Parents of toddlers have probably tried pretty much everything under the sun in an effort to put distance between toddlers and their pacifiers (a.k.a. soothers). I tend to prefer the more honest and direct methods (not deceiving the child by pretending that the soother has been sent to the North Pole), but I understand that desperate times call for desperate measures. And it may not take very long for a parent who has healthcare professionals constantly reminding him or her about the dental and speech-and-language fallout of extended pacifier use to start feeling pretty desperate indeed.

Here are the basic options that parents tend to turn to when they're trying to decide how to get rid of the pacifier (ranging from gently to cold turkey).

Limiting soother access to naptime and bedtime and when the toddler is really upset (as opposed to letting the toddler have unlimited access to the soother 24/7) in an effort to gradually wean the toddler off the soother. This can take a while (and it may lead to protests on the part of your toddler), but it's an up-front method of dealing with the issue.

Letting the toddler know that it's not healthy for her teeth for her to keep using the soother; and that it is almost time to get rid of the soother. Some families like to do something interesting with the soother, like mailing the soother to the North Pole or giving the soother to a new baby that the family knows. There are all kinds of variations on this theme. The difficulty here is that the concept is pretty abstract until the day of truth arrives, so that while your toddler or preschooler may seem to be totally onboard ahead of time, your child may have a major freak-out when the soother actually hits the mail. (Just as an aside, I once met a fellow who worked as the Macy's Santa Claus. He said he had tons of kids arrive, crying, at Christmas, with instructions to hand over their pacifiers. This must be a common ploy. Losing the pacifier deliberately (throwing it away) or by accident (not replacing lost pacifiers and hoping that they'll all be missing in action in your home, at Grandma's, and so on).

When you decide which approach to take (or whether, in fact, this is the right time to tackle the pacifier issue at all), you'll want to factor in your child's developmental stage and temperament; how your child is feeling these days (physically, emotionally, and otherwise); what else is going on in your family right now (did you just move? did you just have a new baby?); and your parenting philosophies. It's also a good idea to compare notes with other parents. They can give you an idea of how their kids reacted when they experimented with various approaches. Just remember that your child is unique, your family is unique, and your experience with helping your child to give up his pacifier is also likely to be unique. That's what makes parenting such an adventure, remember?