dummy has become transitional object - what to do?

[duedec2]

My baby boy - one next week - has slept (only slept) with a dummy since he was tiny. It helped a lot when he had colic and the time never seemed quite right to take it away ... and now, unsurprisingly, he is VERY attached to it - doesn't like it being taken out of his mouth in the morning and sometimes, when he sees it during the day, he cries for it. I have tried putting the same toy in his cot for weeks but he couldn't care less - the dummy is (increasingly) the thing.

In all respects he is an extremely happy little boy, walking, talking (words, I mean), becoming a joker. It feels a little mean depriving him of this object when other babies his age are carrying around teddy bears etc. - but I don't want him to have a dummy in his mouth all day just when he's beginning to talk. And it has a useful power at bedtime that might fade if he had it all day.

Is it mean to take away his dummy except for sleep?

[robino]

My DD loved her dummy from the first time she was given it (after she'd hung off me for 4 hours with nipple in mouth but not feeding).

She did not get rid until she was 2.6 years old. From about one we became increasingly careful about keeping it out of site apart from nap, car and bed because, like your DS, as soon as she saw it she wanted it. This lapsed for a while at 18 months because DD2 was born and she seemed to derive comfort from it but we did try to make sure it was out of site when she was happy.

When she was 2.6 we managed to lose 3 dummies in the course of 2 days and couldn't find one at bedtime so we explained that we couldn't find it, she was a big girl and gave her extra cuddles. Reinforced with a pressie the next morning and that was it! Although she gave up her afternoon nap there and then

[duedec2]

thank you so much - that's good to hear. I'll keep it hidden away during the day except when he's especially in need of comfort ...

[Mooncupflowethover]

My 2.7 DS was extremely attached to his, to the point where it was very difficult to understand what he was saying. He had complete meltdowns if I tried to take it.

About a week ago I decided enough was enough and snipped the ends off (only the very tip). I told him that because they had been sucked so much they were broken. He took one and sucked it, pulled a face and said it was broken. He dumped the dummies there and then. They are still around for him if he wants them, but he won't touch them. It was amazingly easy!