Say Goodbye To The Pacifier

How to rid your toddler of the dreaded binkey with few tears and a great deal of fun!

Pediatricians now recommend pacifiers for baby's first year of life. They have been proven to reduce the rate of SIDS related deaths. In addition, most parents know that a pacifier can mean a soothing source of comfort for baby.

But what happens when your baby turns into a toddler and just doesn't want to give up the pacifier?

Still using a pacifier can cause tooth decay and orthodonic problems down the road. Plus, it can be quite embarrassing to have a three-year-old walking around with a pacifier in their mouth.

I had a binky-addicted toddler and it was beginning to ruin her front teeth. I had to convince her to give up the binky without traumatizing her. I decided to make the whole thing her idea! Here is what I did:

Preparing Her

I began preparing for the binky break-up by telling my little angel what a big girl she was becoming. I told her that only babies used binkies and that if she HAD to have her binky is was to be only at night and only in her room.

In the mornings, I would tell her to remove her binky whenever she spoke to me, since it was difficult to understand what she was saying. I even told her to be careful speaking with a mouth full of binky...she might ask mommy for a snack and instead get a brown paper sack. The silliness helped her to understand.

I then started talking about little babies who need binkies and big girls who didn't. I planted the seed of gift giving and how nice it would be to make a new baby smile by giving them a binky.

The Special Baby

Now that my little darling had cut down her binky usage and was beginning to understand that she was a big girl, I brought up the subject of a brand new baby that needed a binky of her own. I suggested to my daughter that since she was so big didn't need her binkies, she should think about sending her binkies to the new baby.

The look on her face was terrible.....but what I said next, brightened her eyes.

"Let's have a bye-bye binky party!"

We beagn planning our special party....the party we would have the day she sent her binkies to "the baby".

The Party

My daughter and I decided on a day for the big event. We ordered a sheet cake from the local grocery store and had it personalized. We purchased a helium balloon bouquet, party hats, napkins and matching plates. I even went out and purchased a "big girl gift" for my daughter...a new blanket for her bed and a stuffed bear.

The day of the party, my daughter wrote a little note to the "baby". We placed the note and used binkies into a box and addressed it to the "baby" (grandma's house). We made going to the post office a big event and told the postal workers that it was a special day. We insured the package and mailed it off as the postal patrons applauded my daughter's bravery and generosity to the new "baby".

We went home and enjoyed our cake and party. I gave my little girl alot of hugs and reassured her over and over that she did an amazing thing. There were a few tears that evening, but after more reassurance and cuddling, she slept just fine without her binky. The next morning, I made sure to remind her of how big she was.

Good luck!