Hi Huggies Girls.

My boy is 22 months old he goes to day care 2 days a week.
Going well at day care he has no dummy for sleep time.
But home if I try not give it to him the starts crying & I give in to him should I just let him cry?

Tonight by the time I walked out of his room he was crying.
When I do give his dummy I just have to walk out.

What would you do? Thank you for reading Amanda.

Personally, i'd say just to let him use it for those times he needs it but ONLY when he needs it. My daughter is 18 months and she uses it just for sleeping. It keeps her happy =) Also, i will always say that sucking a dummy is better than sucking a thumb! It's amazing the damage thumbs can do to teeth..
If you really do want to get him off the dummy though, good luck! Hope it all works out =)

Posted by: Sinéad
It's amazing the damage thumbs can do to teeth..

Just want to say that is a myth. I know plenty of thumb suckers with perfect teeth and ones who didn't (including my sister) who needed heaps of orthodontic work. Oral health is primarily inherited from the mother so even if you don't suck a thumb/dummy/bottle but have a mother who has horrible teeth then you're pretty much doomed. LOL

I do agree though that it's not that big a deal and if you want give it to him there's no harm in it. Why make life harder on yourself than you need to? Just because he seems to need it at home but not daycare is not IMO an indication that he shouldn't have the dummy at home.

I don't mean that thumbs cause crooked teeth. Like you say, if parents have them, the kids are pretty much doomed to have them (like me, for example =/) But thumb sucking pulls the front teeth forward (depending, of course, how much the child sucks their thumb. My partner did until he was about 10 i think and it really shows >.<) and in bad cases can wear down the front teeth too but it does depend. Like everything. All kids are different =)

I'd just give him his dummy. Easier for you, much nicer for him smile I'm a firm believe in giving lots of comfort at bedtime especially, so if that's a dummy for him, then by all means, don't feel guilty!!

My sister never sucked her thumb or had a dummy (unlike me) and she had a massive overbite with incredibly straight teeth while I have an overbite and crooked teeth to boot...typical me drawing the 'short' straw. Yes thumb/dummy sucking might contribute to that, but since you inherit your jaw structure from both your parents your over/under bite might be strictly due to genetics and not either of those things.

Thus why I said it is a myth that dummies/thumb sucking cause 'bad' teeth. LOL Of course we're all different, thus why my sister got the "good' mouth and I got the leftovers. hehehehehehehe

Hi Girls.

Thank you so much everyone for your reply.

I know it got to happen one day & I know it going to be hard.
Is there any thing I could do to the dummy that could take it of him. Thank you for reading Amanda.

The only thing i can say if you want to take it away is to be hard about it. Let him cry himself to sleep and he'll get used to not having it eventually =)

Hi Amanda

Have you tried talking to him about it (as best you can, with 22m old!)?

I know lots of ladies, including my mum, who did the old trick of saying that their child was a big boy/girl now and you don't need your dummy any more, and the offering was to give it Santa, Easter Bunny, leave it out for another baby who needs it, etc, etc. My mum told my brother that a little baby bird might like it, so he threw it in the garden for the bird, and that was that.

I hope you find a way that works.

My daughter is 3 and I am still no closer to getting the dummy off her. I find that I can reason with her at times, like if we are going out, but if she is tired or upset, all reason goes out the window and there is nothing I can do but give it to her.

I have heard of people waiting till special occasions like birthdays and getting the child to 'swap' the dummy for presents? I hope you can find a way that is quick and painless for you both.

my son was obsessed with his dummy, and it was becoming a real problem like when you couldn't find one. So we took it away from him cold turkey at 2.5 years. We also took away DD at 6 months (at the the same time). They were upset for a couple of days, but they got over it. We bought them a special cuddle toy each as a reward/replacement. Now they are 20 months and 3.5 and they take their cuddle toys everywhere. I think it worked well as the cuddle toys are a lot more comforting for them.

Thank you girls for your reply.

I feel I am just going to keep putting it off.
But he is sick so I would not do it now.

I find it hard when I know at day care he has no dummy.

If I do take is away I feel the crying going to get to me.
Sorry I just find it hard as my DD is nearly 6 I don't have to
worry about dummy or toilet training.

