4 and a half year old still attached to Pacifier & Blank

Hi everyone. I need advice on how to wean my 4.5 year old little girl from her pacifier and blankie to which she is so strongly attached.
She runs to it the minute she gets home from school and if I wouldn't keep it from her she'd go around with the pacifier in her mouth and the blankie in her hand a whole day. Of course she can't fall asleep without it.
I am starting to feel that it's time to start weaning her. I tried a few things but nothing seems to help. She is so so attached. Please share your advice as I'd really appreciate it.

Diamond Member Joined: Dec 30 2004 Posts: 3194

my son is almost three and is still completly attached to his pacifer and blankee also.

I haven't done this yet but my mother told me to start cutting a little bit of the pacifier off every week, and eventually you cut so much they loose interest in it. As for the blankee I don't see anything wrong with having one.

Posted: Tue, May 01 2007, 8:24 am Post subject:

shoy cutting the pacifier is a dangerous choking hazard

as for being attached ... I had a kid who was beyond attached ... kept bribing her to stop sucking the pacifier ... eventually her thumb just replaced it and then she would hold her "shluffy pillow" and suck her thumb until one day she became mortified and embarrassed (not telling how old she was) ... some things they must wean themselves ...
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My daighter is 3 and a half and I feel that it is time to stop her and my two year old. What I am doing is first now, I made a rule only in the bedroom. The first day she cried for half an hour and I did not give in. I said to you want to go to bed, then you can have it. Then I went out to the toy store and bought her something for only having it in the bedroom. Hopefully once it is only there she will slow down on her own. I keep on telling her that it is hurting her and she will get a boo-boo.

Senior Member Joined: Feb 09 2007 Posts: 109

With the blankie, you might be able to get away with sewing it into a pillowcase, or maybe taking a piece of it and sewing it into the lining of a jacket or something. That way, it's close by and (with the jacket especially) nobody would even know.

With the pacifier, when Nat got his hair cut for the first time, we told him he was a big boy and pacifiers were for babies.... so of course, at 3, he wanted to be a big boy. I don't know if that will work for everyone, but by him it was easy. Good luck!

Posted: Tue, May 01 2007, 7:17 pm Post subject:

boys are a little more strong willed ... as was my tomboy Wink

... 2 & 2 ... harder and easier ... to convince them to stop

It's hard, especially if you have another baby around then they just want the same. I find that the best way is to reason with them, they are old enough to understand.

my son was was attached to his pacifier. when he was a drop over two, I decided to make a sussy party- I got all into it, and we threw them in the garbage. that was that, we spoke about it for a couple of days, how the garbage man would come and tke them away, cuz we are a big boy now, and we really dont need it. hs blanket I let him have - which he still sleeps with.

my youngest sucks his thumb (cant do anything bout tht) and is really attached tot he blanket... blanket I dont care about, its not likethey dragit outside and everywhere -its more for nap and bed as a comfort thing.
but the pacifier I wanted to get rid of before it got out of hand...

I say go cold turkey, if u take it out just for bed, thats gonna last and last and theyll be come even more attached cuz they cant wait to get it at that time.
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Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48152

it's not just something you can strong arm a child out of, necessarily. it's a behaviour that's ingrained in the child.

a pacificer may translate to a thumbsucker (dd was born sucking her thumb), a gum chewer, or a smoker in later life.

Silver Member Joined: Jul 10 2005 Posts: 687

my son is gonna be 4 1/2 soon, and hes so attatched to his pacifier and blankie as well, one rule I did the minute he gets up , I put away the pacifier so he gets it once hes in is PJs and I'm totally okay with it, it relaxes him, why not..

Posted: Mon, Jul 28 2008, 8:40 am Post subject:

my son is 3 1/2 an I was worried the longer I left the pacifier habit the harder it will be to stop it and its bad for their teeth. I had already stopped it for day times (only in bed or in the car for long journeys).

We actually burned his paci in the chometz fire b4 pesach but he just took my baby's one so that didnt work!

I told him on a specific date that wud be the last night he wud ever go 2 sleep with a paci but I wasnt sure how 2 enforce it. I thought maybe I shud stop my baby (he just turned 1) also.

I asked this lady who gives parenting lectures for advice an she said dont take away from the baby. She said 2 give a special reward every morning, she said she tried a mini ice-cream every morning for a couple of weeks on her daughter an it worked.

So thats what I did (even tho I didnt really like the idea of nosh b4 breakfast but the ice creams r really small).

The only prob was it didnt really help me when I put him 2 bed an every 2mins he got up crying, he wanted his paci, he wanted water, he wanted 2 lie in my bed etc the first night it took about an hour 2 get him 2 bed.

I wud say the first 3nights were hard. Its now been 10days n the ice-cream packet is finshed n I promised him a smaller nosh for a few more days but I still catch him once or twice during the day taking the baby's paci but as soon as I look at him he throws it away. He 4 sure still misses it alot but I think if im not strong now its only gonna be harder later on...

Senior Member Joined: May 30 2008 Posts: 193

All my kids were dummy ( I mean pacifier) suckers (they all started offthumb sucking but I stopped that by putting in a dummy instead everytime- eventually they forgot about their thumbs (by like 6 weeks) I did this as you can get rid of a pacifier but not a thumb. So as far as getting rid of the paci ... on the Pesach after my older son turned 3 (3 1/4) and the Pesach berfore my younger one turned 3 (2 3/4) I got them to throw it into the fire when we burned the chometz. I prepared them beforehand - the last 3 months before Pesach they only got there paci in bed (if they wanted it during the day they went to there bed and did there thing ) but this got them used to not having it around all the time and I told them we were going to burn it with the chometz. I made they themselves throw itin the fire and then when they asked me that night for it I said but you threw it in the fire and B'H they were both fine. ( I also especially did it on Yom Tov as then if they did cry I couldn't give in and go to shops!