When to stop the "binkie"

mommymommy wrote: My 16 month old loves her binkie..She calls it a nuk and will ask for it..I know it is going to be very hard to break her of it..I am just wondering at what age have you had to stop your kids from using theirs?
..I think I still have a little while before it is absolutley necessary, but am looking for an ideas/tips/advice
Thanks!

PrairieMom replied: My Ped suggested that we ditch both the binkie and bottle before 12 months.
IMO the older they get, the harder it is to break them of those habits.
Personally I am a mean mean mommy and made both my children go cold turkey. It was a rough day or two, but I stuck to my guns and they got over it.

My3LilMonkeys replied: I got lucky in that aspect - Brooke decided on her own that she didn't like it anymore around 11-12 months, and Madison never took one - she was a thumbsucker all the way. I personally probably would have stopped it around 1 1/2 if she hadn't quit on her own.

Calimama replied: I've always heard to get rid of it at 1 year. I would snip the tip off so she wont want it anymore.

lisar replied: I always got rid of the binkie the day they started walking and the bottle went bye-bye on the 1st birthday.

grapfruit replied: I don't know. Alyx is 27 months and still has one

My2Beauties replied: Hanna was done with it at 10 months old, she was so bad about it she'd wake up 4-5 times a night if she woke up and noticed it was out of her mouth. We had one bad mouth without the paci and after that she was fine. Aubrey was 13 months old, I waited a little longer with her only because she kept getting sick or had a runny nose every time I went to take it away, I didn't want to take it from her sick. After that she whined a few days but that was it. She hasn't had it in over 3 weeks now. She got off the bottle the week after at 13 months, Hanna was off the bottle at around 11 months.

stella6979 replied:
Same here. As soon as Avery turned 1, it was gone. We did have a rough couple of days, but it was well worth it.

MyBlueEyedBabies replied: Katy was 20 months and lost it....I took advantage of that. day 1 was fine we jsut kept talking about how she dropped it. Day 2 fine...night 2 horrible. but after that it was like she had never had one
Matt was 12 months and just didn;t give it to him one night. took an extra few minutes for him to fall asleep but no issue at all
Johnny...first time he was 6 months and is was easy until 2 days later when he got sick. he kept it until 15 months then i took it away and he got over it pretty quickly.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: Andrew had his nuk until he was about 2 1/2, and it wasn't too hard to get rid of it. We'd already been just giving it to him at bedtime and in the van for awhile, so it was just a couple of rough nights. He asked for it a couple times over the next couple weeks and we just told him he didn't have it anymore and distracted him with something else.

Allie stopped taking hers when she was about 6 months on her own.

moped replied: Neither of my kids took one as hard as I tried, but I would be a cold turkey kind of gal here

mckayleesmom replied: mine wouldn't take them.

My2Beauties replied: Just noticed I had a misspelling...I meant to say one bad night (after Hanna) but I said one bad mouth...

bawoodsmall replied: Both mine were right at a year....Aiden a little older. IMO I took it away because it wasnt a pacifier anymore it was just to put it in their mouth. KWIM?? I did both cold turkey, em didnt bother her one bit, aiden I gave while in the store a couple times(he was screaming and I couldnt take it) but I finally did it after a couple days. Good luck when you decide. I do agree with Tara...the older they are the harder it is. I am also a meany though.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: Wil had his until a little after his 2nd birthday. Wesley never took one. We began by only allowing the binkie for naps or bedtime. Then I told him one day that we needed to give the binkies to other babies, because Wil is a big boy now. We threw them out. He surprised me and understood. Of course it was hard for maybe 2-3 days, because its a soothing tool. But he got over it pretty quickly.

I personally think holding onto them for emergencies will make it too easy to give in, which is why I threw them out and never looked back.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Same here, and I agree. Pacifiers were invented for babies to aid in and soothe their sucking reflex. After that age, it just becomes a habit and they become more dependant on them. It also can be a safety hazzard if allowed to walk around with one (if you'd like to know my own personal story, I'll share it), and can cause speech delays and impairments if used regularly in that fashion as well. Like Tara though, I'm more strict. I was lucky and Aiden refused his at 5 months. Tanner's we took away just after his 1st birthday because he was getting way to dependant on it, so cold turkey it went away and he was fine after a few days without it. I also agree with Rae, keeping them for emergencies isn't really a good idea. It's all or nothing, or the child will know they are still there. Out of sight, out of mind. Good luck. It's hard at first if they are really attached, but they move on after a short while.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
This is exactly what Tanner use to do!!!! Right around the same time too. Drove me NUTS!!! I swear, we have the twins versions of each other's children sometimes!

AlexsPajamaMama replied: cold turkey is the way to go. worked for us. he cried the first 2nights without his pacifier but you just have to stick with it.
binkie was gone at 13mons old and bottle was gone at 10mons old.