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At what age should children be encouraged to "give up" a pacifier?

Did you need to encourage your child to give up their pacifier?  What worked for you and your child?

Under 2 years (65.3%)

2-3 years (19.8%)

3-5 years (2.4%)

6+ years (0.0%)

Age doesn't matter - the child should give up a pacifier when she/he is ready (4.5%)

N/A - Babies should never be given pacifiers in the first place (7.8%)

At what age should children be encouraged to
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32
  • msfriendly By msfriendly
    on Mar 11, 2011  

    Using a pacifier for too long can really screw up their teeth.

  • jenndta69 By jenndta69
    on Mar 11, 2011  

    I said 2-3 years at most. Sometimes I think that the pacifier is really for the parent and not the child. Parents need to start dealing better with the whining and crying that babies and toddlers do, especially when they are just "trying" us. Not to mention, your right, it does mess up their teeth and it can also mess up their speech. It was easy for us, our daughter started to take it out herself and throw it. Listen to the kids. If they start doing that, it usually means they are done with them. That goes for bottles too! :)

  • natha888 By natha888
    on Mar 11, 2011  

    child will be dependent on pacifier. my child didnt use pacifier at all....

  • anrogers By anrogers
    on Mar 11, 2011  

    We took our son's pacifier away a 6 months old. He was young enough to where he got over it easily and forgot about it quickly. I cringe when I see 2 and 3 year olds walking around daycare with a pacifier. Those parents are going to have a hard time breaking that habit, which may cause other bad habits like thumb sucking.

  • agill31 By agill31
    on Mar 11, 2011  

    I had a hard time getting the pacifier from my son that was bottle fed but my daughter never took one and I nursed her so I dont know if that makes a difference on how they are fed.

  • twosons By twosons
    on Mar 11, 2011  

    Neither of my sons used one, but it irrates me to see kids that are 4 and up at the grocery store with pacifiers in their mouths yuk!

  • rwalters By rwalters
    on Mar 11, 2011  

    Pacifiers are good for newborns to help them learn the sucking method needing for either bottle or breast feeding. They can also be helpful to comfort a baby. However, once the baby is walking, talking, and learning to drink from sippy cups and feed them selves, the pacifier needs to be taken away!

  • maneka By maneka
    on Mar 11, 2011  

    Using a pacifier for a long time will hurt a child's development of speech because they are trying to talk with the pacifier in their mouth and also it will hurt their teeth

  • Lonelykitten13 By Lonelykitten13
    on Mar 11, 2011  

    I'm not sure about the benefits of using a pacifier. I do know that children could become reliant on thier use if there is no intervention. I have a family member who had her daughter still using it after 4 years and I think it was far too long. It effects mental and physical socialization as well as teeth alignment and the development of speech. I don't think it is healthy to continue after early infancy and that most who condon its use later in age are simply using it for parental benefits instead of the childrens. I feel as though teaching other methods of soothing and reinforcing proper behavior and control are important.

  • Gin257 By Gin257
    on Mar 11, 2011  

    I would personally try to get them off it before they get teeth. But every child and family is different, so I won't judge if it takes some peoples children longer.