I think 8 month old is still very early to take the dummy out. I waited until my DD was about 1.5 to take it off. It was very easy and she after 2 days she was ok without it.

We did it cold turkey at 5 months. Took 3 days.

My school friend’ younger sister didn’t have a dummy but sucked her finger. By the time she was 3 she was putting 3 fingers in her mouth. They tried painting her nails with horrible tasting stuff – that didn’t work. In the Summer it was too hot to put her hands in gloves. There was no airconditoning in their home. During the night if one of the parents weoke up they would go in and gently take her fingers out of her mouth. She did it day and night. They tried rewards but that wasn’t successful either. When she was old enough she didn’t only have braces on her teeth she had other equipment too becuase she pushed her jaw out of alignment. It is better to have to go through the dramas refusing a dummy. Re the bottle, when the time comes that you want to get rid of it, you may get around that by telling your toddler that he/she is getting big and only babies have bottles. Introduce a leakproof sippy cup, at the next stage pop top bottles are good if you need a drink bottle in the car unless the top is up they don’t leak. We saved some and washed them thoroughly to get rid of the fruit drink smell/flavour from it. Ours were taught to drink from a plastic “glass” at a fairly toddler stage in case we visit somebody who offered them a drink – but we held the glass in the early stages. They were taught to either stand still or sit down to have their drink too. The same applies to food.

ask to be able to wrap it up like a present and give it away to grandma (for the bin lol)

Both my boys were dummy obsessed at that age. At 1yr we encouraged using a comforter (blankie) & started limiting usage to bedtime, when sick or really upset. A couple of months later we restricted it more to sleep only while encouraging using blankie to settle. At 18mths they weren’t obsessed anymore so one day dummy just disappeared, it took a couple of days for them to get used to it but all up very little fuss.

My daughter was nearly three when i forced her to give it up, she was old enough to understand when i explained to her the easter bunny was going to take it and her nightly bottle, in exchange for eggs. I then gave her a cup with a straw in it and she never asked for her dummy or bottle again. I wouldnt stress to much . I know they say to get rid of the dummy as ealy as possilble but she still has perfect teeth compared to my son who never wanted a dummy.

We cut the teets and christmas was coming up so we gave them to santa in exchange for gift, worked a treat in our case. Goodluck!

Another vote for try not to stress and kids will grow out of it before you know it. My eldest preferred her thumb, but had a dummy i took away at about 18 months as i was worried about teeth & speech. I chopped the tip and said it was broken. For my twins, they still have it at night at 2&1/2. Stopped giving it to them for day sleeps about a yr ago and no probs. they often wake in the morning and its dropped out overnight but theyre not fussed and dont wake looking for it. I figure they’ll get less attached to the dummy and more to their blankies over time.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I think I’m going to try get him off it before he turns one. His starting to teeth so he uses it as a soothing aid for his gums. I’ve bought him teething rings so hopefully he will stop with dummy and his fingers.

My daughter used a pacifier until she was two. One day I told her that the dummy was broken and that I had to throw it away. She accept this and never asked for it again.

I was very fortunate both my kids didn’t really like the dummy ( probably due to the rubber taste ) . Anyway my son had a favourite pink elephant ( yes pink ) that a cousin gave us and he loved sucking on the trunk and it used to be his bedmate everytime he slept. So maybe susbstitute the dummy for a safe toy he can suck on. My daughter just loved her thumb and there was a particular time when she was addicted to it , but she did eventually grew out of it . Good luck and hope you find a solution .

My daughter had just turned three when I was finally able to get it from her. I just had to bite the bullet and keep it off her for a few days than she found it and threw it in the bin as she didn’t want it any more. The tantrums, crying and screaming didn’t seem worth it in the moment didn’t seem worth it but in the end it was. I hope you have an easier time than what I did. Good luck.

Definitely looking for advice on this as well. My daughter never had one so it wasn’t a problem. My son on the other hand is 12 months old and heavily attached.

Thanks for reassurance. I tend to worry a bit too much.

These things normally stop in their own time. Mine sucked thumb until 3 years. I was concerned, but with hindsight needed have been. Teeth, speech and everything else is just perfect.