Two year olds with dummies

My 18 month old only has his for naps/sleep. I feel like it's completely unnecessary to have it in while playing - they're happy and playing, so why do they need a dummy in??

When he was younger, we were taking it out while he was playing and would only use it to soothe if crying during the day - however we stopped that fully at around 10 months.

Thinking of getting rid of it for naps/sleep soon, however he's a wonderful sleeper at the moment and has a dummy which is designed to not mess with his teeth as much - he also spends most of the night without it in his mouth!

My two had dummies for ages, it was the only thing that soothed them. At one point I insisted that they were for sleep times only, but they must have been approaching two if not older at that point.

I let them wean themselves off completely when they were ready, around the age of 3.5. No cold turkey, no tears, no sleeplessness, no stress.

And their teeth are fine too. I don’t know why MN insists you wrench dummies away from little babies in case they get “addicted”.

Both mine had dummies for nap times until around 2 or 3, never during the day though and they have perfect teeth.

When I was young, my mum said I had a dummy until around 5 (only on a night) because I had extremely bad eczema, which covered all my arms and legs and a dummy use to soothe me and prevent less scratching and I have perfectly aligned teeth (without any intervention) so not sure I believe the whole dummy affects your teeth/shape of your mouth malarkey.

This is what I understood too

I don't see the problem with them as long as they're only used at bed/nap times, the real issue with them is they can get in the way of the toddler speaking.

I would be more worried about my child's well-being mentally and if you're planning on removing a dummy at 6 months I would never have introduced it in the first place.

We never used a dummy, but my daughter is 2 and still breastfed and I know is helps regulate emotions and soothes, a dummy will do something similar.

The dentist told me that I didn't need to worry about the dummy affecting her teeth until she was around 4 when I asked.

I thought it was normal to keep it until about 2 or 3 if they had one.

Mine all naturally dropped it before 6m so I never had to make any decisions but I think toddlerhood is normal - that's why people do things like the dummy fairy, which a baby wouldn't understand.

My eldest had a dummy until he was about 2yrs 9mo, we phased it out. HV said he shouldn't have it during the day after 1 year old so we took it away during the day at that age and he went along with it quite well, then I started slipping it away after he was asleep and he stopped needing it at bedtime/overnight by around 18 months, then he kept it for just nap times until he stopped having naps and naturally didn't need it any more.
His teeth were fine.

Youngest still has a dummy, he was a thumb sucker from birth, so I encouraged a dummy as it would be easier to remove that than his thumb, he was older when I managed to remove it during the day and had it for about 5 hours a night and nap times after that. He stopped nap times around 3 years old and I have recently started removing it after he falls asleep. He has it twice a day now for about 30-45 mins at a time.
The dentist said she could see it was affecting his teeth a bit when she saw him before his 3rd birthday but it should be okay as long as we remove it before too long. Going for a gentle approach with removing as he loves it so much and since reducing how much he has it overnight he has started sticking his fingers in his mouth again, so I'm constantly having to tell him to take them out. He's almost 3.5.
Oh and youngest speech isn't very clear yet, 'pink' is 'hink' for example.

I'd never take it away from my 6 month old if that was causing distress to them! It's their source of comfort.

I have 3 kids, one wasn't fussed for a dummy, one loved it until 3yo, one could take it or leave it. I've seen no effect on speech or teeth at all between them. I was always just led by them and whether they found it soothing or not.

I was worried about teeth but my friend who is a dentist said they don't notice much effect from them, and they are far more worried about thumbsucking and sugar basically. Sure enough, my middle one who loved her dummy and wanted it 24/7 has beautiful straight teeth aged 5, and one who didn't really ever take a dummy has quite prominent upper front teeth/jawline aged 2.

I don't understand the judgement but people are weirdly judgemental about them. I'm way past caring about that shit.

I think it’s just about doing what’s best for you rather than comparing yourself to anyone else. If you wanted to take the dummy away and had reason to do so, then that’s absolutely fine. The same way if people choose to keep them, that’s up to them.

Both of my children wouldn’t take one and my 3 year old is beautifully behaved most of the time and speaks incredibly. The jury is still out on my 10 month old 😂.

My 20 year old had a dummy until just after she turned 4 but it was only allowed for bed. She voluntarily binned it as she had decided she didn't need it anymore. TBH, as someone who still sucked her thumb at 10, a dummy at bedtime for a 4 year old wasn't an issue. My niece sucked her thumb too and was still doing so after she started school at 5.

My eldest was 2 when she stopped using her dummy. She only ever had it in for sleep and she would usually spit it out as soon as she was asleep. She was fine giving it up and even chucked them in the bin happily. Her teeth were never crooked or had that distinct dummy shaping.

I sucked my thumb until I was 13, stopped because I wanted a sleepover at my friend's house. Had to have a brace. I still miss it now 😂

My older 2 gave up their dummies early but number 3 LOVED his and we only got rid of it when he was about 4. No impact to his teeth.

My dd never had a dummy but sucked her thumb until she was about 6! Admittedly not much by that age but still. That was very difficult to stop

I wish mine had a dummy. She's a thumbsucker, pretty hard to take her thumb away.

Some children are very comforted by sucking- mine both were and have both had dummies. My elder had his until nearly 3, then he realised babies have them and voluntarily gave his up as he was a big boy. Dentist checked recently and said no impact at all, checked DC2 (2.5) said slight protrusion but usually straightens as DC1’s had, nothing to worry about, just try to get her to give it up by 3ish.

I think it’s a bit of a non event really.

my 13 month old currently has one for sleep and naps, he is my 2nd child and my first never took a dummy. It’s so much bloody easier!! It’s like a miracle invention 🤣

in all honesty I don’t understand the hate towards them. Some people find them “tacky/ bad parenting” etc just like some people get in a huff about using reins on toddlers.

As long as they're only having it to sleep, it's fine. I wouldn't take a reliable source of comfort away from a six month old. Comfort and good sleep are more important than milk teeth (and teeth will be fine if it's nighttime only anyway).

My ds 2 only has it for sleeping for the last maybe 4 months. He got grommets over the summer and I removed it during the day to help his speech come on. I think once they go passed two then they don't really need it during the day and the longer they have it the harder it is to get rid of. My friends only just gotten rid of the dummy for her 4 year old.

My 14 month old loves hers so asked the dentist for advice. He said as long as it's gone before she's 6 then the teeth will go back to normal and not to worry. Obviously will be gone before then but definitely made me stop worrying about it for now!

It's so bad for their speech but I don't judge parents who still use them as life is hard!! And they make life easier on a day to day basis.

Our dentist said even when they fall asleep you should take it out of their mouth so they don't have it in all night or all nap time as it shapes their mouth/teeth.

Where did they get that BS about the teeth? They don't just magically go back in to place. you did the right thing taking it away

We got rid of my daughters dummy around 2/2.5 as we did the dummy fairy so she needed the understanding, i didn't want to take it away without her being able to understand why