Breaking the Pacifier Habit

McKenzie Pediatrics 2015

First and foremost, toss all pacifiers but one. Children should be broken of their pacifier habit by the age of 2 years.
Consider tying the pacifier (by way of twine or a shoelace) to a doorknob somewhere within the house (not an entrance or exit door). Whenever the child needs her pacifier, she�ll need to go suck on it in relative isolation. Soon she may tire of this and ignore it.
Consider applying petroleum jelly to the pacifier routinely throughout the day, making it unappealing to the toddler. Ultimately he may make the decision on his own to toss or ignore it
Alternatively, consider applying white vinegar to the pacifier routinely throughout the day. Both the petroleum jelly and vinegar are yucky, but harmless!
Consider snipping the tip(s) off of the pacifier(s). This will make a pacifier less comforting to suck on, with the hope then that the toddler will herself decide to toss it or simply stop using it.
Consider telling the toddler that the �binkie fairy� needs to come get the pacifier to take it to a newborn baby. Put the pacifier in a special box under the pillow. During the night, replace the box with a small gift from the �fairy�. This method is more likely to work with toddlers older than 24 months.
Consider the �gentle wean�, only allowing the pacifier at nap time and at bed time. Ideally, from infancy a pacifier should be used only in this manner (as a sleep aide), but if your toddler is addicted to it for much of the waking day, this is your next best step before ultimately trying one of these other strategies to once and for all break the binkie habit.
Go cold turkey. Most parents fear this option, but most later report that their child was upset about it for just a few days and that they quickly forgot about their old binkie