The dummy debate.

[woodpops]

DD (20 months) and ds (3 next week) both have dummies and I hate the flaming things. They don't go to nursery with them, so they have 3 days a week without them. I try not to let them have them in the day but you can guarentee one of them has a secret stash of the bloody things and they both apear with this lump of plastic in their mouths. I keep telling ds that at christmas we'll put all of the dummies on strings and hang them on the Xmas tree for santa to take. In return Santa will leave him lot's of prezzies and a really special one. The only thing is I really don't think I can wait till Xmas to get rid of the horrible things. Any ideas???

Say that because Santa works all through the year making toys that some of them are ready now so if they hang their dummies up (pick suitable place) then Santa will come in the night and leave them a special pressie now, instead of having to wait for Xmas???

Might be a bit young for dd and I haven't used this for dummies in particular, but I've found a simple sticker chart has been really useful for my ds1 (he's 3).

We've been working on his behaviour in the morning, so each morning he's been cheerful and pleasant before breakfast instead of tantrumy and whiny he gets a sticker. When he's finished the chart (we've set it at 16 stickers so it's not an immediate thing, and hopefully he's got out of the habit of the behaviour at the end!) he gets the small toy he's been "saving up" for (in his case a toy Brum). You could feasibly do the same thing, only a sticker for each day he goes without his dummy?

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But what about dd?? Is she a bit young to be taking her dummies away?? She's 20 months.

My nephew threw his dummy away using the bribery and persuasion techniques I think and his brother (18m younger) got rid of his at the same time. Woodpops - maybe if you manage to get rid of your DS's then DD will want to be like him?