7 Fun and Creative Ways to Help Your Child Ditch the Pacifier!

Dropping the pacifier can seem like a daunting task. Your child not only loves it, but may also rely on it for sleep- and as any parent knows, we tend to sometimes do whatever it takes for precious sleep! There are so many different ways to go about doing this, and after extensive research and chatting with other moms, I’ve come up with a list of ideas in hopes you’ll find the one that works best for your child.

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My 2 year old just recently said goodbye to his pacifiers and honestly, I was dreading that day. He loved them so much, and even though since age 1 he only used them for nap/bedtime ( and the occasional sick day), I was expecting it to be a complete nightmare. I wanted to come up with a fun and creative farewell for his little buddies and something that he’d get excited about participating in. Living in South Florida, our backyard is a mini jungle and yard work is a never ending chore in our household. My son loves helping us out in the yard, so we decided what better way to drop the pacis than burying them and having a “paci plant” appear!

We started prepping him for about 2 months, telling him soon he’d be burying them in the ground and after some water and sunshine, a beautiful plant with flowers would appear when he woke the next morning. He loved talking about the paci plant, but we knew he wasn’t quite ready yet. We didn’t rush or pressure him into this, as we trusted he’d be ready in his own time. One morning, I mentioned to him that we’d be having the paci plant in our yard soon, he was all jazzed up about it so we just rode the wave and ended up realizing the day to say goodbye had arrived! We let him search all around the yard until he found the perfect spot to bury his buddies. He then helped dig the hole, toss them in, cover them up and pour some water on top. We said goodbye and thank you, and headed in for dinner and bed- his first night without them and to our surprise he had no tears and went to sleep instantly. While he was asleep my husband and I dug them up (our sentimental selves will probably be moving into a nursing home one day with the pacifiers in our suitcase haha) and planted a flowering hibiscus in their place. The next morning, the look on his little face when he ran outside and saw the paci plant and gorgeous flower was absolutely priceless!! He loves the plant so much, and enjoys tending to it and admiring its beauty daily.

There are so many different ways to toss the paci, and the key is finding which way works best for your child. Some little ones do totally fine with the cold turkey method, while others may need a more structured and planned out event. Below are examples of different ways to move on from the beloved pacifiers, and my hope is that you’re able to find a method that works best for your family.

The Paci Plant

If your child enjoys being outdoors in nature, they may respond really well to the idea of a paci plant. Let them choose a spot in the yard where they’d like to bury their pacis, and get to work digging up the dirt together. Have them say goodbye and toss them in, and help cover them up. They can give a good watering and then go to bed knowing there will be a beautiful plant that has grown overnight while they sleep. It doesn’t stop there, as your little one will get to take part in watering the plant and watching it bloom continuously.

The Paci Fairy

The paci fairy comes at night when your sleeping to collect the pacis, and leave a special surprise in their place! Make it extra fun and sprinkle some sparkly sequins or thick glitter around their bed along with a note from the fairy.

Trash Truck

If your child is a lover of trash trucks, this might be the one for them! You can place the pacis in your trash can on trash day, and watch them get dumped into the truck and drive away- how fun!

Build-A-Bear

This is a great idea if you think your child will need something to replace the pacifier, or if they’re very attached to it. Have them choose a teddy bear at your local Build-A-Bear, and put all their pacifiers inside. This way they can sleep with the bear, knowing their pacis are close by and with them, while they’re also getting comfort from something soft to snuggle with.

Trim the Paci

Simply cut a small part of the nipple end off, resulting in loss of suction though the opening. The soothing and comfort effect will be gone, and your child will realize something is wrong with the paci. You can talk about how it is now broken and must be thrown away.

Up Up and Away

Grab some helium filled balloons and attach the pacifiers to the string. Talk with your child about how they will float away and count to 3 to release them together! It’s a fun way to say goodbye to the pacis and a great visual connection showing that the pacifiers are now gone and out of sight. You can choose to tell them a story about a special place they’re floating to, that they’re floating to other babies to be their pacifiers now, or just let it be.

Mail Surprise

Have your child collect their pacifiers and place them in a mailing envelope or small box that they can decorate. Tell them there is a special place to mail pacifier in exchange for a surprise gift that gets sent to them. The next morning, have a surprise present sitting at the front door.

I hope this post has been helpful in choosing a fun and successful way to ditch your childs paci! I’d love to hear from you in the comments below on what worked best for your child when making the paci a thing of the past!