What's the optimum age for ditching the dummy?

[bluebean]

DD2 is 13mo and a crap sleeper. She can self settle with the dummy at bedtime and for naps, but "needs" bf to sleep when she wakes during the night, usually 2/3 times.

We're going to try to sort out the sleep once the current bout of teething has past. I'm planning on doing No Cry Sleep Solution (ordered it tonight). DH thinks we should ditch the dummy at the same time. His theory being that losing the dummy during the night is contributing to her waking up. I'm not sure. DD1 never had a dummy so I'm pretty clueless here. Is there an optimum age to ditch the dummy, and if so, when is it?

I've heard before that the dummy dropping out of their mouths in the night can wake them several times a night. Every child is different, but I dropped our childs dummy at 14m, he had a dummy just at night to self-settle, he started dropping it and chewing at it - this obviouslyt was dangerous, so to me the optimum time to drop the dummy is when they get enough teeth to chew something!! also, its early enough (to me) that they have forgotten it after a couple of days, I think if they had it at an older age it would have been more problematic getting rid of it. My DS certainly took longer to sleep the first couple of nights, and we had to go in and smooth his head and back (something he likes!) to get him off to sleep, but after about 3 nights he went to sleep at 7 woke up at 7am and thats how he is ever since, better without props I think. :) best of luck

I'm in the camp of leaving well alone! I have a DS who settled with a dummy at night until he was about 3.5 and then he let it go himself. But it is each to their own and what works best for you. My DS didn't wake up in the night if it fell out but he did find it soothing so I just let it ride. Good luck with whatever you choose!

We ditched ds1 at 1, and dd just before 3. Wished we done dd later, as it was starting to cause loads of problems and was hassle, bout the later we left it the harder

My DS1 was still hiding his under his pillow at 6 (and he doesn't have buck teeth or a speech impediment)

I would wait until they can understand and do the whole dummy fairy thing. I tried to take DSs away at around 11 months I think and after 10 days he was still crying for hours at bedtime for it so we just gave it back to him.

I remember my dentist saying that up until 3 it wouldn't affect teeth so we did it then. He didn't mind to much as he tended to bite the ends of so we told him that it was the last one, when it fell to pieces we didn't replace it.

My dd ditched her own dummy just after her first birthday.

DS1 was 3.2 and rejected his new dummies that were a slightly different style but same make. Just happily accepted the others had been thrown away.

DS2 was 3 we discussed the dummies being for babies now and that the fairies would take them and that he was a big boy now. I couldn't find one that particular night and he was happy with the fairy explanation.
When he found one the next day he wouldn't entertain it because they were for babies

Thanks all for your replies.

I think we'll try dropping the dummy when we start NCSS. If its a disaster, I can always cave and give it back reconsider.

DS ditched his own dummy at 6 months but he's always had a little comforter tiny blanket with an animal on it that he likes to chew. Might be an idea to introduce a comforter (initially that smells of you). Good luck.