Weaning toddler off a dummy

[HislittlePoppet]

Evening mums, please help.
I am trying to wean my 18 month old daughter off her dummy tonight. Normally she'd be asleep by now but she's crying her heart out upstairs.
What do I do?
She was so tired I felt confident she'd go straight to sleep but obviously she's more reliant on her dummy than I thought.
I've been giving it to her less and less over the weeks, until recently she was only allowed it at night.
I hate hearing her like this as she's not a crying child, but at the same time I don't want to give in and am quite determined we need to stop her using it.
Anyone got any advice, please? Should I go and try to calm her, or what?
What worked for you?
Thanks.x

I can't give much advice as my 20 month old still has it at night. She is not allowed it in the daytime and it is only associated with sleep. I think they do need something to comfort them at night,could you maybe give her something else to comfort her if you really don't want to use the dummy?I had a rag which I tickled my nose with and ermm I still have it at 31!
I also put quiet music on now for DD which helps to get her to sleep.

Why don't you want her to have it?

I would wait until she is a bit older - there's no harm in it for settling to sleep if it comforts her, it's when older children are running around with them 24/7 and it affects their speech that it becomes an issue.

I managed to get rid of DS1's dummy when he was 2.6 by 'sending' it to Peppa Pig to give to 'a baby' who gave him a little present in return. It went much better than I could have hoped and he understood what was happening. He asked for it a few times over the next few days but soon forgot.

DS2 (1.11) still has his dummy for nap time and bed time and I plan to do the same thing when he is about two and a half. They can be reasoned with so much more at that age, 18 months is still a baby really.

I agree wait until she's older, esp if she only has it for sleep

I don't get all the bad publicity dummys attract. They are comfort objects. You wouldn't suddenly whip away a favourite teddy or blanket, would you?

I agree with the above posts.
My mum never let any of us have a dummy and we all have wonky teeth because of it and we all sucked our thumbs until about 7-8. I don't like seeing 5 year olds running about with dummies in and I didn't let DD have a dummy after about 7 months if she wasn't sleeping because I didnt want her to get too used to it and I loved her babbling away which is all part of their speech development, but at night when they are sleeping I don't really see what harm it is doing.

IMO 18 months is too young, she doesn't understand why you have taken it off her?

I took the dummy off my daughter when she was 3, I did the present thing. Got a pretty pink bag, put dummies in it, hung on door handle, next morning she woke up and they had gone, and 'thomas the tank engine' had left her some present!!

She cried screamed for 20 minutes that afternoon and never asked for it again!!

I would let her have it at night for a bit longer, if she doesn't have it in the day she is doing really well!

She is just a baby. DD lost hers to the fairies when she was about 2.8. She was able to understand much more easily that the fairy babies needed them more than her.
Give it back you meany

Give it back. She's just a baby and it's her comfort. I really hate the way people are so determined that their children should follow a prescribed pattern on things like this. She'll ditch it in her own good time. In the meantime, it makes her happy and you're making her miserable.

I agree. I think you either have to take it away between about 6-8 months-ish, or wait until you can explain. DS1 had his until 8 months. Ds2 is 20 months and still has his at night. I won't take it away until I can explain why and about dummies being for babies and he's a big boy now, have a present instead etc

if it's only at night like my DS2 so never in the day/out and about then I can't see the problem.

I agree. My DD is only a baby but my sister has 2 older children. They both had dummies for much longer than 18 months. She eventually weaned them off them using a trick she's read in a book somewhere. My nephew put all his dummies on the washing line and the 'dummy fairy' took them over night and replaced them with a present for being such a big boy. Worked for her.

Hi everyone, I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner but thanks for your replies. They were really helpful and I did give it back the same evening as she cried herself into a terrible state. Then I felt awful. She is reaching an age now where she's starting to understand and I think eventual reasoning with her will probably be the best course of action. Thanks all again!

dentist here your personal choice but I think at 18 months ok if just for sleeping, but does it naturally fall out of her mouth in night? if it does, does she wake up? if not good; if she is waking you and rest of house up every time it slips out i would preserve and get rid of it now; but if just a comfort for falling asleep I think time to get rid of it is generally between 2 and 2,5 and to do what is suggested above send all dummies to new babies and new babies send DC a pressie back!

dummies damage teeth if sucked all day a walking child should not have dummy as if fall the plastic rather than teat bit could damage teeth, also if still used beyond age of 3 like thumb sucking it can cause mal positioning of teeth though thumb sucking is a harder habit to break. However not every thumb/digit/dummy sucker damages teeth it does depend how they suck