What's the best way to wean my baby off her dummy ?

Question

She's turning 2 in January and I'm worried how it will affect her jaw and teeth.

I've tried telling her that the dummy fairies want to take it away but she's having none of it !

She only has it at night time, but doesn't like sucking her thumb.

Answer 1

My two children the first was 3 until i took it of him it was hell, i would give him it back when was up all night for it. My second was only two and we went out into the garden and grew a noo~noo(dummy) tree, he gave it water EVERY DAY for about a week then he just 4 got all about it. But plant it in to soil then when shes in bed creep out and move a plant and put it in the same place.. It does work trust me! there is a book called The Last Noo-Noo by Jill Murphy. Have a look for it

Answer 2

My daughter is 27 months and was addicted to her dummy she had it day and night! I managed to cut her down to just having it on a night time. Then when she was two she helped me make a pretty bag and we placed all her dummies inside. I'd already got her involved with the fairy stuff by buying an amazing kids book called Fairy Florics from Woolworths. And explained that the fairies didn't have dummies for their babies and really needed her help. We tied the bag to our tree in the garden and I told her that once the fairies had collected her dummies for their fairy babies they would leave her her very own pair of fairy wings. She loved it and went to bed so exicited that she was going to be a fairy she forgot about her dummy. When she woke up she found a pair of cheap £2 fairy wings tied to the tree and was over the moon. She hasn't used or asked for her dummy for just under three months now.

Answer 3

I'm not sure about dummies causing teeth deformities, but because they are soft I guess they wouldn't. How ever I do know from our daughters experience that sucking a thumb can do this. You should do some checking before you make a change like that. Hey! What harm is a dummy doing and she will grow out of it.

Answer 4

Don't start her sucking her thumb!!! That's worse - damages the teeth far more than dummies and you can never take her thumb off her. Give her dummy to Santa Claus for all the poor babies that can't sleep and have no dummies. Then be tough, she'll cry for a couple of nights but she'll surprise you at how quickly she gets over it.

Answer 5

If she is only having it at bed time I wouldn't worry too much. Sucking her thumb will definately cause problems with her teeth. Of my four, two sucked their thumbs and both have had to have orthodontic treatment. The dummy is a security thing and if it settles her at night, then so be it! I reckon in about six months time you could possibly reason with her, but I bet she will have given it up by her third birthday! My little one who is 2 and 4mnths still has hers,and has absolutely no intentions of giving it up just yet! Leave her awhile yet ... she is still little!

Answer 6

I still had my dummy and a bottle at night time when i was 5, until my mum told me that there were germs in them one night and i never touch them from that day on!
Even though i had a dummy for so long my teeth havent been affected by it.

Answer 7

She's too old for a pacifier. I don't believe for one minute that the use of the pacifier doesn't affect teeth and jaw development. I keep nursery at my church and THERE IS A DIFFERENCE in the kids' mouths that are still on them or had them too long! Both of my friend's kids had their pacifiers for years and their teeth and jaws are not right! The oldest one has really bad teeth and a cross bite (which I never heard of that- my friend was told that he needed some type of retainer or something attached to his teeth BEFORE braces) The little girl is buck-toothed. She still has her baby teeth but her teeth are protruding and are shaped like it was molded around a pacifier.

In my opinion people wait TOO LONG before trying to take them away and it becomes this big traumatic event when it doesn't have to be that way. Many parents use the pacifier to keep their kid quiet instead of dealing with them. Yes- my friend admitted that was the main reason for letting her kids have theirs so long.

Answer 8

if the dummy is an orthodontic dummy, then it will have no affect on her jaw and teeth later on, you have to be careful, sometimes you take a dummy away from a baby and they start to suck their thumbs, this causes jaw and teeth problems

The dummy is a soother and comforter, She is still young. Do not force it away, keep on coaxing her and one day she will let you toss it. But keep a spare in case she changes her mind at 2am!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

disregard that guy talking about myths!...they do effect the teeth...quite badly sometimes too! Personally I didn't wait that long to take my sons away. he was off the bottle by 1 year and within the next two to three weeks he was completely off the dummy. For one you have to make sure your not using it as a crutch for yourself...you know..everytime they cry they get it. my husband used to do that and it drove me nuts. Anyway, I'm not sure if it will work because she's so much older but what i did with my son was first of all I ONLY give it to him at night....he wouldnt sleep with out it at first. you seem to already have that down so i'll skip to the next....then start giving it only every other night for about a week then slowly take it away more and more within then last week till its gone...you HAVE to be willing to let her cry it out! She won't be happy at first but give it a few days and you'll soon see it working...try to keep her preoccupied to...maybe read her a story b4 bed or something...w/out the dummy! Just be strong. I know you may not like to hear her cry but you have to. She will make it seem worse than it is to try and make you give in. Especially if you have a habit of giving in to her temper tantrums anyway...not saying you do...just saying if. My son still cry's sometimes at night because he doesn't want to go to bed...all the dummy does is makes it easier for us to ignore the situation. Just deal with it and it will calm down. Now he may sit there for 10 minutes but then he's out like a light. Your best bet is to start now...don't procrastinate or it will get even harder. Now this may or may not work for you...it worked for me but every one's different. GOOD LUCK!! and Merry Christmas! I really hope this helps :)

Answer 10

oh god i remember this well my son was nearly 3 before he woulds sleep without it.he was ok during the day but i remember telling him it was lost and he broke his heart i said he had to try to sleep without it and i,ll never forget him saying "im trying really hard mummy"i was straight down stairs to get it!!!i just kept telling him that big boys dont have dummys eventually it was bribery said i would get him a toy car he liked if he came out to the bin lorry with me and let the man throw it in he agreed! the bin man lifted him up and let him do it himself i had a tear in my eye!!he seemed to understand that was it gone.good luck