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Paediatrician Harvey Karp recommends a relaxed approach. ?Try not to feel pressured to break the binky habit,? he says. ?Sucking is actually a wonderful tool for toddlers to feel secure, calm and confident.? But if it?s impeding speech or you?re tired of picking it up, you can start to wean around the age of two to three years, suggests Karp.
Start slowly

Begin by limiting your toddler?s pacifier only to bedtimes or when she?s particularly stressed. Instead, encourage a ?lovey? (like a blanket or stuffed animal), and gradually eliminate the pacifier from daytime use.
Be positive

To encourage your kid?s progress, let her know indirectly how pleased you are with her efforts to self-soothe without a pacifier. ?The most effective way to praise your child is allowing her to ?overhear? it,? says Karp. ?Say, ?She doesn?t even use a soother, she?s a big girl.?? Avoid comments that may make her feel as though she?s disappointed you, such as, ?I guess you?re not really ready yet.? Plan the big day

Designate a special day or significant occasion (such as a birthday) for the transition. You can work out an exchange, so that she gets something else that you have decided on together in return for giving up the soother, recommends Karp.
Readers tell us how they ditched the pacifiers once and for all

My son had just turned two when we ?lost? his soother. We went to the store to buy new ones and I deliberately picked ones that were not his kind. He hated them, stopped need...