I’m definitely team pacifier for many reasons, but I always dread when it’s time to break the habit. Loss of sleep and cranky days are the reason I gave my kiddos a pacifier from the beginning. However, we used a solid method for breaking the pacifier habit with both kiddos, and it worked well, even though they used a pacifier for different reasons and at different ages.

So here’s what worked — I cut the tip off the pacifier in stages. But it’s not that simple. There’s strategy involved. First, I made sure to do this when the weather was nice. It’s a lot easier to distract a kid from a tantrum when you can go outside and look for ladybugs, than when you’re stuck in the house for winter. I also tried this when I knew we would be busy. With BeBe, her cousins were visiting from out of town, so we were already off schedule and constantly doing activities. With our little guy, I started on Friday and jammed packed our weekend. No lazy days in the house! I also made sure to do a clean sweep of the house so my kiddos wouldn’t find a hidden pacifier tucked in the cushions, and thwart my master plan. And we avoided the pacifier aisle at the store.

On the first day, I only nipped the pacifier on the end. Then without saying a word, I handed the pacifier to them when they asked for it. When they popped it into their mouth, the kiddos both had the same reaction. They laughed and ran to show me the “broken” part of the pacifier. They didn’t cry because they could still use it, kind of. When they showed me their broken pacifier, I would tell them it got too old and the dishwasher broke it. Then each morning, I would sneak away and trim the pacifier back a little more, and keep telling them the pacifier was just getting old. I did this for about five days, until it was down to the nub.

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When the plastic nub was gone, both my kiddos carried the pacifier handle around for a week. They chewed on the handle at times, especially if they were tired, but I think they were just used to carrying it around. When the kiddos understood they couldn’t suck on it anymore, they laid it down on the table to play, but I didn’t throw it the trash yet. If they could see it, and have access to the pacifier, then they didn’t cry. About a week later, they stopped carrying around the plastic handle of the pacifier and forgot about it. I threw the handle in the trash, and we were done. With both kiddos, it only took two weeks to break the habit with no crying or loss of sleep.

Every once in while our little guy will ask for his pacifier, and we just remind him it broke in the dishwasher, and ask him which toy he wants. He grabs a toy and we move on. I should add that my kiddos were restricted to using the pacifier for sleep, naps, doctor visits and the occasional snuggle on the couch, but still, it’s hard habit to break. So only about two weeks, and we were pacifier free. Now on to the next stage!