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Original poster

Time to say goodbye to the dummy!

17 replies

AKC88 · 07/12/2020 16:01

My son is 2 years and 8 months and loves, loves, loves his dummy!!

It is time to get rid as it's disrupting his sleep and his speech. He only has it at night however he still asks for it during the day all the time. I'm guessing people are going to say the best solution is cold turkey but does anyone have any tips? Literally, just decide on a day and get cracking? Try and get him to throw them away himself and be included? What do we think?

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LivingMyBestLife2020 · 07/12/2020 16:03

No advice but I’m in same boat. My sone is 2 years 5 months. My mum says let him keep them a bit longer (only has them in bed) but he does ask for them if he’s upset or stroppy.
Not sure what to do!

Crystal87 · 07/12/2020 16:06

I think it's a personal decision. I would try and take it away but if it causes distress, give it back for a while longer. My eldest had it till he was about 4 for sleep times only and it was his own choice to stop and he never went back to it.

MrsSchrute · 07/12/2020 16:07

Yep, cold turkey. Lots of talk in the run up about how he is a big boy now, and big boys don't have dummy's (or whatever you think appropriate along those lines!), then involve him in collecting them all up and throwing them away, giving them away, dummy fairy. Anything to convey the message that they are gone! And then hold your nerve!!
I was really nervous when I got rid of my Dad's dummy's, she was obsessed! But she never even asked for them again, a couple of early mornings and that was that.
Good luck!!

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MrsSchrute · 07/12/2020 16:07

*DD's dummy!! Not Dad's!!

countrystumpkin · 07/12/2020 16:09

We did it at Christmas - left it next to the food for Santa and reindeer and told him that Santa might be able to turn it into a present for him.

Present replaced dummy Christmas morning but of course it was still hard and was basically cold turkey. It only took a couple of nights though and he has never asked for it since, even with a younger sibling who still has their dummy.

elsaesmeralda · 07/12/2020 16:12

We did it at Xmas too, he swapped it on Xmas eve for presents the next day. He gave it up but did ask for it and cry abit, forgot about it the next day with the excitement of Xmas but remembered of a night time, just explained he gave it to Father Christmas and he can't have it anymore. We may have had it slightly easier than some though!

Twizbe · 07/12/2020 16:17

We did the dummy fairy at Christmas (he was 3 in Jan after)

We told him for about a week before that the dummy fair would come. He had to put his dummy under the Christmas tree and she'd take it and replace it with a present.

One morning we said to put the dummy under the tree. When he got home from preschool it was gone abs the present was there.

He never asked for dummy again

Thatwentbadly · 07/12/2020 16:18

You need to make sure you put them in the bottom of the wheelie bin so you don’t cave.

Lonecatwithkitten · 07/12/2020 16:20

Trade for something he really wants I had a girl so it was a Snow White dress.

Floralgizelle · 07/12/2020 16:22

We had a trip to the dentist who said it could damage his adult teeth if he didn't get rid of it. We gave it to the 'dentist man' and never had it again. He was about 3 at the time never asked for it either.

LunaLoveFood · 07/12/2020 16:29

Ds bit a whole in the top of his and then didn't like it because it didn't work properly so he three it away himself. We explained that we were not going to but any more as he now had big boy teeth an would just end up breaking them all. I then snipped little holes in the remaining ones so when he found them and realised they also didn't work properly he threw them out.
He was a little unsettled the first night but we kept reassuring him that his big boy teeth would break a new one so he couldn't have them anymore.

It worked surprisingly well as I thought it would be a nightmare getting him to give them up as he loved them.

ScrapThatThen · 07/12/2020 16:30

I once babysat for a friend's child and forgot to give the dummy. Child went to sleep no fuss and never had it again. Friend forever grateful for my incompetence.

BluebellsGreenbells · 07/12/2020 16:31

Cold turkey

All three asked a few times and that was it!

You just have to keep repeating, the dummies gone.

Throw them away so you aren’t tempted to back track.

triceratops12 · 07/12/2020 16:33

Santa has just take ours as he can't bring big boy toys to someone with a dummy!

SoCrimeaRiver · 07/12/2020 16:38

Following as we have a 2.4 who loves her's dummies, and won't self settle without one. I have no idea what else we'd use to settle her. We kept hoping she'd have a toy that she'd really click with, but nothing has come close to her dummy. She has an older, school age, sibling so we do need some way of her sleeping without howling over the dummy being gone as they need unbroken sleep.

whatwouldyoudo85 · 07/12/2020 16:39

Similar to others, we did the dummy fairy. Talked a lot about it in the week or so leading up to it, left the dummies in the garden for the fairy and she got a present in return. I worried about it but it was actually fine.

I think she was around 2 years 10 months when she gave it up but actually our dentist was pretty relaxed about it and said he wouldn't be worried as long as she gave it up before age 4.

chickita04 · 02/01/2021 22:34

Hi!

I have just gone cold turkey with my son. He's 2 on the 5th of this month. His only ever had them to sleep at night and nap time. Never in the day. He started to chew them and completely took the top of the last half decent one so I decided I wasn't buying anymore and we'd just go for it. He was fine and was excited about being a big boy. First night he took about an hour and a half to go to sleep but didn't cry out or shout us. Just laid there trying to settle himself. But come the next day nap time completely different story! Absolutely screaming and not really asking for his dummy just really upset. His always been a good sleeper but I don't understand why his sleeping ok a night without the thing but kicking off in the day?? Helpppp

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