Parenting Tips: Getting rid of the pacifer


My son was addicted to the pacifier, an addiction fed by his own parents. I thought if I just continued to throw "boks" into his bed he would just be able to eventually find one and go to sleep. His bed was littered with them. He couldn't roll over in the night without encountering one, which was the whole idea. The part I didn't foresee? That his attachment would grow. He soon needed three "boks" to sleep, one in his mouth and one for each hand.

Before he turned three my husband and I decided that the pacifier had to go. We tried all sorts of recommendations from friends and family. With nothing working I finally just took a large needle and poked holes in the pacifier. Though it didn't seem to make a difference, I persisted.

Tip: Take a large darning needle and work a few holes through the sides and top of the pacifier. After each use continue to widen the holes. The goal is that the child will suck on the pacifier and eventually the pacifier will flatten out. The child will lose interest once the "bok, nuk, pacie" flattens out.

It took our son a little over a week for the pacifier to lose all its form. Every time he asked for it, I handed him back the one with holes. It took a few weeks longer but he eventually slept through the night soundly with out it. He is the one that decided to throw it away because it just "not the same."

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