Help!! Getting Rid of Binkies This Weekend- Looking for Advise

Updated on April 04, 2009
J.K. asks from Chicago, IL
28 answers

Hi- My almost 3 year old and 20 month old girls love their binkies, I am planning to eliminate them this weekend. They only use them at nap time and night time or if they hurt themselves.
What is the best approach? Send them to the binkie fairy? Let the girls throw them in the garbage? My Dr said it will take about 3 days and then they'll forget.

I'd appreciate any advise or experience that you've gone through.
Thanks

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J.E.

answers from Chicago on

OUr twins at about or close to three went ot the dentist and the dentist had them bit down with their mouths held open by her and showed us the hole that the pacis were doing to their bite. MY husband and I made a large OH NO and the kids kind of freaked out and the dentist said the pacis are making a hole in your mouth and your teeth cant close. After that day the pacis were gone and when they would ask for them we would say remember the dentist said no more pacis. Luckily for the grace of God it worked! and I gathered them and they saw me and asked if they were going in the garbage and i said no they are going to the babies theat were just born who need them now. You are big boy and girl and the criyin g babies need them will you share your pacis with them they are crying. And they both said yes. (they are good shares in general beign twins having to share most things) phew again.
good luck
J.

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V.H.

answers from Chicago on

Hi J.,

When I was this age, my parents let me trade my binkie for whatever I wanted in a toy store. They got off easy because I only wanted a barbie doll. Maybe you can do some sort of trade also so they remember they have something new and cool for giving it back to the Binkie Fairy.

Good Luck,
V

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R.G.

answers from Chicago on

Hi J. -
We took ours to the zoo to give to the baby animals. I just asked a zoo employee to take them.

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J.

answers from Chicago on

When we ditched my 2 year olds pacifiers, I had basically just had enough of them! I cut the nibs off of them, and then showed them to her. I said they were broken; she looked a bit crestfallen but I let her check them out and really see how broken they were. Then we threw them in the trash together. I think it helped for her to see they were broken and therefore needed to be thrown out. We had a few rough naps and bedtimes for maybe 4-5 days, but after that she was fine. I'd lay her down and she'd just say, Broken! and I knew what she was thinking. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but like your kids, she only used them at naps and bedtimes.
You can do it!

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E.K.

answers from Chicago on

My son was about 3.5yrs old and I hated the pacifiers. He only used them to sleep but I still hated them. My dentist said that if I sent them all to her she would send us a toy in the mail. SO, I told my son we were sending his pacifiers to the pacifier fairy and in a few days he would receive a big present in the mail. I was a little worried at how long the dentist would take so I went out and bought him a toy I knew he would love and actually had UPS ship it to my house. Everyday he waited by the door and finally it came - he never asked for his pacifiers again!

GOOD LUCK
E. Krex
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M.W.

answers from Detroit on

J.,
I would suggest just throwing them away on your own and taking the girls to the store to pick out cool new sippy cups. Then, put water in it when they go to nap and bed and give it to them in place of the paci. Worked for me!!

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G.H.

answers from Chicago on

Binky fairy seems like the newest form of ridding the unsanitary little mouth suckies from their lips. Remember the smaller child will react the same as she sees her sibling act so I do them seperatly. Make sure to give the children plenty of love and pride for their bravery.

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C.S.

answers from Chicago on

The binky fairy worked for us. Our daughter was about 2 1/2 at the time; I think she asked for it maybe 3 times, and that was it.
Good luck!

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J.

answers from Chicago on

If they only use them for comfort, what's the hurry? My kids didn't use pacifiers, but I would have been happy if they had. I didn't have a problem with them having blankies, which is sort of the same thing, I think.

Anyway, whenever any toy or other item gets "disappeared" at our house I usually say that I don't know where it is, or it must be lost, or we'll look for it tomorrow until they forget about it. (that sounds kind of bad now that I write it out! but I haven't gotten rid of anything they really love or anything - they seem to forget pretty quickly.)

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B.G.

answers from Chicago on

When my daughter was this age, she left her last binkie out on her nightstand for the Easter Bunny. He took it to make bunnies "real" ala the "Velveteen Rabbit." In its place he left a special mini-Easter basket on her night stand with special treat in it just for her.
Good Luck

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J.G.

answers from Chicago on

My daughter was 2 when we finally got rid of the bed time binkie. She does much better if she knows what's happening so I started telling her that she was getting to be a big girl and big girls don't have binkies. Pretty soon you're going to have to give it up. Drop several reminders. One night I was telling her again that big girls don't have binkies, she took 2 sucks and handed it to me, "Cecelia big girl". That was it. No drama. I do know that I'm really lucky for it to be that easy.

My contingent approach was going to be that we have to send them to the new babies at the hospital that need them more than you and fake mail them away.

