This sucks!

[Helenemjay]

Ok, is it better to just throw all dummies out and say NO MORE! or is it better to 'wean' your child off them? ds2 is 3 and im having a hard time getting rid of his dummies, i have chucked all but 2 out and told him a couple of months ago that he can only have them at bedtime but he manages to slip them out his room and sits sucking away while watching tv or playing, or he gets upset and just wants it for a 'little while' trouble is he has a pretty bad 'bite' as a result of hid dum dum habit and after seeing the dentist recently he recomended getting rid, i cant help but feel the 'weaning' off it is just dragging out an inevitable loss! - any ideas anyone?

We did cold turkey - waited until a night when I was calm, bought some wine, and said no more. We put them in a box for the fairies to take - I was evil and made DD put them in herself (oodles of tears and I felt like pure sh*t)... the fairies came in the middle of the night and swapped the dummies for a dvd (complete with sequin fairy dust), and left the box in her room.

It was a hard couple of bedtimes (the wine helps you cope ), but being reminded that she'd got her dvd in exchange helped.

She was 2.5. I found the "weaning" method much harder - it just seemed to be dragging out the pain.

Chuck the lot and weather the storm - cut the teats off in case you're tempted to fish them out of the bin That's what I did with both my sons. We 'gave' ds1's dummies to a friend's new baby (she was forewarned to act completely delighted at receiving a soggy old pile of second hand dodies for her precious newborn) and got him a little gift in return. With ds2 I just ditched the lot, promised him a treat and that was it. Ds2 fussed for a couple of nights - ds1 didn't ever mention his again. IME, it is never as bad as you anticipate. Good luck.

We went cold turkey. Told DD when she was 2.5 that the dummy fairy had taken them. Gave her a one off treat instead as a thank you from the dummy fairy.

TBH though, we were having so much trouble with her having a tantrum everytime she lost or misplaced a dummy it couldnt have been worse if we just removed them altogether.

We had NO problems at all. We were lucky. If it came up and she said she wanted one we said the Dummy fairy had got them. Then tried to distract her if she carried on. Wasnt so much of an issue though.

HTH.

DS was three and a half. We couldn't find them (5 around the place) one night and he went off to sleep without one. Unfortunately, he found them the next day.

About a week later when he was well and not over tired, I binned the lot. It just wasn't as bad as I expected. He did ask for them for a couple of nights and then, a week later when he wasn't well. I told him that there weren't any and he just accepted it. It is now very odd looking at photos of him with the dummy.

Good luck.

Another advocate for cold turkey - we'd got it down to just having dummies at night - I think ds1 was about 3 when we stopped altogether. I thought it would be hell as he was completely addicted, but I think he grumbled a bit at the beginning of the first night and was then pretty much OK - and this is a boy who doesn't do change well!! Good luck!

ooh - just remembered - we tied it in with the fact that he'd got a sore lip - I think he'd just split it or got a spot or something, but we told him it wouldn't get better if he kept on having the dummy, so they had to go! So maybe you could make up a mouth/lip injury that needs to get better?!

We went through dummy stage and few months ago, we decided to take them away but I didn't want to go cold turkey. I've been telling dd (now 2.8) that because she's a big girl now a dummy fairy will come, take her dummies to give babies - but in return, she will leave her presents... Well, the day came, we got some pressies, sprinkled "fairy dust" all over them and when she came from nursery one day, she ran upstairs and said "dummy fairy has been!!!" - she was so excited by her new presents and after asking once or twice where the dummies went, she soon accepted they were given to little babies as "only babies have dummies". With little boy, you can say his favorite character i.e. Spiderman is coming to get the dummies or whatever he believes in. Leave some gifts (best to get what he REALLY wants as they won't settle just for any old gift). We're now moving onto a bottle fairy - she still likes milk in bottle (bad mother alert!)