Dummy,How to get rid/reduce?

crockpot

Hi

My DS is now 5 and loves his dummy- but over the last 6 moths or so, he is using it more- not something I want- plus when he talks with it in, he sounds like a 2 year old.

I want to reduce useage to bed only or had though of letting him have it in his bedroom.

He knows he is too big for it and will hide them when his friends come over.

Worried about his teath although not as bad as his thum sucking brother, aged 7 1/2!!!

Any tips?

I had a dummy for bed until I went to high school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So know how attached to it he is.

crispeater

i actually got rid of dd's dummy to the dummy fairy but i think yours is a bit too old for that one lol what about a swap? is there something that he really wants (not moneysaving i know but worth a shot)
not a good idea for you but how about sleepovers everynight for a while lol

crockpot

He does not want to lose them, only allowed them to go on this long as we were going Down Under and would need them for the flight!!! It worked!

I tried to get him to give them to Santa in exchange for presents, to a friend for a new baby but will not swap them.

pipkin71

I think that saving them for bedtime is a good idea. That way, there is no pressure on any of you, and your son can give them up when he is ready without feeling forced to give them up.

My dds never had dummies, but dd2 still has a blanky which lives in her room.

A sleepover every now and then also sounds like a good idea.

Regards
Pipkin xxx

TAG

I had this with DD2. She was 4 at Christmas and was still having a bottle :eek: plus a dummy. :eek:

Anyway, we told her that Father Christmas was going to swap her bottle for presents. Which, with all the excitment over Christmas she accepted and we had no problems. :T

So we decided to do the same at Easter with the dummies. Had to do a massive 'dummy hunt' as we had aquired quite a few.

Because she knew that the Easter Bunny was going to swap them for Easter Eggs she more or less had one welded to her mouth permanatley for the week before Easter.

The Easter Bunny duly swapped them for LOTS of eggs. She did ask a day or two later when was the Easter Bunny going to give them back. But I told her that he'd given them to all the poor child that didn't have enough dummies. Which thankfully she accepted and has never asked again.

Now I know that Christmas and Easter are ages away yet but maybe you could coincide it with a birthday or going on holiday?

Hope that helps a bit!

Rachie_B

I went cold turkey with my son when he was 3

he was showing no signs of giving it up on his own ! and there was no way he was going to school with one / asking for one !

I took all dummies away and left a gift for him the next day for being a "big" boy

My niece had her dummy til gone age 5 and i just thought it odd TBH ! as for having one til age 11 ?!!!!

they dont "need" it and from say 3.5 - 4 you can actually sit and explain to them / they understand more

what about a compromise ? ditching the dummies but going and buying a special comforter for bed time ? soft toy,special light etc ?

good old bribery works

Good luck !

ETA you are quite right to worry about his teeth / speech !

IMO its not so bad if a childs comforter is a blanket / special soft toy etc,
as it doesnt harm their teeth !

and many children / adults ! have a soft toy for bedtime etc

looneyleo

I would think by the age of 5 the dummy really should be gone. I would just go cold turkey on it eith maybe a swap for a toy etc that would ease the blow. You will need to get rid of all the dummies in the house, cut them up and put them in the bin. Brace yourself for a couple of days/nights of hassle and then it will all be over and done with. If he is feeling embarrased of it now, it's a good time to get rid by saying "none of your friends have them and you don't want them to think of you as a baby " etc etc etc. Be firm an stand solid on this one...it will pass very quickly... Good luck

Little_Miss_Saver

My DS was about 3 when he gave his dummy to mummy bird to give to the baby birds in the garden!!! He was quite happy with this arrangement until he went to bed that night but he soon got used idea that it wasn't coming back and he was quite proud when he told people where it had done.

It took a week of tears and tantrums but I was glad that I stuck it out and didn't cave in.

Good Luck

LMS xx

Katie~baby

My dd had hers till she was almost 3 we tried the santa thing to no avail. Then 2 weeks later we were shopping and she dropped her dummy on the floor and told me to pick it up, i told her to she told me to, you get the picture.
Anyway nethier of us would pick it up so she no longer had a dummy! She did create for a few nights but i wasnt giving in. It was affecting her speech and i thought she was getting to big for it.

As your ds is 5 i would deffo say cold turkey. He's a big boy now so you can reason with him but be firm and stick to your guns. I would take it away permanatly as well might as well do it all in one go rather than limit him to bedtimes which by the sounds of it he's not going to like then go through it all again when you want him to get rid of it.

Good luck!

fluffyscruffy

I told my daughter that when she got too big for her dummy it would start to taste horrible...then sneakily painted it with anti nail biting solution...job done!!
A bit evil, I know, but it worked!

Katie~baby

Thats a good one as well, worked with a few of my friends kiddies! Marmite was one cause he hated it! lol