the damn dummy

[juhurst27]

hello,what is the oldest you know of a child sucking a dummy?i am too ashamed to tell you how old my son is but he/i should have got rid of it years ago,now i think it can only be described as a kind of fix and he's dreadful without it, every time i have tried to get rid before he seems to get awful withdrawl symptoms and i like my sleep so eventually cave in.i realise that the obvious awnser is to just ditch the damn things and survive but how long do you think it would take til he 'is clean'and free?. he is autistic also and very demanding of just me his mother as there is just the two of us, i dont know if that make any difference.HELP!!

[lou 26]

a girl i used to work with told me her daughter was 9 and still had a dummy. she had real problems getting it off her until one day she just didnt want it anymore. have you tried bribing him? perhaps a small treat if he can go without it for a certain amount of time, then gradually make the time longer until he doesnt want it anymore?

[babybombo]

My friends younger brother was 7 before he stopped using his.
Like Lou suggested, they used bribery to get him off it!
The boy recieved a letter from santa saying that he would get him exactly what he wanted for christmas, if he left his dummy on the fireplace on Christmas eve.

Was a pretty good idea I think!

Good Luck!
x

[cazzzz1975]

I have 2 autistic boys who were using dummies for longer than normal 6 and 7 to be precise, not good at all but I can understand your difficulties.

What I used to do was buy new ones every so often, then to wean them off I refused to buy them new ones so they had to keep the dummy until it was really bad, gradually this weaned them off dummies (because they were not nice anymore)

eventually both boys stopped using them so much and got used to being without them. try it, my sons are largely non verbal, and have the understanding of a toddler. but for their teeths future, its worth trying..

[aims1202]

maybe you could substitute it for something really special that he chooses from the shop himself, a teddy or toy. then go the charity shop and get him to give them the dummys because they are for a younger child.
give him lots more attention and affection than normal. it might be hard for a bit but he will soon become attached to his new thing. when i looked after a 5 yr old and helped her mum get rid of the dummys she was only really upset for a couple of nights. good luck x

[cazzzz1975]

He may have difficulties in understanding the concept of bargaining aims if he has autism.

[angeldraws]

It sounds awful, i know, but you could try using 'nail-biting solution' on it - then he will hate it.....

[Katie7]

My daughter was roughly five year old, she didn't really have speech problems (just said Tank you instead of thankyou and health visitor sent her off to speech therapist- Even her teacher couldn't understand why) but the speech therapist looked really down on me for still letting her have a dummy. Thing is sucking thumbs makes there teeth look like bugs bunny, I never gave her sweets to suck and mostly in the last year or so she just wanted to suck it in bed while she went to sleep then it would drop out and be forgotten about. Personally I think if its not causing any problems and you get more peace from them having a dummy then what is the problem. Whats the point of upsetting him and giving yourself a hard time in the meantime you obviously have a lot on your hands as it is without adding to it just because we're told that children should give them up. He will when he's ready- lets face it you don't hear of many 20 year ols still sucking dummies do you. Honestly don't worry.

[german-sex]

I was 27 by the time i gave up my dummy- i think it was because i used to feel alone as my mum used to lock herself in the cupboard and sing along to elvis whilst wearing my baby brothers nappy and bib. and my dad would walk around in my nans clothes shouting out ' HEY YOU!!! *******''
let him do it in his own time..

[victoriaw]

I was 8 when I finally gave my dummy up! I now give my son a dummy and am already worrying about him becoming as attached to it as I was! I think it's something they need to go 'cold turkey' with, it was the only way I gave it up....Good Luck x