Ditching the dummy for toddlers
This is probably one of the biggest fears for parents. Finally, your child is sleeping well, and you have that little niggle in the back of your mind that one day soon you will need to take away their dummy. The fear that comes with that is palpable. Well the good news is I have just tested this with my own 3-year-old who has had a dummy for the past 3 years. He was very attached to it and I have been putting it off for a very long time because the thought was to scary (yes I am human too!). You have heard me ramble on about how dummies are a negative sleep association but in truth if it’s not effecting their sleep and they aren’t needing it plugged back in through the night then it’s not an issue really is it?
The only time it really becomes an issue is when they get to an age that their speech or teeth are being impacted. So, here is a log of how we went with weaning a very dependent three-year-old on their dummy.
We prepared him the day before telling that the dummy fairy was coming to take his dummies to the babies at the hospital where I work. He really liked this idea and was all for it.
The next day we did a big ceremony in which we left the dummies under the lemon tree for the dummy fairy to collect. My husband slipped outside whilst we walked back inside to count to 100. We then went back to the lemon tree to find a toy police car and rewards chart replacing the dummies. Although he was very confused to where the dummies had gone, he reacted well.
Because we did this before his lunchtime nap, I had a feeling it wouldn’t go so well being the first time, but he happily went to bed. Within an hour he was yelling out he wanted to get up. Because he has been slowly reducing his lunch naps as of a few weeks ago I was happy to get him up.
Bedtime came and he became a bit sooky for his dummies. I explained to him again that the dummy fairy come and how much the babies were so happy that he had given them up. I honestly thought I would be up all night with him, but he went straight to sleep and woke exited in the morning to put a sticker on his rewards chart because he didn’t cry all night.
The following nights were very similar in that he would get a little bit sooky at bedtime, but I would continue to tell him how amazing he was doing and encourage him.
MY TOP TIPS FOR HOW TO DEAL WITH DUMMY WEANING WITH A TODDLER ARE:
If they are still in a cot it really makes a difference as they can’t get out of the bed.
Get them excited about the event. To the point where I was dancing around Oscar’s room the next morning showing him how proud of him, I was. After all, children love to see their actions make us happy.
Choose something that is going to take away the dummy such as the dummy fairy, Santa, a mythical elf named Geoff!
Try not to harp on the sadness of the dummy. It should be exciting… after all this is technically a milestone, right?
If they have the dummy during the day and not just for sleeps, I would be cutting it right down to only bedtime for a few weeks before hand. You may need to hide them through the day.
Create a rewards chart to entice them to continue this incredible behaviour of sleeping without their dummy. This should only be used for a maximum of 2 weeks as it can lose its effect after this time.
Finally, and most importantly, pour yourself a glass of wine, heck have the whole bottle! You have just done the most dreaded job of a parent! WELL DONE!!!!!!