Is there an optimum age to remove dummy?

[mcflumpy]

My DD is 9mo and uses a dummy to get to sleep so nap times and night time and in the pram sometimes. She will be starting nursery at @ 11.5mo and I'd really like the dummy to be gone by then.

Two questions really - is it unfair to take it away at this age as she won't understand, should we wait a bit?

how do you do it at this age? Cold turkey?

TIA

I waited until dd was 18 months and found it to be a good age, like you had restricted it to sleep times only and then one night I decided to try settling her with out one and she grizzled a bit, not for long and then was fine - so I threw them all in the bin!!! At that age they are more accepting and don't know about buying new ones or ask where they are etc!

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It might be worth keeping it to ease the transition to nursery - lots of children need comfort items from home.

Santa took both my childrens dummies when they were 3!

We tried the santa thing. It worked for ds but dd was having none of that. DH caved and gave it back.

We are going cold turkey on Friday when we go on holiday. The dummies are not coming.

Keep your fingers crossed for us please ladies.

Thanks, hadn't really considered that she might need it to ease the transition to nursery. Just have visions of her running around with it all day at nursery or worse with someone elses!

Good luck Dolphin hope it goes well.

I tried the Santa thing/Dummy Fairy but DS wasn't really convinced.

We'd been through a lot of changes, splitting with exh, moving, the problems with changes to contact routine etc etc so in the end I decided not to stress about a Dummy as DS did seem to have any other transistion type attachments. He only used it for sleep

One night about 3 months ago (aged 3yrs 8 months) he handed it to me as he went to bed and said, I don't need this any more Mummmy.

He hasn't asked for it/looked for it since him that he made the choice himself.

I suspect if I'd taken it away from him much earlier (sub 1 year) he might not have noticed. But it was definately a useful transition object for him.

I kept the dummy for DD for sleep times/naps from about 12m and it went forever at about 18m.

However she is just turned 3 and still wants it, as DS is 15m and has one - also just for sleeps now.

mcflumpy - if you tell the nursery you don't want her running around with it then they won't let her. They can just keep it for naps and if she's upset.