We cut the cord

I did it!

I cut the cord! Well J boy cut the cord actually.....Or in this case we'll call it the "Binki".

I know, I know, I know.....judge all you want, I really don't care!

Yes my three year old son still slept with a Binki (soother, nuk, plug whatever you call it). But he still took naps, and still went to bed fairly good at night and that is all that mattered to me :) I figured I'd get rid of it a year ago when he was two and ready to give up his naps but he wasn't ready at two to give up his naps and I wasn't ready to give up his naps and I knew when the plug went, they went too. So for selfish reasons I let him keep it for nap time and bed time ONLY!

Well with a baby coming soon, and a real little one that will actually be justified in needing a binki, I decided it was time to let go. I needed to let go. I knew he could do it just fine. I knew he was old enough (too old) but it was me that needed to let go of nap time and change it over to "quiet time". I knew it would be best to do this months before this baby came so that there were no hard feelings for him that "the baby gets a binki but not you."

I was a little nervous that he might have a hard time with it but in the back of my head I knew he could be reasoned with, he's THREE! I knew he'd get over it pretty quickly so I just had to come up with an idea that he'd go for......

Binki Fairy
throwing it off a bridge
Burning it
Handing it to the garbageman
Taking it to "Build a Bear" and putting it inside the bear
A reward of some kind
Bribery (same as above I guess)

The list goes on of the fun creative ways to toss the binki, I just needed to find the right one for him, some thing that he'd go for no questions asked. I knew a reward would be in place, some thing to replace his attachment with it. But how to chuck it was a tough one for me to figure out.

Then it came to me......Cut them up! Not me, HIM. And not just cut them and let him suck on them that way, but cut them up into pieces and then chuck them in the garbage immediately.

That kid LOVES to cut things up. He especially loves to cut things up that he should NOT cut up. Just ask my friend who suffered major damage to her son's brand new toy that my son decided to cut to pieces when he found a pair of scissors in the play room. Yeah, he's naughty when it comes to scissors. He has an obsession with them. I let him use them for crafts as often as I can but he goes wild when he gets his hands on them and starts looking for things (that are not his craft) to cut up and then I have to take them away. So the poor kid is deprived of scissors because he can't control his cutting addiction.

There it was, my answer, have him cut them up! He'll totally go for that.

So yesterday:

Walmart-buy new small toy
Then approach the boy and tell him our plan to get rid of his precious binki.
((Sigh))

Here goes....

Mom to J boy: Buddy you're a big boy now hu?
J: Yep I'm a big boy
Mom: Well big boys don't need binkis
J: I need my binki
Mom: binkis are for babies and you are a big boy. How do you think we should get rid of your binki? Do you think you would like to cut them up yourself and throw them out?
J: CUT?! (in a very excited voice)
Mom: yep
J: with scissors?
Mom: yep and you can do it!
J: OKAY!

I knew it!

So he cut them up. With so much joy and concentration it made me laugh. He cut up every one of his binkis (4 to be exact) even his favorite blue one.

Yes! Success.

He even got to cut open his new Lightning McQueen car.
Now he is a happy BIG boy (finally)!