Right, so the twins are 4 and a bit and they still have their “noo-noos” at night. That is Twinzle for pacifier, dummy, binky…whatever, the little suckers have got to go. I decided that going to Fiji would be the perfect opportunity for me to pass the buck and blame the decision on someone else. I have to be the bad guy too often in parenthood, so this time it is going to be someone else’s fault. I told the twins that pacifiers were not allowed in Fiji. I have been preparing them for weeks that we will not be bringing the noo-noos with us and I am hoping that the excitement of the trip and the exhaustion of the full days playing with us will wear them out enough to fall asleep noo-nooless. When we get home, they will have magically disappeared.
Pacifier use is the plastic elephant in the room here. It even merited a mention in a troll forum online by a disgruntled former reader as evidence of my mounting bad parenting decisions (I mean, white lies and preschoolers with pacifiers…have you EVER???!) Kind advice has been offered from cold turkey to fairies coming to take the pacifiers away in the night, but it just had to be our decision on how and when. The armchair critics and worried loved ones can sit to the side and deem when this battle should have been won.
The simple fact is that it will be done tomorrow so tomorrow happens to be the perfect day for them to be done.
edited to add :: Image shot with the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 VC lens on the D3200
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You know you’ve made it when people are trashing your parenting on forums? Not really, but you know, trying to make light of it. That’s so lame. Good luck, I hope you see no children in Fiji sporting noo-nooos!! Oh and FIJI?!!! I’m only a little bit jealous (that’s totally a white lie). xo,PQ
It occurred to me AFTER the fact that we may see babies in Fiji with noonoos, I will deal with the tangled web I have woven if and when that happens!!!!
hahaha, of course, what’s that thing they say about a lie building on another lie? but how are we supposed to parent without lying? i’m thinking this one is going to work out in your favor. have funnnnn!!!!
there are as many ways to raise a family as there are families, your family seems wonderful, pacifiers and all
Good luck tomorrow!
As a loving parent, you know what is best for your children. Way to go on not listening to the critics and for following your mama heart!
I had to laugh about the comment “I hope you see no children in Fiji sporting noo-nooos” ha ha ha ha. If it works for your family then it is the perfect thing for you! Who cares what the critics and nay-sayers think! Have fun on the beaches!
I had to laugh about the comment “I hope you see no children in Fiji sporting noo-nooos” ha ha ha ha. If it works for your family then it is the perfect thing for you! Who cares what the critics and nay-sayers think! Have fun on the beaches!
My little bird probably has her pacifier more often than I mean for her to, but she’s just 1. She mostly gets it for naps and bedtime, and I play it by ear whether she needs it other times during the day. We all have to do what works best for our own family. Anyone who tells us that we’re wrong to do things the way we do, needs to pay more attention to living their own life.
Anyway, I just wanted to share some support and say that I hope you have a wonderful time in Fiji.
My mom did this with my brother oh so many years ago (he will be 27 this year) and “left it at Granny’s”, then “Granny must have thrown it away!” Whatever works!
Not sure as to what to tell the twins about seeing other kids with them… maybe Fiji has an age limit on binkies?
Fiji! Hope the travel is effortless and enjoyable- good for you for doing what works for you and who cares what others say/think. Good luck on making this new transition!
Oh dear … this is another one of those parenting topics that gets people riled up for no dang good reason that I can think of. It is nobody else’s business and I think most people deal with this form of “weaning” in their own time and in their own way.
It’s a toughie. I still remember having to wean the eldest from his dummy. It was Christmas … there was a visit from the dummy fairy. But still, there were tears and a meltdown even though the understanding was there. He had to grieve you see.
It will all be okay and I hope you have a wonderful sun-drenched holiday.
Uh oh! You better turn them the other way if you see other babies/toddlers with noo-noos!
Or you could say you missed the memo when they changed the law and oops! too bad, no noo-noos were packed. Nothin like a lie to cover up another lie!
Heh heh,! Cool. Enjoy Fiji – must get back there soon…
Maybe I will just use the sighting of a baby with a noonoo as the chance to come clean about my excuse. Who knows!
6 kids into this game of twisted lies and I have learned a couple things. First, my little thumb sucker, binky loving kids did just fine when we stole the binky and threw away one night. ( let me add this, over the summer one of the kids found a 16 year old binky at their meme’s house. I know I saw my 20 gaze at it longingly for even a brief moment). Second, everyone has an opinion and feels no need to keep it to themselves. I say go to figi, if you do see some rotten baby with a binky and it makes your little angel cry, steal it and give it to your kid. That little baby you stole it from is too young to remember anyways:))))
Trips are the best way to get rid of binkies. When it comes to bad parenting you made me laugh so hard i snorted my coffee. Really! people have some cheek.
My son was still drinking his milk from the bottle at 4. Which is ok in Europe but a big no no in the US. I waited for a trip back home and left them behind. He was so busy playing he never even asked for it. My daughter stopped the binky at 3 1/2 because it was interfering with her speech and now she’s fine.
If these are the only ways you are messing up your kids they are very very lucky and well for the advise board just tell them to mind their business
Enjoy your trip!
