dummy dilema !

[kimbro44]

my baby is 9 months old and has a dummy..mostly when she is going to sleep. Just wondering what ages other AB's took dummys off their babys/children and if you have any tips to make it easier when i take it away ? thanks !

[lou 26]

Hi kimbro, My daughter has never had a dummy she has always (and still does) sucked her thumb which im not sure how to stop! But on saying that, when she was 12 months old i stopped giving her bottles and gave her beakers instead, she didnt like it at first but she got used to it within a couple of days. The point of my answer is really (sorry for waffling) that i believe the earlier you do it the better for you and her. A friend of mine couldnt stop her daughter having a dummy until she was 9 adn always said she wished she'd just thrown it away years ago. So i personally believe that the earlier the better as she will be too young to understand and will accept it better. Once they get to 2/3 and become more aware i think it would be harder to do. But each child is different, she may give it up willingly or she may just take to sucking her thumb! I dont think that there is an easy answer to this one, but hopefully someone will give you first hand experience/tips. x

[Mimmy]

Hi Kimbro

I just took my son`s dummy away last week.He is 16 months old, and only ever had it while dropping off to sleep anyway. I wasn`t going to do it till the new year, but he started throwing it out of his cot and this signalled to me that he doesn`t need or want it anymore (which makes my job of removing it a lot easier!)

His brother who is now 2 and 1/2 on the other hand was different.He was about 18 months when we removed it.One day he was having a tantrum on a train and he hurled his dummy onto the train`s dirty toilet floor (we were standing in the aisle by the door as we have a double buggy) From then on I told him the dummy was lost on the train as I couldn`t clean it again en route,as it had touched the dirty floor.

He told everyone he saw `dum-dum gone, lost dirty choo-choo` and he accepted that as the end of it.

I do think the longer you leave it, the harder it will be, but in my experience, I wouldn`t do it before they were 12 months old as they wouldn`t understand where it went, and some kids need the comfort that dummies give.

[andy-hughes]

Our youngest left hers for Santa to take with him on Christmas Eve, and give to all the new babies - the Christmas she was two. The story helped her to think her dummies were for babies, and she was a kind big girl for giving them up.

I did actually keep one, but since she's nearly seventeen now, I don't suppose she'll mind too much!

[Otrere]

My daughter was about 2 years and 3 months when we got rid of hers. We told her that she had to leave them for the "dummy fairy" in a box outside her room so that the fairy could take them away for the babies that need them and that the dummy fairy would leave her a present if she did.

It took a couple of days mentioning this to her until she agreed to do it, but we did it that way and she fell asleep no problem at all without her dummy. When she opened the box the next morning, there was her present (a Pooh Bear DVD) from the "Dummy Fairy".

She asked for it the next couple of nights but we reminded her gently that the fairy had taken it for the babies as she didn't need them any more. That was the last we heard of it.

We've never looked back since!!

[mgba_78]

My son swapped his with Santa when he was 2 years and 10 months.. My daughter will be swapping hers with the Easter bunny this year she will be 2 years 6 months approx..

With both of mine before i took it away in the day and only let them have it at night a good while before i took it away completly.

I was scared of them sucking their thumb instead..as i still do :oO lol

[tigerthecat]

i 'trained' my boy to have a dummy because I sucked my finger until I was 30 and my teeth were starting to crack under the pressure. I will wait for him to get rid of his dummy because I'm scared he will take up thumb sucking.

[gary baldy]

We slowly weaned our daughter off hers from about 18 months. She finally just had it when she went to bed at night. One day when she was about 2 and a half she fell asleep during the day without it so that night we just put her to bed without and didnt mention it (never spoke of it again to be honest) and she wasnt bothered.
I would recommend just relying it on it less and less and they will just grow out of it - good luck.

[Solarjunkie]

Dummies are great for babies' bedtimes, and awful when lodged in the side of toddlers' mouths as they run around!

From the age they could understand, (around 20 months) our sons were reminded that dummies are for bedtimes and they were so used to it it was never a problem. The dummies did occasionally come downstairs in case of illness.

We never had to have a particular day they were taken away, they just stopped using themselves when they were about two and a half.

Don't forget they are known as "soothers" and "comforters" so let them do their job as long as it is useful!

[kimbro44]

thanks to everyone for the advice and also the lovely stories of your children and their dummys...you have been very helpful !!

[gbannigan]

when i was around 2 i used to throw stones down my drain and one day i just decided to throw my dummy down with it on my own choice...maybe your child will do it themselves...or if not and you feel that it's not going to happen that way...then tell them that santa clause asked "if you give me your dummy,you will get a very very special christmas present this year" if your religion does not support santa clause or the christmas holiday substitute that for a similar thing in your beliefe...i am not a parent...i am 14 with over 20 younger cousins 6 of which are under 3!! hope this is of much help

xsbannigan, gbanniagn's daughter

[morg_monster]

kimbro44 just wondered whether you had seen the research from last month which came alongside the reports that using dummies MAY slightly reduce the risk of SIDS. (possibly due to the bulky back of the dummy pushing the mattress away slightly from the nose and mouth when the child)

In the same bbc article it said that you ideally should not stop using a dummy until they are 12 months (definitely old enough to move their head and body when in bed / asleep) because SIDs appears to be more likely to occur the first night the child sleeps without his/her dummy. Two studies have shown this but the analysis is very complex, so it is hard to be sure this is a true phenomenon but I just thought I would add that in.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4509240.stm

[kimbro44]

thanks for that morg_monster..will read that link with interest !