Tips to help your little one ditch the dummy
Every parent of a child who loves their dummy knows that giving up this source of comfort is a challenge they will have to face sooner or later. Here are some tips to make the transition a little less terrifying.
A baby that takes a dummy is a blessing to many an exhausted parent, but once they reach toddlerhood, your little one will need to move on from their favourite soothing mechanism. By trying different strategies to reduce the attachment you can make the move. Here are a few expert tips to help your little one transition.
A few dummy modifications
Dummies are a lifesaver for many a parents of fussy babies or toddlers as the act of sucking a dummy against the palate is intensely soothing for little ones.
But, when the sensation is altered - by snipping the tip of the dummy with scissors - the association can be broken. Be prepared for some toddler tantrums regarding this change – but, stick to your guns and you may well succeed in breaking the association with comfort, sleep and the dummy.
Choose your timing carefully
You can be guaranteed that any attempts to get rid of the dummy when your child isn’t feeling well, is teething or going through some changes - like starting a new school - will be met with sheer chaos. Decide when operation ditch-that-dummy will take place and try to stick to it – just be aware you may need to shift your expectations a little. Likewise, giving up the dummy won’t necessarily happen overnight, so you’ll need to be prepared for a couple of nights of broken sleep and some resistance in your quest to ditch the dummy.
Change your little one’s association with their dummy
Some parents choose to remove the dummy altogether, others prepare their toddlers by keeping dummies for bedtime only and tackling the removal from there, by creating a boundary of a dummy in bed only. “Even if they are really miserable, your toddler should have to go to their room if they need a to use their dummy”, says Baby Sense founder, author and childcare specialist Meg Faure.
Explain the change to your toddler
Toddlers have a limited understanding of time, which is why preparation is key to them understanding that “goodbye dummy day” is coming. Use encouraging rather than punitive language and offer a reward or treat when they successfully transition out of needing a dummy. Words like “after your birthday, you’ll be three and big enough to go without a dummy” helps them to associate the transition with an occasion in their lives.
Turn it into story time
Many parents agree that a story around your toddler’s move away from having a dummy helps. From the fairies needing dummies for the baby fairies to Father Christmas needing to take dummies to the babies who don’t have any, a narrative can help a child feel empowered in the process. “Tell your toddler a story about their dummies – a story that revolves around something that simply needs the dummy more than they do…then offer a reward. Good ol’ bribery!”, says Meg.
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