Hi Amanda
It's so hard getting rid of a comfort item they have been used to since birth and putting yourself in the baby's situation, you're going to protest also!
I just wanted to ask what your reasoning was to get rid of it? The reason I ask is because by son was 3 before he 'decided' he didnt need his dummy, he thought it was time he didn't need it anymore (same went with toilet training, he suddenly 'clicked'). My friend was saying " He isn't going to go to Pre Primary or Primary School with it and it's not going to be forever so what's the problem?"It really sunk in with me. It's true. The dummy will not be forever and there is no point (IMHO) to take something away YOU have given them for comfort.

I hope that makes sense? I have a 20 month old DD who has her dummy for naps and bedtime and I am not concerned as yet, it will be traumatic for her if I was to take it away.

Good luck

JakobandAbbiesMummy wrote pretty much what I was going to say.

Our DD1 (3 and a half) gave her dummies to Santa and got a pink pedal car in return. Prior to christmas she had a bad head cold and sucking on her dummy built up phlegm and she threw up a few nights in a row until I sat down and talked with her about why she was feeling 'icky' and the reason being her dummy. She stopped sucking it for about 2 weeks and asked for it back, but come Christmas night she popped them in the 'Santa bag' put it under the tree and has only asked for it once since then.

If it is confined to nap times and night time I dont see the problem with Dummies, they will give it up with a gentle nudge when the time comes =)

Good luck!

-nav-

Hi Amanda

My DS was extremely attached to his dummy for sleep time.

I tried taking it off him around 2 1/2 but he and I were not ready.

By the time he was 3, we took it off him (check my post history for a story on how i did it) and he was fine.

I would say let him have it for sleep until he's 3. Also, if he sleeps at daycare without it - that's great - keep it that way smile

you could try the cold turkey approach, but it is harder to do with an older child. we did it but DS was only 8.5 months.

the other thing you could do is maybe give him a teddy or blankie instead for comfort that he can have in bed at night. then when he gets up in the morning tell him the teddy/blankie is going to stay there to look after his bed for him while he is up during the day/at daycare.

Thank you everyone for your reply.

I just want him of the Dummy he getting a big boy now will be 2 in 4 weeks.
My DD went of the Dummy around 22months old. This is going to sound bad. I don't really remember how we did it.
I know one time DD was waking up lots in the night we had to go to Dr to help with that.

He is still sick. So would not try yet.

I have only just taken my 19 month old DS's dummy away from him - day 4 today. We had tried just cutting back and letting him have it at sleep time, but he was always asking for it and getting grizzly if he couldn't have it, also wanted it in the car or whenever we were out. So I decided that cold turkey really was the only way, as he just wasn't getting the 'only in your bed' thing. The first 2 days were difficult, but by day 3 he wasn't even asking for it anymore. Now, already, it's like he never had it. We took DS1 off the bottle when he was 2 and a half, and found the same thing; decided we were going cold turkey, as nothing else had really worked, and after two heartbreaking nights of tears he just seemed to forget about it and never asked for it again.

Once you have decided that you want to get rid of the dummy for good, and different people do it at different ages and for different reasons, personally I think you have to just take it away entirely. If your DS is still sick then I would wait until he is better like you said, and then bite the bullet.

Definitely the best thing we could have done...
[Edited on 15/02/2010]

I have just taken away my twins dummies for the first night tonight, they cried a little bit, but soon fell asleep, I think cold turkey is the best way to go, did it with my now 5 year old son when he was 2 1/2 and after about 3 days he just stopped asking for it, so I am hoping they will go the same way as him..My DD is addicted to the thing, so I think she may test me, but am sure I will not give in. I think at times I was not ready to give up there dummies, it's just so easy to shove it in their mouth to shut them up, I think it's like giving up smoking or losing weight, you need to wanted to do it and stay strong. My 7 month old son is not interested in a dummy, so I am glad about that. Good luck and I will let u know how we go.

Mandy

Hi Mandy

Thank you so much for your reply.

Your so right you just got to shove it in their mouth that it.
He does only have for sleeps times only put still he needs to get off it all together.

How old are your twins?

DS goes to daycare 2 times a week & does not have dummy for sleep time there. At home I think he know that he has a dummy.
I have tried a few times not giving it to him by the time I walked out of his room he is crying.

my DD is 18 months and she only has her dummy at sleep time; when she wakes up, she says ta to the dummy and throws it into her cot as she knows its only for sleep. We hadn't made a decision to even use a dummy but the hossy gave her 1 in the SCU when she was born and I just went with it.
Someone suggested to me to cut the silicone teat off and just give them the plastic part and they won't like it after that. I havent tried it myself - not ready for the fights LOL. Let me know how you go smile

Hi Mandy

Thank you so much for your reply.