Good Luck!
Jenny

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M.P.

answers from Chicago on

A friend of mine let her girls tie the binkies to a bunch of balloons and watch them sail away (can't remember where they said they were going...maybe new babies that needed them).

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C.B.

answers from Chicago on

Hi J.,
I just saw this issue addressed on Supernanny last Friday night! :-) Only those kids were 4 year old twins if you can believe it that still used their binky!! Anyway, Supernanny used the Binky Fairy (an actual doll that had a net in her hand) to collect all the binkies for little babies who need them. The kids went around and helped collect and put them in the net. Then the fairy was set up high where the kids couldn't reach her for the rest of the day. Overnight (or whenever you see fit), the fairy disappears and the next day there are small toys for the kids to celebrate the fact that they are "big" kids now and have gotten rid of the binky. This seemed to work pretty well. The one twin had a tantrum for close to an hour after the binkies were confiscated, but then settled down and loved getting the present the next day. Good for you for getting rid of them early with the 20 month old! My son was 2 and I gradually snipped the end off of the pacifier until he didn't want to suck on it anymore. But my daughter was 3 1/2 and still using it for night and naps and had a FIT!! It was rough for a night or two but now she's 6, so we made it and you will too! Hope this helps. Take care. C.

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C.J.

answers from Chicago on

A friend of mine cut holes in her kids binkies. Then they couldn't really suck on them. Once the kids realized this, they wanted to throw them away. She said they cried a couple of times. And because the kids threw them away, they couldn't be upset with mom and dad. Good Luck!

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J.S.

answers from Chicago on

Pacifier fairy, have them put ALL pacifiers in a bag (one for each girl) and replace the bags with something special (make sure they are all thrown away, no strays). I bet it won't be as bad as you think it will be, your doc is right a couple of days and they should be fine. I have heard pacifiers are really really bad for their mouths and lead to dental problems so the sooner the better! Maybe make sure there is something else that soothes them in their beds, a blanket, a stuffed toy, whatever. Good luck! I think these sort of things are harder on us than on them!

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O.S.

answers from Chicago on

When my grandson had it at the age of two I took it and said Oh No the doggie took it now its no good UGH!! My daughter thought that wouldn't do it but Yep, that did it..every time he wanted it he would say PON (spanish word for Binkie is Chupon) then he would say doggie..that was the end of that..My daughter said that he would tell the baby sitter the the doggie ate the PON...at night before he went to bed he woud cry and his dad would say doggie ate the PON - Good Luck!!
The doggie and he are still close! He is now 6.

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J.P.

answers from Chicago on

When my oldest turned 3, she was still hooked on her nuk, and wouldn't sleep without it. But I didn't want her using it after she turned 3. So on her bday, we took her to Build-a-Bear workshop in Woodfield Mall and she picked out a cute bear and put her nuk inside. She didn't really understand what was happening, and they sewed it up, put ribbons on her ears, and we left with our daughter happy as could be... until bedtime... she screamed for a few hours, and actually yelled for me to cut the bear open! We kept telling her to cuddle the bear for comfort, her nuk is in there. It took about a week, with each night getting easier, and then she was over it. Now she just laughs when she feels her nuk inside of "Nuk Bear", and at age 4 she can't believe she used a nuk like her baby sister does. A friend of mine used the same method, and her son was fine with having the bear instead of the binky to sleep with. However you do it, good luck. Like your doctor said, you'll probably have a few rough days and then it will be over!

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S.N.

answers from Chicago on

I know others have mentioned this, so I am going along with their advice :-)
We gave my daughter's paci to Santa. He in turn brought here the gift she really wanted and took the paci's to the new babies that didn't have any. We talked about this for weeks...she left them next to the plate with Santa's cookies...it was pretty cute. With Easter coming up, I say leave them for the Easter Bunny, and have the Easter Bunny leave a special basket/toy in their place. It did take a few days to start forgetting them...but when Santa/Bunny has them, there is no way to get them back!

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L.S.

answers from Chicago on

You should check out WGN's web page under Cathy & Judy. They just talked about this this week and had some great ideas about ways to get rid of nuks. People called in with the best stories. Some had fairies, 1 dad said it was time for them to fly. So every day while the child was sleeping he took the nuk and put it just a little farther away from the child and higher. And on a nice day he left the window open and left the nuk on the ledge. The next nice day nothing next to an open window. nuk flew off. kid was cheering that his nuk could fly. I thought that was pretty clever for a dad.
I think they have segments on their page. Good luck.

