Letting go the pacifier doesn’t have to be a drama. The trick is the previous preparation.
1 °. Set the last day. (It should be 2 or 3 months (minimum) for preparation)
2 °. Define the process. (Eg: Give to Santa, Go hang in the garden tree for the storks to take, etc.)
3 °. Start detachment:
a) reduce the amount of time that the child has the pacifier and encourage her/him to withdraw it from her/him mouth;
b) begin to show the difference between babies and grown-ups;
c) gradually limit free access to the pacifier that should be reserved for tantrums and sleep time;
d) from times to times simulate the loss of the pacifier (not finding it at bedtime, for example)
The child should be encouraged to either give or deliver the pacifiers (all of them) on the last defined day. During the whole process, it is important to evaluate the child’s reactions and to praise all the active attitudes that the child demonstrates (ex: “Great, you took off the pacifier), but avoid highlighting the passive ones (ex: do NOT say “Great, you spent all day without your binky”). It’s important that all caregivers are aligned in the way they act.