How old is too old?

Ok I agree with you on not wanting your son to have the pacifier with starting preschool. I know it is hard to have your family listen I had the same problem. Grandma's always tend to think that it is fine even if you don't want it that way. I have heard that one way to get them to not like the pacifier is to start cutting a little bit off the tip each week and it will continue getting smaller and they don't like the way it feels and supposedly that works. I don't know though I never tried it. With my daughter I didn't want her having it anymore so we told her that it had to go to some new babies that needed it and threw them all away. For the first couple of days it was kinda hard because she would ask for it and we would just tell her all gone they are with the other babies remember. They are babies they need them. Your a big girl so you don't need one anymore. After a week or two she didn't really ever mention it.

I would tell the grandmother that she can not have your son over if she is going to give him the pacifier. If he is old enough to go to preschool, he is old enough to get rid of the pacifier. I hate it when I see kids out with their parents and they have a pacifier and are talking with it in thier mouth. If they can talk, in my opinion, they are too old.

My son is 2 and still has a pacifier. I see nothing wrong with it. My daughter had one until she was around 3. I took them away from her at that age because she was biting holes in them. I'll let my son has one for a little while longer. If it comforts him, why not? Kids grow up way too fast anyway. Oh and I've asked a pediatrician about it before and she said as long as they don't use them past the age of 4, it's totally ok. My oldest son had a paci until he was about 9 months old and just put it down one day and never cared for it again. So every kid is different. I've also noticed a lot of kids that don't use pacifiers have other means of comfort, such as a blanket.

I think you have to sit everyone down and explain exactly what you have said here. They all have to understand that you want your son to stop using the pacifier. I think that 2 is way too old to still be using it. We were pretty lucky in that our kids never really used them so we didn't have the problem of trying to wean them off of it. Good luck.

My son is now 3 years old and I just got him off of the pacifier about two weeks before he turned 3.His teeth are not crooked or anything but I wish I coud have gotten him off of the binky at 2 or 2 and a half years old.I had the same problem as you did with grandma giving him the binky.Except it was my husbands mom and her mom giving him the binky when I was trying to ween him off of it.I tried weening him off of it at 2 years of age and everytime he woud go back over to their house they would stick it in every time he cried for it.As well as my husbands mom fgot my son in the habit of sleeping in peoples bed instead of his crib.Well I had him sleeping fine in his crib and then she puts him in bed with her when he woudl stay the night and then he didnt want to stay in his bed.Well his mom finally found out what she had caused.I think that grandmas mean well but need to respect and understand you wishes if you want wean them off of the binky or have them sleeping in their own bed.My mom I never had a problem with that stuff.She kept telling me I need to get him off of it.Well I just quit giving it to him during the day.I told him the Grinch took it(the Grinch from the Grinch that stole Chistmas movie)I told my son he would bring it to him when he went to bed.Well he hollered for it but I found that if I kept him occupied or changed the subject or ignored him when he hollered for it he stopped.He eventually two weeks before he turned 3 he quit taking it at night.I think he got tired and used to not having it during the day that he didnt need it no more.My mom also said that someone said that they tied the binky to a balloon and let the child watch as the balloon was let go and told the child that the ballon was taking the binky to another baby that needed it.But not all methods work for every child.I wish that I had never even given them a binky when they were born.It was harder to ween my son off of a binky than the bottle.I wish you luck in weening your son off of the binky.And remember that you are the mother and no one else.So people need to realize that and should be helping you instead of making it worse.I have seen kids as old as 4 years old still have a bottle and kids that look about 6 years old still have binkys.I just think the parents either didtnt take the time to work with them or maybe they had a grandma that didnt help the problem.Who knows.But they should have nipped it in the bud along time ago before they got that old.

I think 2 is too old to have a pacifier as well. All 3 of my kids were off the pacifier by the time they were 6 months. I didn't give it to them to put them to bed or anything like that. I was strict and didn't want my kids to have it. It can cause serious dental problems as they get older. You are the parent and you are to protect your child sometimes it may be hard to tell grandma no but sometimes you have to do it. I had to go through the same thing not with a pacifier but other things.

Let your son decide whether he wants pacifier or not. Don't give him pacifier for a day or two. he will come over with the habit of using pacifier.

I look at it the way I look at a security blanket and thumb sucking. My daughters both were thumb suckers and had security blankets. My mother-in-law thought it was bad to let my daughter have her blanket when she turned five. She incouraged her to throw it in the dumpster and this really was traumatic for my daughter. I asked my daughter, on the side, if she really wanted to do this. She was very upset and really wanted her blanket back. I fished it out of the dumpster and washed it. Then I cut it down to a convienient size(without all the holes) and I gave it back to her. She put it away and only used it at night. She is 26 and still has it put away to this day. My youngest is 25 and she still has her blue bunny. I think that peer pressure will get a child to stop dragging blankies and binkies around. A pacifier is much better for the mouth than a serious thumb sucker. My youngest daughter was such a severe thumb sucker that she had to have an orthodontic appliance made for her mouth to stop her from sucking her thumb. Her teeth were actually starting to buck out. Her teeth returned to the normal position and because of the appliance she could not get a tight suction. When she was about ten she went to over-night camp and she needed something to help her with the separation anxiety. She kept her blankie in her sleeping bag for night time use and she got through camp without any major traumas. Give your son time and he will come around. Just like potty training being done too early, making a big issue about little things will only cause trauma in future years. Give him something to keep him busy and interested and maybe he will forget about his pacifier and need it less and less. His peers will have an effect on him also.

i definately think that 12 is waaaay too old! I think that you are right in trying to ween him off it now. For me i think that when they can pretty much talk properly (around 2-3) is when they need to ditch it. i have friend who was having trouble getting her daughter to give it up and it was around christmas time so she told her there were kids who couldnt afford to have one so why dont we give it to santa to give to them and the little girl was quite happy to. they didnt really have any problems after that and when she did whinge a little for it she was reminded that it went to the other kids and she would accept that

Both my kids never took to the pacifier, but my sister's daughter loved it! She was told by the doctor that most kids stop using pacifiers on their own between ages 2 and 4. I know in preschool/daycare with the toddlers that have pacifiers, most places wont allow the pacifier at all and then some will only allow it the childs first week there for comfort and then some will let the child have it only at nap time. Check with whatever center you choose for your son, because some don't allow it with toddlers. As for trying to wing him off. I seen on the show Suppernanny a good idea. Have your son be a part of the whole thing with getting rid of the pacifier. Get a bag ready and ask him to collect all his pacifiers up and drop them into the bag. Tell him you are getting it ready for the pacifier fairy and then hang the bag of pacifiers up above his bed or in a tree outside and let him know she will come once he is asleep.. Let him know he will get a surprise in the morning from the pacifier fairy in trade for his pacifiers. Then get him a gift or something to put in place of the pacifier. It could work, you never know. It's worth a shot. Make it fun. I know some may think it's silly. LOL! I guess you really have nothing to lose.

What my sister in law did with my kids worked a treat she but vinegar on it and they wouldnt go near one again it worked for both of my little kids. My son found another one and she did the same to that. He hated the taste and wouldnt put it back in his mouth. Yes it is cruel but it really worked and fast.

My nephew was only one year old when he stopped pacifying. It happened when my sister put an extract of bittermelon (amargoso) on the pacifier..It is a vegetable which has a bitter taste..so when my nephew suck the pacifier, he didnt like the taste because it's bitter..From then on, he stopped using his pacifier.. I think, you dont have to explain it further to your grandmother or to anybody else..Just do it because it's for him anyways..