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J.D.

answers from Chicago on

I was in the same boat and I lasted til she was almost 3 to rid of the binkie! It is hard! I tried the cutting of the pacis and it didnt work then I opted to try the Paci Fairy... and it worked. It took a few nights of not sleeping but we both came out ok. I prepped her for weeks stating that the paci fairy was going to be coming to take the binkies and give them to other little babies who needed them. I kept it up until she understood and would talk about it without getting upset or confused. The night of, we placed a pink bag by the front door with all the binkies we could find with a note to the fairy thanking her helping others. She begged for her paci all night long and finally fell asleep, but then woke up at like 4am and ran downstairs to see if her binkies were still there. To her suprise there was fairy dust everywhere and confetti and in her bag was a fairy barbie, stickers, a princess sucker, and a note from the fairy! She was very excited but the hard work had just begun! The first week was rough and she cried a lot, one day I pretended to call the fairy to thank her and tell her how good my daughter was doing and my daughter took the phone and said "Ok, Paci Fairy this isnt funny, I want my binkies back!" ha ha All in all just do some extra snuggling at bedtime, some rocking and singing and let them know they are ok and POOF the binkie is gone before you even know it! BEST OF LUCK!!!!

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D.G.

answers from Chicago on

I used the binkie fairie. We left the binkie outside the back door on a little pillow and when my daughter woke up the binkie fairie left her a present. My friend let her daughter pick out a toy at the toy store and she brought her binkie up to the counter and "paid" for the toy with her binkie. I told my daughter that the binkie fairie will bring her binkie to other kids around the world that do not have binkies. She loves the gift that was left in return and only asks for a binkie now and then. She is slowly forgetting about it already.

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J.T.

answers from Chicago on

Hi J.,
When my kids were little we would break them at a Holiday. We told them they should give Santa Clause their Binky. With Easter coming you could use the Easter Bunny .Start preparing them this week . Tell them The Easter Bunny collects Binky's, count down the Days, act like this is what all "Big" kids do with their Binky's, most of all, show them that you are so excited for them, and proud that they are giving up the Binky ...Have them leave the Binky's with some carrots and water for the Bunny. Tell them The Bunny will bring them something special to replace the Binky, then get them that special toy they have been asking about and have it by their Easter Basket on Easter Morning... It worked everytime with mine, and I had 4 to break of the Beloved Binky...LOL !!!
Good Luck, JT

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D.T.

answers from Chicago on

my daughter was addicted to her Binky. She carried the same one she had had since birth with her until she was about 3. It was SOOOOO gross! But no other one was acceptable. When I decided enough was enough,( I was able to give away some other baby things at the time as well....) I gathered the give away items together, and told her that she needed to give her beloved binky away too. She was reluctant, but agreed. Into the bag it went, and she sniffed and cried a bit, but walked away believing she had done a good thing for another baby. Luckily for me, one of our neighbors had a newborn that she was able to associate with the baby pacifier thing which helped. My daughter is 21. She still remembers the day she gave her "Fire" away to the poor babies. I know she recognizes that it most likely went into the trash, but on the upswing, it encouraged her to give to the less fortunate. She will be graduating from college in a year and plans to do social work.

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M.S.

answers from Chicago on

Hi, for me, I kept telling my son that in "x-amount" of days, we were going to have to throw out his binkies. Then the big day came (alittle after 2) - I wanted it to be on his 2-year b-day, but close enough! He actually woke up in the morning, then I told him today was his big day that he was a real big boy, and he took them and threw them in the garbage. All was great until nap-time, then he ran into the bathroom to look into the garbage! So cute, his face was devastated. I told him the garbage truck took them (cuz' he loves the garbage truck), and he seemed ok. He would pout alittle for a couple days, but that was about it. It didn't affect his sleep or anything. If anything, it got better, cuz' I didn't have to go into his room in the middle of the night when he couldn't find his binkie!!! I liked it that he threw them away, and I think he understood alittle better??!! However you do it, the most likely all will be fine within 0-5 days, depending on how lucky you are!!! My son mentions them every once in a while, but he doesn't cry! Also, I gave him this softie blankie which he loves - and he loves that now!!!
Good luck!!!!!

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M.B.

answers from Springfield on

Hi J.,
When your girls get up in the morning just pitch them and never look back! Please make sure you throw all of them away so you don't have that moment of weakness and then have to start over. We did it that way when my daughter was a little under 2 and when she ask for it we just said they were all gone (no lieing they were gone, she didn't need to be mad at us for throwing them out!) It really did talk just a couple days!
Best Wishes!
PS. You might get a special teddy bear for them to sleep with now, that might make things easier.

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J.M.

answers from Chicago on

We bought a big boy toy with his pacis. Took them in a bag to Toys R Us and picked out a train. He handed over his bag of pacis and my husband took our son and the new train to the car while I paid for the toy and got the pacis back for baby #2 (who didn't end up using them anyway, lol!)

The toy served as a reminder of where they went and we found that he'd rather have the toy then the pacis. He was 1 months shy of his second birthday and got the concept.

Good luck!

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J.G.

answers from Chicago on

We prepped out son for the binky fairy. Our fried was expecting a baby and told him that the new baby needed the binky and he was a big boy now. The binky fairy came, took the binky and left a surprise in it's place. He said he missed it once and that was about it.

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