My (almost) 2.5 year old never took to a dummy and the last time we attempted to use one was when she was a few weeks old.
We tried - and failed - to use one on newborn DS last night and had left the dummy on the side next to the sink in the kitchen. Toddler came downstairs this morning and the first thing she said was “my dum-dum” whilst pointing at it. Since then every time she gets upset she asks for the dummy and asked for it at nap time, and at one point had actual tears when we explained it was for little babies / she was a big girl and didn’t need it. (No point getting into it by telling her she has never had one)
DH and I have been wrecking our brains trying to think of where the fascination with the dummy could’ve come from and the only thing we can think of is perhaps they use them at nursery. We’ve never been told that they use them and when she started at the setting they were informed she doesn’t use them. Nursery is really good in all other ways so I wouldn’t want to think they did put dummies onto children without them but since toddler isn’t in until later this week we can’t ask right now. Never seen a child at nursery with a dummy but we haven’t been able to enter the building for just shy of a year now so who knows
TL;DR - do nurseries tend to give dummies to children to calm them / at nap time as standard? Even if said children don’t use them elsewhere