
Ditch the Dummy in a Fun and Easy way!

Dummies: Benefits, Problems and the Solution

Benefits of using Dummies

As babies are born with a strong sucking reflex dummies can be used to help soothe and settle them. Parents are now being advised that dummies used between one month and six months can help reduce the risk of cot death. Department of health leaflets are being updated to reflect these new recommendations.

It is generally recommended that dummy use is lessened from around six months of age and that the dummy is completely gone by their first birthday. I can honestly say that we needed the dummy as much as J when he was one. We like many other parents found it easier to wait until J was old enough to understand why the dummy was gone.

Problems associated with dummy use

I had read about the problems that dummies could cause for a child of his age. They include

Incorrect positioning of teeth so that the bottom and top front teeth don't meet properly.
Tooth decay in the front teeth (in particular if the soother is dipped into juice).
Long-term dribbling could result from a tendency of children with dummies to breathe through their mouth rather than their nose.
Dummy sucking could also affect speech and language development. This is because dummies restrict tongue movements, making speech sound unclear. They can also cause a gap in the front teeth, which can cause a lisp.
Ear infections are also increased with dummy use in toddlers. Bacteria can backtrack from the mouth into the Eustachian tubes (the narrow channels that run between the ears and the throat).

We tried to give up the dummy when he was 20 months. We were really forced into the situation as J had lost it and although I searched high and low I couldn't find it before naptime. We got through that first nap so decided to go for it and not buy another dummy. For 3 days we fought every naptime and through the night, telling him over and over that it was gone and mummy couldn't find it (We ‘may' have found it on day two). I was also 7 months pregnant, my resolve was getting weaker by the hour. In an uncontrolled hormonal burst I ‘found' the dummy went to his bed and caved. That was the best night's sleep of my third trimester.

As he got older and we all settled into a routine with the new baby, she began to sleep through the night but he would wake 2-3 times asking for his dummy. I would paw around the floor in the dark looking for it praying that he wouldn't wake the baby. By the time he'd reached 2 and a half, my resolve was unbreakable but only because I had the magic of the Dummy fairy behind me.

Solutions - How do you get rid of a dummy?

Some suggestions we have heard range from the impossible bordering on child abuse!

Cutting the tips off the dummy, this apparently doesn't make it very nice to suck.
While the child isn't looking the dummy is soaked in salt or vinegar so that when its popped in their mouth it is automatically rejected by the child.
We completely failed at cold turkey. We did not prepare for it and J didn't understand.
AND finally the only one that worked for us - The Dummy Fairy. She visits your house a few days prior to taking the dummies. She asks for the dummy to be given to a new baby who can't sleep and offers a present in return for this good deed. As a teacher I found this method the most appealing. It enabled me to give my son praise, make it his decision and most importantly I could say with complete confidence, ‘you gave your dummy away. It's gone now, the dummy fairy has given you a present instead. You are a big boy J and you don't need a babies dummy anymore'.

If you have any Questions please email enquiries@dummyfairy.net and we will contact you.

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Dummies: Benefits, Problems and the solution