Instead of featuring products this week, I’m featuring advice from readers and from friends (gotta love Facebook) on ways to banish binkies and triumph over toilet-training. Thank you to everyone who asked for advice and for those who offered it up.

Binky Retirement

Since I can’t speak from experience on the topic – none of my girls liked a pacifier for long – I couldn’t offer my own personal stamp of approval, so I asked my most trusted pals who have lived to tell.

Lots and lots of folks recommend cutting the tip off – either slowly or in one giant snip – and then calling it good. Once the tip is cut it really doesn’t function properly and the child no longer wants it. Many said going cold turkey, and sucking up the misery for the week or two it takes to live without the plastic plug, is the way to go.

Others offered the suggestion of trading binkies in for a grown-up gift (everything from Disneyland tickets to a new a toy). I call this bribing, but you can call it an incentive if it makes you feel better.

On the same vein, many moms suggested the toddler trade-up for something better, and suggested using a Binky Fairy to help make the exchange more fun. The Binky Fairy takes the binkies to new babies in need of comfort, and in return leaves a big kid gift for the generous offering. Another mom said she lets her child “pay” for a new toy at the store with binkies offered as “cash.” Obviously the store clerk would have to be in on the arrangement in advance.

Potty-Training the Princesses

Again, I feel like I have zero authority to speak on this subject. I think I hate potty-training more than any other motherly duty on the planet. I all but gave up on one of my children ever being fully potty-trained and nearly cried to our pediatrician because I was so frustrated. He offered some wonderful words of encouragement, and said what I knew but didn’t want to hear. “It takes time, but she’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.” Of course, he was right and she’s perfectly fine now.

After consulting with other mothers, I provide here some of the tips they’ve offered. I can’t say I endorse any or all of them because I don’t have a potty-training child any more.

Again, many moms offered the “go cold turkey” advice. They also said you shouldn’t be too willing to make them comfortable if they have an accident. Some recommended not bringing them a change of clothes or rinsing them off with cool water instead of a nice fun bath. I think this approach is meant for kids who have caught onto potty-training, but can’t completely seal the deal, and not for kids in the first stage of potty-training.

For night-time challenges, one mom suggested limited liquids before bedtime. Other moms take their children to use the restroom right before bedtime and then again before they hit the sack hours later. If a child is school-aged and still not making it through the night you may want to consult the pediatrician.

Best of luck. Please let us know what ends up working for you or add to the list if you have found a trick that has worked like a treat on your toddler.