Thunder

How and when will it end? My 3 year old takes my 1 year olds pacifier. I really think it is a problem now. What can I do?

lyricb

I have read that hyping up leaving the pacifier for the Pacifier Fairy is supposed to work well. Maybe you should try that.

mamab

Luckily I didn't have a problem with my kids giving up a pacifier. My oldest son just tossed his, and the younger one lost his, we just didn't replace it. I guess it helped that they kind of used mom as a pacifier of sorts while they were nursing.

Have you tried making the pacifier taste "icky" by putting something that's not harmful, but that they don't particularly like, on it? I wouldn't put something like hot sauce on it, but what about boiling it with broccoli or something if they don't like broccoli. I think it would retain some of the taste.

jmeyer3131

My daughter never liked a pacifier. In her infant years I wished she would, but in the end I'm glad she didn't.

However, one thing I've heard people doing is cutting a very small piece off once a week or so. As it gets smaller and the shape is slightly different, it gets less satisfying. Not having tried this I haven't got a clue if it works or not.

I kind of like the Pacifier Fairy, too. As far as tasting icky, that even sounds a lot like how I weaned my daughter from her bottle. I just kept making it less milk, more water until she lost interest. I think you'd get the same affect by donig what mamab said and boiling in something with an unpleasant taste.

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Janet
www.CanIChangeALife.blogspot.com

Stephanie2377

My friends have all used the Pacifier Fairy story. Now, it will be harder for you since she is taking your 1yo's pacis. Is your 1yo ready to wean, too? It is definitely easier when ALL the pacis are gone.
My friend's son, who is 2 1/2, was SO excited about sending the pacis to all of the little babies who needed them. He put them all in a bag and they tied helium balloons to them so they would fly away. Then, the paci fairy left a treat hanging from the tree.
Another friend used the pacis for her child to go and "buy" something at the dollar store. She let her daughter pick out one item, and her daughter "paid" for it with a paci. Of course, my friend gave money after her daughter happily left with her new item.

Hope some of these suggestions help!

jmeyer3131

I totally forgot about the 1 year old when I posted a response. I'm guessing that it might be time for the one-year-old to give up a pacifier, too, otherwise there will be nothing to stop the older child from taking it.

Is this a new behavior for the older child?

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Janet
www.CanIChangeALife.blogspot.com

happy2bg33k

My youngest used a pacifier for a long time, he even carried one with him while he had one in his mouth. We ended up weaning it slowly to letting him use it only in his bed/crib and then only at bedtime. Then when he turned 3 we had a big "celebration" in which we threw all the pacifiers in the trash can. (Of course I kept one just in case!) Can you stress the whole older than the one-year old piece as a kind of talk up the benefits of being the "big" one thing? Is there something you can substitute instead? Just random ideas...

lyricb

That's cool that other people have use the whole Pacifier Fairy thing. My kids never wanted anything to do with pacifiers (although at times I really wished they did) so I never had to deal with this personally.

penguinmama

I haven't had pacifier problems, either; however, I do have one thumbsucker and that's a lot more difficult to take away than a pacifier!

With #4, I weaned him from nursing by using vinegar (telling him for a couple days that he was getting big and one day it would taste bad... and then using a cotton ball, swabbing vinegar on just before latch) and it worked like a charm. Maybe it would work for a paci, too, if you could keep the older from taking the younger's.

happy2bg33k

I think that the vinegar might interact badly with the plastic of the pacifier, degrading it so that it may not be safe to have in your child's mouth. The point, however, is well taken. There are probably other foul tasting things that could be used.