When is the time to take away your childs pacifier?
By hippiemom
@hippiemom (41)
United States
March 1, 2013 2:41am CST
Ok..so I know the drill...some Mommies HATE them while others love them. Im stuck in the middle. I have 6 children..5 of them whom were all atatched (and still are) to their blankies. My 3rd child somehow becuase atatched to his Pacifier. He is now 4 and will be 5 in Augest and I cant take it away! It hurts my heart so much knowing it will hurt his heart when and if I take his paci. He LOOOOVES it! It goes EVERYWHERE with him all the time..even if its not in his mouth...he carries it and snuggles with it and tells everyone how much he loves it. I feel like such a bad mommy if I snatch it while he is sleeping. BUT he will be going to Kindergarten in Sept and he really dont need it anymore...but there is such a huge attatchment there that I dont know if I should take it from him. Could it be traumatic? I dont know what to do and Im looking for other parents imputs and opinions please
4 responses
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
5 Mar 13
I wasn't a Mommy that loved pacifiers and I wasn't a mother that hated them either. However, both of my children were children that weren't very enamored with their pacifiers and it was something that they had both quit using by the time that they were only a few months old.
That said, I think that a child should be no older than two years old when their pacifier is taken away from them. The reason that I feel this way is because of the fact that they can cause dental problems that will cost thousands of dollars down the line.
You definitely don't want to send him to school with a pacifier because that would definitely be something that the other children would pick on him for.
@neelia27 (896)
• Philippines
2 Mar 13
my son now is turning two and i only let him use a pacifier during his first year.. because i know there will come a time that he will be so attached to it if i will keep on giving it to him.. anyways you must do it now for your son.. he is now going to school and it is not appropriate to bring his pacifier because he is so attached to it.. why not give him a teddy instead of a pacifier.. he will forget about his pacifier if you as a mom insists that he no longer needs it..
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
1 Mar 13
You should have taken away the pacifier as soon as your child's milk teeth have appeared. You know why? It is because it can affect the direction of growth of the teeth and that would surely be a problem when the kid turns 8-9 years old when the first permanent teeth shows up. Having the pacifier in the mouth could lead to a protruded upper front teeth.
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
1 Mar 13
You can make it his idea to give it up. You know, like you're a big mot now and big boys don't have pacifiers. He'll probably take up smoking if he goes through life being so orally fixated. He might cry but he will learn to deal with disappointment. Most babies I've seen get rid of the paci soon after they give up the bottle.