Your so right you just got to shove it in their mouth that it.
He does only have for sleeps times only put still he needs to get off it all together.

How old are your twins?

DS goes to daycare 2 times a week & does not have dummy for sleep time there. At home I think he know that he has a dummy.
I have tried a few times not giving it to him by the time I walked out of his room he is crying.

my DD is 18 months and she only has her dummy at sleep time; when she wakes up, she says ta to the dummy and throws it into her cot as she knows its only for sleep. We hadn't made a decision to even use a dummy but the hossy gave her 1 in the SCU when she was born and I just went with it.
Someone suggested to me to cut the silicone teat off and just give them the plastic part and they won't like it after that. I havent tried it myself - not ready for the fights LOL. Let me know how you go smile

Hi Mandy

Thank you so much for your reply.

Your so right you just got to shove it in their mouth that it.
He does only have for sleeps times only put still he needs to get off it all together.

How old are your twins?

DS goes to daycare 2 times a week & does not have dummy for sleep time there. At home I think he know that he has a dummy.
I have tried a few times not giving it to him by the time I walked out of his room he is crying.

if it makes you feel any better my dd is 27 months and still has hers for bed time and to be quite honest i actually havent thought about cutting it out, it comforts her and she will grow out of it when she is ready, its not damaging her teeth (we had excellent report from dentist couldnt of been better smile ) and if she doesnt carry it around with her it doesnt phase me.

The thing we have talked about with our toddler is the easter bunny is coming soon and he leaves chocolates but we have to leave his dummies out for him tho. He seems ok with that so it will be interesting to see how he goes and if he does it or not.

Tell him the easter bunny comes and takes it away but leaves him some chocolate for being such a big boy now. Worked for my son when i took the dummy of him and then when he got older i used this to take his night nappy away

Hey There,

My sister organised for the dummy fairy to come and get her daughters dummy one night. Worked brilliantly and she never wanted it again. Need to have a bit of a build up eg on sunday the dummy fairy is coming and is going to take your dummy and give it to a baby who needs it.' Maybe the dummy fairy could leave a $2 coin to put in a piggy bank as a reward.

Marion

It took almost two-weeks of disturbed nights for our 23mnth old to get used to sleeping without her dummy. We talked about getting rid of it for weeks before and then one day she said, "Don't want it" so we threw it out, hid the rest and then stuck with it. Some nights it was soooo tempting to just give in and give it back - but we didn't and she's fine again. smile

Hi there! This is my first time on this forum so hopefully I do this right.
My DS is 2 and a complete dummy addict.This week I have been hiding it first thing in the morning and trying not to give it back to him until bedtime.
He has already had a couple of meltdowns today cos he wants his "sucky".
I am going to try and keep this up and wean him down to just bedtime for now. On another note my DD who is now 10 had a dummy until she was about 3.
One day the end broke off so there was nothing left to suck.She tried quite a few times but eventually gave up and I threw it out. She had severe reflux as a baby( and still has reflux) and the dummy was a really big help for her.
Wish me luck:)

If he is just wanting it for bed then I would wait a little longer unless you really want it gone now, in my case my girls after the birth of the next sibling/s they would became obsessed and it ended up being an all day sucker (lol) or a massive tantrum when I said NO. I don't agree with kids walking around in public with a dummy hanging out of there mouth so I was damn sure mine wouldn't be one of them.
So just before the age of two and after a few months adjusting to there new sibling/s they went cold turkey and honestly I was suprised how quickly they got over it, they were pretty dependent on them and after a couple of days they never asked for it again!
When he is all better, just bite the bullet take it tell him he's a big boy and doesn't need it anymore give him plenty of cuddles the first night or two and whatever you do don't give in and give it back!

You may find that your little boy is not using his dummy at Day Care as his peers probably don't use one so he would feel like he does not need it. My children have never been real dummy babies 1st child just refused ti have hers at 6 months 2nd child at 12 months and my 10 month old only has his in his cot at sleep time

"Is there any thing I could do to the dummy that could take it of him."

Have you tried to put a little cut in it so it becomes flat and less comfortable to suck or cover it in a liquid or flavouring that he does not like this may deter him