Any tips for Amelia, “My son is 2 and a half, and can’t sleep without a dummy. How do we remove it and still get some sleep? heeeeeeelp”
We put this question to our facebook community, there was a variety of comments ranging from going ‘cold turkey’ and toughing it out with a few rough and unsettled nights sleep, slowly breaking the dummy so toddler was less likely to want it, gifting it to a new baby, or putting it under pillow for dummy fairy to collect. We love the idea of gifting it to a new baby (while not actually being re-used by another child as that would be gross) is a great idea and logical step, because you can put the dummy in a box and physically give it to another new baby which gives some closure, without having to directly lie about fairies. Another response was that the child would stop using the dummy when they are ready – as you don’t see kids at school walking around with them – but many parents would worry about the damage to developing teeth for such a duration.
Read the shared comments from other mums below
—-
My son was obsessed with his. Was starting to affect the shape of his bite. So I gradually started putting pin pricks in it until “uh oh broken ” and he threw it in the rubbish just before he turned 3. He wasn’t comprehending the dummy fairy story so went with this instead. He only mentioned it a couple times afterwards
—-
Our kids gave it up when they were ready, our youngest daughter, we let her have hers as we were doing a lot of travelling and it was comforting for her, but she just eventually stopped asking for it, she only had it at bedtime and rest time, then one day i realised she hadn’t asked for it for a few nights! She uses the last dummy she had left for her doll!
—-
We told ours a few weeks leading up to it that we would be getting rid of them. We got each of them a small toy they could have at night instead. It’s a tough couple nights, but they adjust really quickly.
—-
We did the dummy fairy trick too, we even googled a photo of a baby with a blue dummy and printed it out to show him the little baby now has his dummy and the fairy left him a thank you gift and he never looked back. He was just about to turn 3 so am sure a 2.5 year old could comprehend?
—-
My girl was 3 1/2. We left them out for Santa to give to another baby. Could maybe try with easter bunny. She asked for it once after so we reminded her santa took it. Never asked again
—-
We did it incrementally with my twins. First built them up with loads of praise and how big they were and didn’t need their dummy to get to sleep any more, then made them wait 5mins after bedtime before we gave it to them. After a day or two then 10 min etc etc. Only took a week or so and they didn’t need them any more.
—-
My girl was 2, had her first dentist appointment and they said it was affecting her teeth so I said she was a big girl now and didn’t need it. Had 2 nights of restless sleep then sweet after. I may be lucky but it worked for me be brave mama, sometimes you have to be the meanie
—-
When my son was around 3years old I let him put his dummy by the door and when he woke up he had a special box with treats that the fairy left. We explained that the fairy took the dummy to another boy who was younger and needed one it. My sister sent a voice note in a funny voice saying thanks for your dummy I’ll take it to another boy enjoy your treats. But it depends on how well your son comprehends things. This might work for him at 2.5yrs or in a few months time. Goodluck
—-
We planted the dummy fairy idea in our girls head for a few weeks and each night before bed we asked if she was ready to send her “nummy” to the fairy and get a present in return. Eventually she said yes and she got a little lion and giraffe figurine sent to her from the fairy. This was when she was nearly 2.5 I think. Taking it too soon backfires so it helps to let them decide I think. Same approach with potty training for us! Whatever works best for your family & don’t worry what others think about it
—-
I snipped a slither off the end of my boys when he was 2…and then “oh no, it’s broken” after awhile he started using it again so I cut a decent chunk off. He tried it once after that and wasn’t interested so he chucked it in the bin saying it was broken
—-
We just did cold turkey with ours each time and rode it out for a couple of days.
—-
My boys had a dummy at night till they were 3ish, they just gave it up themselves and I just didn’t replace them when they lost the air inside the dummy, so not as nice to suck when its flat!
—-
Why are you wanting to get rid of it? For him or for you:) he will ditch it when he’s ready
—-
We talked about it the week before but did the “on your 3rd birthday dummy goes in the bin and then you get a special birthday present” …She put it in the bin on the morning of her birthday by herself. She cried heart broken on and off for an hour that night but then only 10 15mins the next night and since then has a special snuggly toy in bed she chose to attach to.
—-
Does he wake if it comes out during the night? Is it just used at night and not during the day? Does he have a specific dummy that he likes? Could you swap to a non-preferred style so he doesn’t like it as much
—-
We were surprised at how easy it was to get rid of the dummies for our three kids. I was expecting a battle, but it was a complete non-event each time.
—-
We told them a story about the dummy fairy, made a big deal of hanging the dummy in the tree outside for the fairy to collect and told them we were proud of them for being big enough to sleep without a dummy. Absolutely no dramas and we found there was less night time disruption trying to find a dummy in the dark.
—-
He will ditch when he’s ready. Just plant the seed “when your a big boy you wont need a dummy” and leave it at that
—-
We did a ‘dummy fairy’ for our boys – although they were close to 3yo. Place the dummy under their pillow (you’ll need to stay with them while they fall asleep) and in the morning the dummy fairy will have taken their dummy (for another baby who doesn’t have one) and traded it for a special toy. The first night without the dummy was rough but both my boys only had one rough night then were absolutely fine.
—-
I wouldn’t stress about it – kids lose their dummies when they are ready – not many adults walking around using one!