A very wise man once told me, “Don’t waste time responding to your critics.”
Have a fabulous, dummy free vacation!
There is a ton of parenting advice out there, but only YOU can decided what is best for YOUR children. All children are born with different temperaments that require different parenting techniques. Have fun in Fiji! Can’t wait to see your photos!
It shouldn’t matter to anyone at what point your children give up dummy’s. I gave up mine when I was about 3 to the local farm for the pigs! But my best friend still had them at 5 at night and that was okay because eventually she just grew out of it. she’s an adult now and it’s not like she still uses them! A little white lie is fine, thatsn not bad parenting. We lie to children all the time, to encourage them to make choices and do thinks they otherwise wouldn’t. Good luck, I’m sure the holiday will distract them! They’re already out of routine and sleeping somewhere new so the lack of dummy’s will likely to look so big and scary!
our little secret was pull-ups at night—it took 6 years to break that one.
and i think my daughter had sippy cups until she was 6—she was horribly attached to them! have a safe and fun trip!
Good luck mama. When we took Luella’s away cold turkey at 3 it was one of the most traumatic experiences for both of us. I am happy she no longer uses it (at 8!) but I still somewhat regret our forceful actions it and think it could have been handled a better way. Hopefully this wonderful trip will be just the distraction all three of you need. Have the best time!
I prepped my son for about a month or so before his b-day. He was also 4 and I told him that the paci fairy would take his pace. I really played up that 4 yos are big boys and he wouldn’t need it at all. To be honest, I was worried it would be a big deal, but he didn’t shed a tear. My advice is to give them a little time to prepare if you can and help them understand they will be giving them up.
I think that is a great idea! I have a much younger sister and I remember my mum telling her that 4 year olds don’t need “nummies.” So, just after her fourth birthday my mum bought some of that bad tasting stuff you can buy for this exact reason and secretly painted it on all of the “nummies” in the house. She didn’t tell my dad or my brother or me so we couldn’t give it away. Then when my little sister put it in her mouth she said it tasted bad, my mum replied, “It must be because you are four now, they just don’t taste good to you anymore.” They tried every single one and ALL of them tasted bad. They even tried washing them, but they STILL tasted bad so my sister agreed it must be because she is four and she doesn’t need “nummies” anymore. Haha.
Love those little ones! Good luck on the Fiji trip and I hope you don’t see any “noo-noos” in any shops!
Be proud of yourself for making a decision based on your family and not on the nay-sayers. My DH (this was not a term I used the day this happened…) decided one day before going to work he was going to to cut the tips off all the binkys in the house, WITHOUT telling me first, needless to say the phone call he received is one for the record books, but it worked. While it wouldn’t have been my first choice on how to get rid of it, he made a plan, stuck with it and let me, um him deal with the consequences. Turned out just fine, one day of her asking, when I offered up the “yucky” one she refused it and that was that. You’ll figure it out. In the mean time, totally jealous of Fiji! Enjoy your family time
i love how you called out those rude Judgeys on here!
i was so “good” for my oldest and switched her to sippies on her 1st birthday and took her paci away at 18 months (both times she never looked back, easiest thing ever). but she never did nap again. and then my son, my good little napper, loves his bottles and pacis so much, and he’s the happiest and sweetest boy. now he’s almost three and still using them both. go ahead and judge me, Judgeys!
I stressed for weeks about taking Jack’s away when he was 3 but honestly it wasn’t any big deal. I took him down to the toy store to pick out a few hotwheel cars and he was fine. You might luck out too … Good luck and have an amazing trip!
when i saw your “dirty little secret” image i immediately showed it to my husband and said, “SEE ITS NORMAL!”. my son will be 4 in january and he still needs his binky for naps and bedtime lol.. my husbands brother.. who has NO KIDS btw and is kind of a douche replied that he shouldn’t be having his binky anymore, (i posted a pic of my son getting dressed after he got up so of course he still had his binky. he was dressed as a pirate cowboy and binky. it was cute and i was offended by the fact he acted like he KNEW so much more than i). so now my husband is embarrassed that our son still uses a binky.. CMON people.. they are STILL little kids. they won’t have it FOREVER! everyone is so quick to make their kids grow up faster than they should. if my son wants to use it as a soothing tool when he goes to bed and wakes up i’m okay with it.. it’s not all day!
good luck! I did the same thing (more or less) with my daughter and it worked like a charm! And have an AMAZING time in Fiji! so jealous!
Not sure why anyone would think they had the right to comment on the parenting skills of someone they don’t know and only have information about through a blog online. How bizarre.
I can’t wait to see the Fiji photos. I spent 6 years there as a child and haven’t been back since so it will be lovely for me to catch a glimpse of it through your holiday. Enjoy and good luck with the no noo-noos
My daughter had her sippy cup till she was at least 5. She woud not wind down at night without it. She had her dummies till she was about 3 1/2, her night time bottle till she was 3 (before the sippy cup took over) She had her high chair till she was 4. It is a miracle that she survived my atrocious parenting and went on to be a confident, happy, well adjusted 9 year old.