The Paci Fairy; How to Lose the Binky Overnight!
Just recently a parent asked how our paci-obsessed 3-year-old ditched the binky habit. I explained to her that we used the magic of The Paci Fairy !
Read below to find out how we used the pacifier fairy to get rid of the binky for good!
| Paci Love
A little history with our family experience on pacifiers…
Our oldest LOVED her pacifier. She always had her blankie + paci with her. When it was time for her to say goodbye to her beloved paci , we used The Paci Fairy with her as well!
When our second came around, he decided that he would use me as a paci. With a seven year gap between our first and second- I didn’t hate this.
Unfortunately for our third, by the time of his arrival I refused to be a human pacifier again and pushed the pacifier like crazy. I don’t regret this push, because mama needed some space, but he did become pretty obsessed with that thing!
| How Does the Paci Fairy work?
You might be asking yourself, what and who in the world is the “Paci-Fairy“??
Well, this is a magical lady, kin to the tooth fairy.
Basically- you set out your pacifiers for the fairy and she “takes them to babes who need them.” In turn for your kindness to the fairy and other children, she leaves a gift of sorts!
This gift can be what’s appropriate for your family in terms of “a gift”.
For us, at the time he was obsessed with trains, so we got him a Thomas the Train Ride-On Toy.
(Similar) Thomas the Train Ride-On Toy
| When is the Right Time?
Something that is extremely important to keep in mind, is that the pacifier is like an extension of them. It is their security blanket.
I recommend participating in this fun transition at a time when nothing major is happening. I.e. no big travel plans coming up, moving homes, or Holidays, like Christmas.
On that same note, if you have made plans to do this, and something does come up- you need to be willing to postpone the visit from The Paci Fairy.
Another good gauge for when to do this would be after your kiddo is weaned from nursing (and/or the bottle) as well as when they are done with potty training. Those milestones are stressful enough for both parent and babe, and honestly- you will want to have that binky around.
| Tell Your Kiddo the Plan
I have found that toddlers seem to do, well pretty much everything, better when they have a hint of what is going on. Regardless of them actually having a part or not, if we give them a heads up they feel a sense of importance and seemingly behave much better.
This logic totally applies to this, it especially applies to this! Let them know what is happening. Let them be apart of it. This is probably the most crucial step in this process.
Look at from this perspective; Imagine if I came up to you today and was like “ok- you have to transition back to a flip phone and give up your smart phone forever by 9p.m. tonight. but I will give you $50,000 for doing so. As much as that would be a no brainer- most of us, would still have some apprehension to blindly oblige to this. Especially given the nature of your relation, ahem obsession + daily reliance on your phone, aka the “adult security blanket.”
SO I would suggest giving your kiddo at least a two week notice.
Let your child know that in two weeks, this is the super fun thing that we are going to do. And then again a week later, I would remind them about the Super fun thing they will be participating in. And a few days before I would start to get really excited about it and totally pump your toddler up.
In our case, a week after we told him our “plan” he decided (all on his own) on afternoon to gather up all his paci’s and he said that he wanted to give them to the paci fairy. I contemplated this and since he was 100 percent on board at that moment we rolled with it. Given the way this went down, we decided to get him a “bigger” gift, since it was his idea and we wanted to reward that independence.
| Does it Actually Work?
For us, YES!
It really did! and with minimal tears!
There was only one moment at bedtime, that I slightly regretted this. I was tempted to cave but I knew that it would set us back in doing so.
So we stayed strong and I am happy we did because we have not looked back since!
| To Each Their Own
It is important to remember that every kid, every family is different.
Please take this into consideration and use this post of information to help guide you for when you, your kid and your family are ready.
| Other Tips to Help
Although our 3 year old was over using his paci, I still found that he would have his fingers in his mouth a lot. So I quickly pulled up Amazon and had these bad boys delivered next day. He still LOVES his chew necklaces!
That is How we Used the Paci Fairy to Kick the Paci Habit Overnight!
We didn’t have pacifiers in the “old days.” A bottle is where I got my comfort. On our way back from a trip to Florida to see my grandparents, my mother “threw” my bottle out of the car window on the I – 95 stating, “uh oh. “We can’t stop. I guess its gone.” Only being 3 myself, I didn’t know you could just go to a store and buy another one. And so, that was that. By the way, I think my grandmother had a hand in the timing of “I think she’s ready to be off the bottle.”
Well, if it was good enough for my parents and considering it worked, that’s what we did with our son. “Oops!”
Ha! I don’t mean to laugh but that is something! The thought of the fairy actually came up because we forgot Taylor’s while traveling to a race and we said the fairy had it!
Wonder if I can throw attitudes out the window ??