

  58. I'm sorry, I was totally distracted by the awesome crib! I've never seen one with a tufted back and it's gorgeous!
    Good luck with the binky! I did cold turkey with my oldest and the first few nights completely sucked but after that he was fine. Not sure about my twins though…

  59. We took away my son's binkie at 18 months also. It went rather smoothly for the most part. About 6 months after that, he started sucking his thumb and is going to be 5 in November and still sucks his thumb. 🙂 Lucky me! I am sure things will get better soon. Good luck!

  60. My girls never took binkies! I would have loved for them to have it at certain times. Like when my boob wasn't available to just whip out at say, Wal-Mart. Why are you in such a hurry to take it away? Is it because that is when your others decided to be done with it? Maybe the extra comfort is what he feels he needs. My best friend is a dentist. She says comfort objects such as binkies and thumbs aren't harmful until big teeth start to come in. I can imagine that by that time, Creed will be done with the binky. Maybe he just needs it for a little while longer. And really, who cares what people think about when kids are supposed to be rid of them. Like you said every child is different. Save yourself the struggle and just go with the flow. Encourage it at naptime, quiet-time, or the right time for you AND him. In the end it will be a thing of the past and this will be easier than say the teen years.

  61. When my son was 18 months old I told him to go and put his soother in the garbage – knowing that the next day was garbage day. Over the next couple of days he asked about it and we told him the garbage man took it away. He is now almost 18 yrs. old and hasn't suffered any trauma from the the ordeal, haha. Good luck!

  62. My son is 14 months, and after dealing with my mom's nagging about him being in college still using a binkie (He's barely a year old, sheesh!), I was able to wean him off it. I just let him have it for naps and at bedtime, and eventually he stopped wanting it. I'm 9 days away from bringing his little sister into the world (so I can relate to your quick second pregnancy too!) and I fully intend on using a pascifier for her. So we'll see how he does when he sees it in her mouth…

  63. My son was just over 2 when I took his binky away. Should have done it sooner, but that's just how it went. Anyway, I tried the whole binky only in the crib thing but it didn't work well. Finally I got out some scissors and helped him cut them. Then when he asked for his binky I just reminded him that he cut them and threw them away. It was a bit hard at first but it didn't take too long before he was over it.

  64. I have 5 kids and all were binky babies and to be honest they were all 2 before I took it away and they are all fine. When it did come time we would be down to having 1or2 around, I wouldn't replace or buy new ones, then I let them go to town on them. They would always wear out and they wouldn't want them anymore. There was never much crying or fussing and it was over pretty painlessly. It worked with all my kids.

  65. My #3 son was a big binky guy. He was 4 before we offered him a trade for a cool tractor that he realllllly wanted. He got to pick out the item to trade and it took a while before he was ready.

  66. We're on our 4th baby (5 months old) and all 4 have LOVED their binkies. We've nicknamed binkies "the Precious" around here. I usually strike when my kids are approaching 2 years old, because I have a major pet peeve about kids who can speak in complete sentences and are walking around with a binky hanging out of their mouth. For all 3 of my older kids I've used the same method- I MURDER the binky. I cut the nipple completely off, leaving nothing at all to suck on. When they'd ask for their binky I'd hand it to them all casual-like and take more than a little pleasure in seeing the bewilderment on their faces when they try to pop it in their mouth and realize there's nothing there. Then I'd be all, "Aw man, looks like it's broken. That's too bad." For real, that's all it took. And it's not like we only had one binky in the whole house. There were probably half a dozen others but none of them ever asked for another one. It was broken and that was that. To be honest, I did keep an emergency one just in case we entered nuclear meltdown mode in the middle of the night or something, but with all 3 kids we never even got close to that kind of anxiety level. Shocking, but true. Hope you find something that works for your guy, but don't feel pressure to snatch it right now. He's still pretty little.

  67. Its been awhile… but we punctured the binky (poked a hole in it). When he sucked on it, it would collapse. Well, then its just no fun and they dont want it.

  68. We tried a couple of times with my son. We started at 3 (yes late but if you saw him you would understand, he didn't shut up his speech was highly developed and we need a bit of time occasionally, he had a secret stash of them and every time we thought we had them all he would find 3 more) and then we told him that the baby Easter bunnies needed them. He promptly told us "the bloody bunnies could get their own!" i had to stop laughing and remember what we were doing. Eventually the reindeer babies got them, he was happy to hand them over and there was no tears no regrets. He was a bit boy and NOT a baby needing a dum dum.

  69. We tried a couple of times with my son. We started at 3 (yes late but if you saw him you would understand, he didn't shut up his speech was highly developed and we need a bit of time occasionally, he had a secret stash of them and every time we thought we had them all he would find 3 more) and then we told him that the baby Easter bunnies needed them. He promptly told us "the bloody bunnies could get their own!" i had to stop laughing and remember what we were doing. Eventually the reindeer babies got them, he was happy to hand them over and there was no tears no regrets. He was a bit boy and NOT a baby needing a dum dum.

  70. My daughter had a really hard time with teething and it was impossible to get it completely away until her teeth were all in. My only other suggestion is to try to keep it out of sight. Good luck:)

  71. Our oldest who is 18 had a binky that he called a fire. He loved that thing and had several that he used along with his blanket that he referred to as silky. In order to get him to give it up (age 3 and only at night) we told him the fire fairy was going to come and take his so she could give it to another little boy who needed one. Well he wanted no part of a fairy flying around his room and kindly handed it over. If I knew it was going to be that easy we would of tried it when he was younger.

  72. We cut the tips out for our kids and when they put them in their mouths and took them out and gave them a weird look, we said, "Uh oh! Broken!" We had so many that every now and then I'd find one that wasn't "broken." And sometimes they would find one!

  73. I did the same thing you did and kept the soother in the crib when my daughter was 18 months old. Whenever she wanted it, I would put her in the crib and tell her that she could have her soother there or she could leave it there and get out and play. It didn't take long for her to decide that playing was much more interesting than sitting in the crib with her soother.

  74. I don't know if you resolved this already, but like a previous poster, we used the tip cutting method for our two kids too. I didn't allow either of them to use the binkies outside of the crib once they started walking (that was tougher for the second than it was the first, but it stuck eventually). They used them strictly for sleep, and once they turned two, started snipping back the tips. A little sliver each week until they were little stubs. They gave them up on their own without much fanfare. Can't say that it will work for your LO, but it worked here, and I would say it's worth a try!

  75. when my son was 3 and a half i went to under his pillow took his pacifiers and i cut them with the scissors right in front of him ahaha i am such a mean dad he cried sooo much

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