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Original poster

How did you get rid of your child's dummy?

65 replies

pinky955 · 16/12/2022 16:59

DD is coming to an age where I would like to get rid of her dummy. She's very attached to it and I'm dreading the whole thing. Can anyone give me any successful ways you've managed to get rid of the dummy? Preferably methods that don't involve lots of tantrums and crying 🤞😂

OP posts:
Rainallnight · 16/12/2022 19:20

Cold Turkey + present

Blocked · 16/12/2022 19:24

My little boy was 3 and obsessed with his dummy. I got a stern talking to from a health professional and binned them all apart from one which I cut the end off. He looked at it, tried to chug it, realised it didn't work and threw it away. No tears or tantrums, went to sleep just fine. Must do the same with my 17 month old soon.

toottootmummy · 16/12/2022 19:38

These are all great ideas
We've told our 2.5 year old Santa is taking it and he's being given a balance bike in exchange. He's repeating that over and over but I'm not sure he understands the dummies are never coming back! Think we're in for a rocky xmas day, as he is obsessed with his dummy 😫

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Passanotherjaffacake · 16/12/2022 20:05

Dummy fairy just after dc turned 3. We hyped it up for a week and said if they could go without for that week the dummy fairy would bring a HUGE toy.

only asked once but happy not to gave it for a big toy.

The dummy fairy bought a bike and no dummy was ever mentioned again.

my DH built it up and was anticipating such a drama. But it was no big deal. His worrying about it and putting it off was much worse then just doing it.

notacooldad · 16/12/2022 20:08

Ds1 - I told him it was broke
DS2 I never gave him one in the first place.

MyMilkshakeScaresAllTheBoys · 16/12/2022 20:10

Took it at 23m as we were holding out for a l

MyMilkshakeScaresAllTheBoys · 16/12/2022 20:12

Err for a long haul flight. Then day after we got home I took it.

"Boppies are for.."
"airplanes"
"And who else?"
"Babies"
"And what is DS"
"Big boy!"

Over and over

But I kept a few like when he hurt himself quite badly those first few weeks.

ReluctantLondoners · 16/12/2022 20:12

We did a phase out when DS was about 2.5. He wasn't really using it very much by then anyway. Then we just took it away. Didn't do Santa or the dummy fairy or anything like that. He asked for it once at bedtime, but we just distracted him with his warm milk and story

ReluctantLondoners · 16/12/2022 20:13

I also kept some but we never needed them

Daisychainsandglitter · 16/12/2022 20:14

DD2 was 3 and a dummy fiend. Absolutely obsessed with it. She's 5 now but I'm sure she would still take it if offered tbh!
Like a PP we talked a lot about the dummy fairy visiting and that she would give her dummy to a baby in exchange for a big present. The first few days were tough but she did get over it quicker than I thought.
I always wonder if I should have taken it away earlier as her speech and pronunciation is not the clearest.

Dippydonky · 16/12/2022 20:16

My parents took me on holiday and forgot to take it…….. still traumatic to this day! (Joking!)

Gettissuesgotissues · 16/12/2022 20:18

Cold turkey at almost 2. He was getting absolutely obsessed with them. He asked for a couple of days, and we just said 'sorry they've gone' and distracted with something else. Couple of difficult nights and it was done. Such a relief not to be rooting around for them now!

Jxtina86 · 16/12/2022 20:20

DD gave it up just before 3. I tried to introduce the concept of the dummy fairy but she wasn't entirely convinced. Then randomly she kept saying her mouth hurt, refused the dummy one night because it hurt and that was it... the dummy fairy turned up with a well done present after 2 nights with no dummy (and only then did DD accept the idea of the dummy fairy 🤣)

Cotswoldmama · 16/12/2022 20:21

You haven't said the age but if old enough to understand this is the perfect time of year. My son was nearly 4 and just had it for bed time. I told him if we collected all the dummies and wrapped them up for father Christmas he would take them for all the babies being born at Christmas and leave him a thank you present. It worked really well he asked once about his dummy at bedtime but I just reminded him that the tiny babies had them now and he was fine with it.

Karmagoat · 16/12/2022 20:21

My ds was very attached to his dummies! He was 3 when he gave them up, a combination of starting nursery and reading him the book The Last Noo Noo by Jill Murphy seemed to do the trick.
Hes 23 now 😁

mymeatballsmymeatballs · 16/12/2022 20:24

DS gave his to Santa at preschool in exchange for chocolate. He was 3. He was very attached to it but to my surprise, he didn't ever ask for it. I think when it's the right time, they're just not bothered.

2chocolateoranges · 16/12/2022 20:24

We cut back to naps and bedtime, then cut back to bedtime and then cold turkey. With ds we told him that a new baby in the street needed it and he was fine, dd was a little harder as she was really attached with them. She always had one in her mouth and two in her hands.We told her she had left them at grandmas on her sleepover and surprisingly she said ok and went to bed and got to sleep really quickly, she did wake a few times the first few nights but I was amazed at how quickly she forgot about them .

Phineyj · 16/12/2022 20:25

We found it very hard but in the context of some stuff we later discovered about DD I can see why. DH talking to her about how reception is very grown up did the trick eventually.

She was very funny with it actually, like an old school actor doing "business" with a prop.

Soozikinzii · 16/12/2022 20:26

One was left out for santa which worked well .Another son's was left on an aeroplane flying round in the sky which also worked well.

allfurcoatnoknickers · 16/12/2022 20:27

DS was a bit obsessed with Halloween, so we offered the last remaining dummy to the Witches in exchange for them not causing mischief in our house.

He was about 2.5 at the time and we only had the dummy at bedtime.

Like the dummy fairy, but for spooky children.

jusikejasper · 16/12/2022 20:28

Posted them through the postbox in an envelope to the dummy fairy and the dummy fairy left a trampoline in the garden for his reward. He was 3.5

SantaExpress · 16/12/2022 20:29

DS was ill one night and vomited in his bed, and all over his dummy… He grabbed it before I could wash it, and promptly spat it out, saying it was ‘broke’ cos it tasted horrible.
That was the end of the dummy!
I see it every day as it’s on my bedroom shelf as a momento (cleaned of course!)
He turns 37 next month.

smileandsing · 16/12/2022 20:52

'Posted' it to Santa along with his Christmas letter. He was happy to trade it off for an extra gift

sleighbellsjiggling · 16/12/2022 21:00

My DD (4) chopped her own up after months of us talking about getting rid of it. She was obsessed by it so I was surprised that she has barely mentioned it since.

DS (3) was equally obsessed but I managed to genuinely lose it on the same night his sister got rid of hers. We said that the dummy fairy must have got confused and taken his too and he accepted it.

Both got a present from the dummy fairy and are fine.

Amazingly my DDs teeth have lost the dummy look after only a couple of months and now her front teeth meet which is such a relief. The dentist warned me that she had to do it soon to prevent issues with her big teeth coming in.

SantaExpress · 16/12/2022 21:04

Love the ‘dummy fairy’ idea!