DS is nearly 6 and has a dummy - cant get rid of it

[Jules0503]

My DS is nearly 6 and still has a dummy. I have managed to get her to give it up when we are out however inside the car house and at bedtime she says she needs it. She screams the house down if i try and take it away. Gets hysterical. Do i have to take her cold turkey ?

Sorry I think you do!

Im not one for taking things away from babies, but at nearly 6 your child can understand reasoning. Just take it away.

Yes just take it away. My DD screamed for about 5 hours none stop at 3 years old but after that night she didnt care anymore.

i think i should have taken it away years ago and perhaps it may not have been as stressful for her however we had alot going on and i think I could not face the turmoil at that time. So yes cold turkey i guess it will have to be - thank you

You've probably heard these suggestions but these are a couple of ideas from family who went thru the same thing, tho at a younger age so your DC might see right thru them!!!

• snip the end off all the dummies you have around the place, they wont 'work' properly and you can tell DC that they are broken, broken dummies go in the bin

• wrap up all the dummies for the dummy fairy to take to the new very little babies at the hospital and if DC is very lucky there will be a cool present left in exchange.

Whatever strategy you use I guess at the end of the day its being consistent and not giving in, sounds like it might be a day or two of hell but then things should improve. But yes at 6yrs I think you defiantely need to get rid of them, does DC have another comforter that can be used for quiet time?

I agree. Although I can't say too much. My little one is 3.8 and she still has it at night. We went cold turkey in the day and that took a while but eventually she wasn't bothered.

I'm not sure about the 'broken dummy' idea. I've heard it before. Maybe i'm just on my own here but mine would just say 'nevermind mummy, let's go to the shops and get some more'. So in my case it would be better to just to go cold turkey. Although i'm sure it works for lots Kiwidreamer.

It's best you get it out the way now in the holidays so you don't have to worry about it affecting her schooling.

Good luck. :)

I think you are prob right for kids over 2yrs that the broken dummy approach is unlikely to work, I seem to recall my friend explaining the shop was all sold out to her toddler :)

What I did (with DD at over 5) and I am quite prepared to be flamed here.....

She had an activity that she did where she ADORED the instructor.

I told her I would tell him on her and he would laugh at her.

She was mortified and never took the dummy after that

my dd1 had a dummy until she started nursery. At that point i sat her down and explained to her as best i could that other children need the dummies now and that the dummy fairies will be coming to take them soon. She found night time difficult for about 4 nights without and then accepted it.

we had a visit from the dummy fairy too! she left a gift in exchange for all the dummies - dd was about 3 1/2 and was fine after 1 night

Thank you your help is so valuable to me ! Probably made me face up to what has to be done ! We have decided that this weekend on Saturday that the dummy fairy will be coming and that a gift for "grown up girls" will replace the dummies. They will be taken to little babies ! If I tell her they are all broken you are right she will ask me to go to the shops as she knows Tescos opens "all night long ". She does hate the dea that other children know she has a dummy hence she does not take it to school however i do not have anyone else that would "disapprove" enough if they knew. She has tedward so he will have to be her comforter. Thank you again