Weaning a 1-year-old from the Dummy

[SassyMummy]

DD loves her dummy. (Actually, she even likes the cabbage patch dolls dummy...lol).

I have no problem with her using it for when she needs to go to sleep (well, for now anyway)...but the thing is, she wants to suck on it ALL DAY LONG. There are moments when it's not in her mouth...but most of the time, she wants it.

The past 2 days I have been keeping them with me, so she can't get them unless I give her one. For a few mins she's okay...and then all of a sudden she has a MASSIVE TANTRUM! I try my best to settle her down...but all she does is slap me, and kick me and thrash herself backwards while screaming...so I cave in and hand her the dummy and everything goes back to normal. In an INSTANT!

Giving my sulky DD a dummy is like watching a movie where a mental patient is shot with a sedative...just instant relaxation. DD looks exactly like that!

I don't want her speech to be impaired as a result of her overuse of the dummy...but I don't know how to wean her from it.

DD can only say a few words...Mum, Dad, No, Nan and Dog (I think dog is the only one she uses appropriately...lol). I think she should be at least TRYING to say more by now (or at least babbling a bit...she just grunts and squeals...)...and I think the dummy is part of hte problem.

So...any advice on how to wean DD from the dummy?

[Tam-I-Am]

Couple of things: Pin the dummy to the mattress with a bit of string or ribbon (not long enough to wrap around herself and be dangers - just long enough to get into her mouth when you put her to bed). Put all other dummies but the one in the cot away - when Chanel asks for the dummy, take her into her room and say "No, its in bed - the dummy stays in bed. If you want the dummy, you have to go to bed". If she throws a tantrum - try to distract her. Anything noisy, bright or shiney will do hte trick! LOL

If that doesn't work and she still wants the dummy - put her in the cot and tell her that if she wants the dummy, she has to go to bed, because that's where the dummy is and stays. It'll be a hard couple of days - but it will work. This is what mum and dad did with us and it worked wonderfully. BTW - Claire is a couple of weeks older than Chanel (29th June was her b'day) - and she's only saying a couple of words too (Mum, dad, kitty, Bella, and, funnily enough "zat" - which I think is a shortened version of "What's that"! LOL). But she does babble a lot of the time.

Good luck with it!

[stellaj]

We did the old Santa/Easter Bunny/ Birthday fairy/whatever is coming to swap it for a present because you are a Big kid now. Worked for us with the dummy and for wearing nappies, i think the key is to talk about it a bit before it happens so they are actually excited about being 'Big" and know that it is going to happen. Then you have to throw the dummies all out otherwise she might find one or you may give in and give it back one day.

On the other hand she isn't that old to be having a dummy, not like she is 5 or soemthing and i dont think it would affect speech although i'm no expert. MAybe she still needs it for awhile longer. Gee, not much help am i?

Good Luck and Chanel is gorgeous by the way!

[StrawberryTheMilkshake]

How old were your kids when you did this? DD is 2.5 and loves her dummy... ive tried to explain but she just screams for it...and she is generally upset

[subaruforestermum]

When they start developing teeth, it can effect the way they grow. It can push the teeth outwards. (That's what I was told but the dental health nurse during birthing classes).

But as for weaning, my son is 12 months, and hasn't had a dummy since he was 7 months, i just made a game out of him throwing it away, saying yuck etc :ecomcity: , and he just didn't want it anymore. And hasn't had it since.

