When and how did you stop the dummy at one?

[FlowerPuffGirly]

My one year old has had a dummy since he was about 4 months old and only uses it for naps and bedtime - I’m not sure when we should give this up! The NHS says give up before one for speech development and teeth, but will these be affected if we’re only giving the dummy during sleep times? He sleeps very well for naps and nighttime with his dummy and I’m terrified that if I take it away, it will completely ruin his sleep.

When and how did you get rid of the dummy? I’m especially looking for tips for 1 year olds because he doesn’t understand “giving dummy to dummy fairy” etc tips that I’ve seen online as he’s too young.

My parents were looking after my son when he was about 14 months old. My dad forgot to give him the dummy and couldn’t understand why he cried a bit longer than usual. Just didn’t give it back after that…..

My DS only ever dummies for naps and bedtime and so I let it go way past 1 year. I can't actually remember when he dropped the dummy..possibly around 2 and a half? By then, we could do the whole dummy fairy thing, and he had a good routine with plenty of other sleep cues in place so it really wasn't a big issue.
He's now 18 with perfect teeth and his speech has always been fine too...a bit too annoyingly chatty at times!

In your position, I really wouldn't worry about it yet. If the dummy means he sleeps well, then crack on. You could try putting him to sleep without it when he gets to 1 year old and see what happens but honestly, I think the guidance about teeth and speech is really aimed at babies who use dummies constantly, but if you're just using it as a sleep aid, and doing all the good stuff about to encourage speech development etc then it shouldn't be an issue.

The "rule" I've heard is to take it away before 6 months, or wait until they understand something like the dummy fairy.

If it's only used for sleep, then I think it's probably okay. It's when they have it in their mouth 24/7, that it's a problem.