How to Make a Goodbye Pacifier Book for Your Toddler

A goodbye pacifier book is a short picture book, starring your own child, that explains the plan for giving up the pacifier. It tells them why it is time, what will happen on goodbye day, what bedtime will look like, and that it might feel hard for a few nights before it gets easier. Because your child is the hero, the book turns a loss into something they get to be proud of.

Why make your own goodbye pacifier book?

A personalized pacifier book matches your plan. Store-bought books pick one method, but your family might use a pacifier fairy, a trade for a toy, or a simple "bye-bye, paci." A homemade book tells the exact story that will happen in your house.

Toddlers also like to know what comes next. Reading the plan several times before the goodbye day gives them time to get used to the idea, and seeing their own photo on every page helps them feel in charge of it. If you have questions about timing for your child, your pediatrician or dentist is a good person to ask.

What should a goodbye pacifier book include?

Keep it short, positive and specific. Most good pacifier books cover:

• Your child as the hero. Their name, their age, what they love.
• The pacifier's job. It helped them when they were a baby. Thank it.
• Why it is time. A simple reason: they are growing, big kids use their words, their teeth are growing strong.
• The plan. Exactly what happens, on what day. A trade, the pacifier fairy, sending them off "to the new babies", or putting them away together.
• Bedtime without it. The new comfort: a stuffed animal, an extra song, a back rub.
• It's hard at first. Being honest that they might feel sad or mad, and that is okay.
• They can do it. A proud, happy ending.

A page-by-page outline you can copy

Here is a 13-page outline. Change the words in brackets, and swap "paci" for whatever your child calls it, such as binky, dummy or nuk.

1. Cover: "[Name] Says Goodbye to [Paci]", with a proud photo of your child.
2. Meet the hero: "This is [Name]. [Name] is [age] and loves [trains, jumping, bananas]."
3. The paci's job: "When [Name] was a baby, [Paci] helped [him/her/them] feel calm and fall asleep."
4. Growing up: "Now [Name] is getting bigger. [Name] can [talk, run, climb, use a cup]."
5. Why it's time: "Big kids don't need [Paci] anymore. [Name]'s [teeth and words] are growing strong."
6. The plan: "On [Saturday], [Name] will [put all the pacis in a box for the Paci Fairy / trade them at the store for a new toy / send them off to the new babies]."
7. Getting ready: "[Name] will count the days on the calendar. [3, 2, 1]."
8. Goodbye day: "[Name] said, 'Bye-bye, [Paci]. Thank you.'"
9. The surprise or trade: "In the morning, there was [a new stuffed bunny] where the pacis used to be." (Skip if your plan has no trade.)
10. Bedtime now: "At bedtime, [Name] [hugs Bunny, hears two songs, gets a back rub]."
11. It's hard at first: "The first nights, [Name] might feel sad or mad. That's okay. [Mommy] will help."
12. What helps: "When [Name] misses [Paci], [Name] can [squeeze Bunny, take deep breaths, ask for a hug]."
13. The happy ending: "[Name] did it. [Name] is a big kid who sleeps without [Paci], and we are so proud."

This is the same shape as any good story about your child: a hero, a challenge, a plan and a proud ending. Our page on making a personalized children's book explains that story spine in more detail.

Words that help on the hardest pages

The "it's hard at first" page is the one your child will need most on night two or three. Keep the words simple and kind.

[Name] misses [Paci]. Missing something is okay. [Name] can hug Bunny and [Daddy] will sit close.

[Paci] is gone now, and it isn't coming back. But [Name] still has [Bunny, our songs and lots of cuddles].

Each night gets a little easier. Soon bedtime will feel easy again.

Be clear that the pacifier is not coming back. If the book says it is gone, keep it gone, so the story your child hears and the one they live are the same.

When and how should we read it?

Start reading about a week before goodbye day, and keep reading it for a couple of weeks after.

• Before: read it at bedtime or in a calm moment each day. Let your child point to the pages and tell you the plan.
• Goodbye day: read it again in the morning, then do exactly what the book says.
• After: keep it by the bed. On tricky nights, go straight to the "what helps" page.
• Celebrate: a sticker, a special breakfast, or a call to Grandma to share the news. Add a photo of the celebration as a new last page.

Giving up the pacifier often happens around other bedtime changes. If you are also moving to a new bed or reworking bedtime, a bedtime routine book or a big kid bed book uses the same approach.

How to make it on makeabook.fun

makeabook.fun is free, runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and needs no sign-up.

1. Open the starter. "A story about them" pre-fills pages with fill-in-the-blank prompts that follow a problem-then-happy-ending shape, with your child as the hero.
2. Write the pages. Use the outline above, adding or removing pages to fit your plan.
3. Add photos. Your child as a baby with the pacifier, their bed, their new comfort toy, the box or bag for the pacis. Drag to reposition and zoom.
4. Add some art. Your child can draw the pacifier fairy, or a picture of themselves sleeping, on the drawing pad with a finger, mouse or stylus.
5. Choose layouts. "Big picture with words on it" makes a proud cover-style moment for the last page.
6. Finish the cover and dedication. The title page and dedication page fill themselves in, so you can dedicate it "To our brave big kid."
7. Read it in the flip-through reader, then print.

Printing it

The free print-at-home PDF is full color, each page centered on US Letter or A4 paper, and it is perfect for a book that gets read every night for a few weeks. If you want a sturdier copy, the Keepsake edition ($2.99 once per book) gives print-shop quality at the exact book size, no makeabook.fun mark, and a fold-and-staple booklet layout, with free re-downloads after edits. Our guide on how to print a picture book at home covers paper and binding.