Hope you find the information your seeking.....tantrums are a hard thing to deal with, my son has them too..aaarrrrggggghhhh lol

[drewid]

I made the choice to remove them from the everyday...Andrew has a few that only live in his cot. If he managed to get one out of there and I see him with it in his mouth, I just yoink it out and put it back in the cot. He doesn't need it, he just likes to CHEW on them like they are chewing gum. :rolleyes: I do keep an emergency one in the nappy bag for when we go out, but for the most part, dummies are only for sleeping at the moment. I'll tackle the removing the dummy completely idea once he has been weaned, don't want to take away all the comfort at once :)

I know with Andrew at least, it is out of sight, out of mind, so I'd just persevere wiht keeping them out of Chanel's sight/mind and if you want, just restricting them to bed. She'll soon get the idea. :)

[bronny-jane]

we took dd 1's dummys _she had 5 stashed_ away one day didnt talk about them at all, she was fine, which suprised us, if she asked about it we'd say your such a big girl now like your cousin, she doesnt use dummies either:D

[jessgray]

my ds doesnt really use his dummy. i could wean it off him completly if i wanted to but i dont think he is quite ready. at daycare he only has it when he has a nap. which is pretty much the same at home but he does pop it in his mouth when he is upset and sleepy.

[Wondermum]

With the dummy thing.... your DD is still only a lil 1 yr old, so she won't really understand why you need to take her comforter away yet :crying: I know it's easy to say but if you really want to wean her off it try hard during the day not to give it to her by using distraction with something she finds intriguingly interesting or maybe try using a special drink cup or bottle with a little diluted juice in it that she can hold with her and drink from whenever she wants. With her language development.... I wouldn't say the dummy has caused a big problem. I have worked with a number of children under the age of five and also with children who have had speech/ language difficulties. Children's developmental levels vary, not all children use half a dictionary of words at this age. If your a little concerned with her limited use of words, I would concentrate on reading lots of picture books with her and making different sounds so that she can see your mouth movements. She's still learning and the words she is using at the moment are just a stepping stone for what's to come very soon. Trust me soon you won't be able to stop her :ecomcity: Bye the way my 3 yr old still has his dummy at night and has very good language pronunciation. I know a number of toddlers even at the age of 4 who have their dummy too ;) I think it comes down to what works best for you and your child ;)

[SassyMummy]

Thanks for all the replies thus far!

I've decided that she's ready to wean because she doesn't NEED the dummy...she just WANTS the dummy. I think that's the problem. I have no problems with her using one to go to sleep...but she just likes to have one in her mouth most the day, and IMO it's not really necessary. I've decided she only needs one for comfort...not just for regular daytime stuff...

I will definately try the mattress thing. I think she may be too young to understand the "big girl" thing...she may even be too young to understand the mattress thing, but at least she'll know that it's still around and not gone completely (yet).

I'll have to actively try and put up with tantrums (I'm not hte most patient person...and I too have quite a temper...so I'll have to work on that!) .

Thanks again everyone! I'll let you know how it goes...

[kerrin]

I've heard that it is harder to wean a parent off a dummy than the child. I guess the 'expert' :D that told me this was saying that the child will probably kick and scream for a while, but will eventually get over it. How the parents cope with this stage is another thing...If you make the decision to wean them off the dummy remove all temptation from the house.

[xkwzit]

My 2yo still has a dummy (I am a little irked). She wants one whenever she is tired, upset or bored. I'm leaving her with it ATM because I don't think she's old enough to understand getting rid of it (we're planning to give it to the tooth fairy to take away :D ).

I will ask her to take it out if she is trying to talk to me (which she happily does). I don't let her take it when we go out (but I do have an emergency one, which she can only have if she is in the stroller).

I just think she's a bit little yet to understand giving it up and I want her to play an active role in giving it up.

Cheers

[xkwzit]

I forgot to add:
I have asked my dentist about the dummy (as DD2 does seem to have a bit of an overbite ATM). The dentist said not to worry about it. Dummies are not as bad as thumb sucking for tooth displacement and 3 yo would be plenty early enough to ensure no permanent problems for tooth alignment.

Cheers

[ladybug]

My DD loves it too. She is addicted to it. So I decided to do something about it, and started limiting her using it. I told her that she is big now and she can only have it when she goes to the bed.

She cried a little, and I said No, and kept her busy with something else. After she woke up from her afternoon nap, she didn't want to let it go.

But, I gave her some snack :D , and made it disappeared. Then she was fine until she goes to bed for night.

Good luck