I don’t have kids but I remember giving up pacifiers myself. I don’t know how old I was, but if I can remember I must have been 3 or 4!
My parents cut the ends off, too. I remember being frustrated that they all had holes in them, but my mom told me they were broken, and I accepted that. It never occurred to me that they were doing something to them. After they got too short I gave up.
Considering how attached I was, it didn’t upset me too much when they all “broke.”
I was also the only one in my family who didn’t need braces!
WordBoy (now 5) - when about 2, we asked him for his pacifiers to give to other, littler babies. He gave them to us - no prob.
WordGirl (now 2.5). A real prob. Got them away from her same way as above, then she had to have her adenoids out about 2 months later (due to snoring/sleep apnea) and she was crying for her pacifier, so we caved and let her use it. Then it became a “security blanket” kind of thing - she wanted it on general principle and raised a HUGE stink for 2 - 3 hours and waking up several times a night if she didn’t get it. Finally, one day, she scratched her older brother impulsively (her Terrible Two’s have been truly terrible - she has her share of impulse control issues), and so I took her to her bed and said “what did you do wrong?!” “No pushin’, Daddy” “That’s right, now go to bed and no pacifier for you!” and she did not question at all, and has not asked for it since.
Now if I could only get both of them to stop obsessing about the word “butt” my life would be so much easier. sigh
My son is almost 3 and still has his, but we read a book from the library called the pacifier plan with a bunny in it, who starts out limiting his pacifier to just his house, then his room, then just a chair in his room. My son takes “pacifier breaks” in his room. He understands because we doing just like the bunny does in the book. Soon I think we can reduce to the chair, but that is hard because it means no bedtime pacifier. This is going very well. He never has it in public anymore, for one.
In my case, my son wouldn’t fall for the cutting it down. He would just tell me to buy a new one since that one was broken.
I started him on it because he wanted to nurse all the time. As it was, he gained 5 pounds the first month. Everyone was happier when he had something else to suck on. I would rather he get stuck on a pacifier that we can take away, than a thumb that I can’t. I suppose I should have pulled it when he was 10-12 months, as they say this is when it turns from a physical need to a habit, but oh well. I am a softie.
I think I was on mine until I was 3 or 4. My parents had been living in Europe before they had me, where I guess pacifier use by older children isn’t the big deal that it is here. People gave them a hard time, but I just gave it up eventually. I’ve got pretty darned straight teeth, too. Maybe it’s not so bad to let her keep it for awhile?
However, I got “weened” from by Care Bear addiction (I had two that absolutely had to be with me every night) just by forgeting them at home once when we went to Grandma’s. I must have been 4 or so. I made a huge fuss, but I remember that once I got through the first night without 'em I was fine for good.
I gave my boys a binky because I didn’t want them to suck thumbs or fingers. A binky you can eventually ease away, a thumb they can take to school with them if they don’t want to give it up.
