How can I take dummy away, when he also uses it as his soother toy?

[Diddleydo]

DS is 2 in a couple of weeks.

He isn't speaking, has no words, and I am not sure how much he understands commands etc. We have an appointment with the doctor about his development next week.

He has never taken to any other "soother toys". We tried them all...teddies, blankets, muslin cloths (that was our older DC soother) etc

The only thing that soothes him is when he has a dummy in his hand (both hands, ideally. With one in his mouth too). He uses it to tap parts of his face and body and it instantly calms him down.

Going cold turkey is going to be awful. We have only just got him sleeping through the night after 2 years of sheer hell that nearly broke us, not only as a couple but individually.

Hoping for some magical solution. I know the doctor will say take the dummy away to encourage his speaking. We take the dummies away for as long as possible during the day but he is addicted and always looking for them. I am sure he has a secret stash because I hide them all and he just seems to pluck them out of thin air!

Please help xx

I think most 2 year olds still use buggies if they are "walking" somewhere. I really wouldn't worry about that.

As the parent of a child with developmental delays/Sen. I would say listen to professionals over other mums and for now I would hang on until you have been seen. I would have a word with the manager of the group and say you are seeking professional advice about your child and you would appreciate it if she stopped mentioning the dummy in front of the other parents.

All three of mine had dummy's, I dropped it on the day first using distraction /other sensory toys and then at night. It was 4/5 days of hell then it was fine.

The issue with dummies from a talking point of view is:

1. As Foon said, children talk with the dummy in so pronounce the sounds differently because their tongue is pushed back. This can persist when there is no dummy
2. Having a dummy in reduces the amount of babbling, which is an important part of talking practise.

As a professional, I would say getting rid of dummies by 1 is optimal, however if older children are still using dummies, I would suggest limiting them to sleeping times as others have said. In your situation, I wouldn't immediately look to get rid of the dummy, but would try to heavily limit it outside sleeping e.g. let him have it to calm down but then swap it for a toy so he continues to play without it. Have your goal to be promoting babbling opportunities in play rather than completely removing it. Then plan a time to remove it that works for you e.g. when you have time off work, once he has found some other ways to calm down.

Just kidding. 😁
I wouldn't know how old your sprog was so I can't judge.
I got my ds out if his buggy ASAP because pushing him up a hill with a fucked shoulder was not fun.