Operation Dummy Fairy
Dummies can be an important source of sanity for many new parents. Allowing them to comfort their crying baby quicker and more easily than those who don’t use dummies.
Before our daughters were born I was adamant that I would never use a dummy. I always told myself that there had to be a better way to comfort a crying baby, but when it’s 2am and you just want to sleep you’ll try anything!
When our daughters were in special care I informed all of the nurses that I didn’t want our daughters to have dummies. Imagine my horror when I arrived one morning and found a dummy in R’s cot. I was upset more than anything.
When I asked the nurse, she explained that she was trying to sort out the bottles in the milk kitchen and it was only for a few seconds. Even so I was livid. If they weren’t respecting my wishes about this what else were they doing without my knowledge?
Fast forward a few weeks and within a day or two of bringing our girls home we were using dummies!
Now that our girls are 20 months old I want to limit the amount of time they spend with a dummy in their mouth. I’ll be honest and admit that most days they have a dummy for the majority of the day and now I think it could be starting to interfere with their speech.
Both R and M already have a wide range of vocabulary, but I’ve decided that I only want them to have a dummy at nap time and bedtime. We implanted this change a few weeks ago and we’ve already started to notice a positive difference.
M doesn’t miss her dummy at all, whereas R does! She knows where they’re kept and will stand and point asking for one. I explain that they’re all gone and after a little while, R gives up.
Their speech has definitely improved and they’re both babbling more and picking up on new words quicker. I’ve also noticed that when they fall or trip they actually cry less than when they have a dummy so that’s a bonus!
I’m sure that in time they’ll get used to the idea of not having a dummy in the day and then it will be time for the dummy fairy to return at nap and bed time!
Do your children have dummies? At what age did they stop using a dummy?
2 Comments
Kim Carberry
November 18, 2013 at 12:47 pm
My girls were both about 2 when I tried to stop them using dummies….2 and a half when we they were free of them…We had visits from the dummy fairy and all the dummies were took away and a present was left….
Emily
November 18, 2013 at 7:49 pm
That's a good idea! When they're a bit older I'll try presents! Thought about getting a build a bear toy and putting the dummies inside so they know where they are, but can just cuddle the bear instead! x