Weaning DD off dummy - but when?

[marushka82]

Hi everyone,

My DD is almost 14 mo and she has a dummy for naps and for sleeping. She sleeps very well and can reinsert the dummy herself if she wakes up during the night. I'm making sure she only has the dummy for sleeping and if she gets hold of it during the day (she sometimes manages to get it out of her cot :D I take it away from her.
I think she did get used to falling asleep with it and I'm dreading weaning her off but I know I will have to one day. The question is when? Is there a good time for doing so? I read about the dummy fairy method somewhere, but I suppose it's for slightly older kids (2 yo perhaps?)
I keep reading these articles about kids using dummies ending up with speech delays and teeth problems and I'm freaking out wishing I never introduced it (although when I introduced it it was a blessing as otherwise I was going to be a dummy ;)
Help and advice please! How and when did you do it?

Hi marsushka I took my Dd's dummy away at 7 months. She never looked for it and she cried a bit for 2 days at nap time then forgot all about it. She didn't really have it that often anyway and now she's taken an interested in a few cuddly toys so they get a hug now when she needs comfort. I totally get what you mean about it being a blessing - we found it necessary when our DD had colic and nothing else would settle her. I am glad she no longer has it but it proved a lifesaver at the time. Hope this helps

Oh I mean to say she is now 10 months and doing great without it.

I worried for months about this. In the end, when my Ds was just over 2, i got rid of all except one, and told him there was only this one as the other others were lost. Then, a few days later, I cut a hole in the teat. Of course, it then didn't feel right to him, so he declared it broken and put it in the bin himself! He cried a bit when trying to get to sleep without it on that first night, but then slept through and it was never mentioned again I needn't have worried!

DD is 16 months and we're hoping to wean her off the dummy before my next one comes along in March. Like your wee one she only has it for naps and nighttime so I'm not sure it will be impacting speech? I think it only hinders speech when they have it in their mouth during the day when they should be making sounds etc. :)

Good luck when you decide to do it. :)

Either when they're tiny or when they're old enough to cooperate and do the dummy fairy. I left it too late so waited till we could talk about it around 2yrs old and got them to agree and choose a toy from the dummy fairy.

We left ours out for Father Christmas

Got rid of mine with dc1 at 8 months as she was waking about 10 times a night for it. I've never used one with the next two dcs as just couldn't be bothered with the whole giving them something that you then take off them. I don't plan to use one for the next one I'm due in three weeks.
However I've been fortunate to have very easy and settled babies if this one ends up colicky or with reflux I'd use one quick as a flash!
Maybe try them dummy fairy who leaves a present in exchange for the dummies or post them off to Santa?

I left all mine till two or three, no speech delays (though I fucking wish it had with DD right now) and nobody has funny teeth. My sister who didn't grow up with me wasn't allowed one and now at 24 still sucks her thumb when she is tired or bored or concentrating and its embarrassing.

My son had one until he was 15 months. My dad was looking after him and genuinely forgot to give it to him when he went to bed. He cried for about 5 minutes longer than usual and that was it. Never mentioned again!
I would definitely recommend getting rid of it ASAP! I have friends who waited until they could "reason" with their child and then had all sorts of problems getting the child to give it up!!!

Thanks everyone for sharing! I'm tempted to wait a bit longer, maybe a few months :)

DS is similar to your DD in age/dummy behaviour and I have decided to just not sweat it for a while. I don't think using it for naps/sleep only will impact on speech or teeth, it's only a problem if they wake in the night and need help getting it back in (DS not quite there with finding it himself).

I like your method, Whispers!

I've been wondering about this. DD is 12m, and has them for sleeping only. She has a few in her cot and finds one when she wants it - only problem with that is she holds them like a comforter now too! She's usually clutching a couple of the poxy things when I get her up, and I hear her knocking them together while she goes to sleep. How I'll wean her off the double dependency I don't know. I'm inclined to think I'll wait til she's older & do the dummy fairy thing...

My DD had hers for sleeps only until just before her 3rd birthday when she gave them to the dummy fairy. She was among the first in our NCT group to start talking, had very clear pronunciation right from when she started to speak and has a pretty big vocabulary (not bragging btw, just to reassure you there was nothing wrong with her speech). Also no problems at all with her teeth.

I really wouldn't worry about it, although I did worry too but with hindsight it was a complete waste of my time! Also in other countries the whole dummy thing is much less of an issue, I'm not sure why everyone gets so hung up about it here...