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Any tips on how to wean my 14 month old from a dummy? Is now the right time? Do you have any tips on weaning from a dummy?

Posted by Lisa, 11/06/13

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  • When you decide to do it… Cold turkey. Eliminate all from the house, it’s hard for about a week of a night time but Bub will get use to it. But if you don’t get rid of them all at once you may be tempted to give one of a night time.

    If you want to do a more soft approach, take it away during the day time and only of a night time. Then once dummy falls out after Bub goes to sleep take it out of the cot and don’t give it back until bed time the following night


  • Gradually try and take it off her and distract her with something else is possible


  • I should be an expert on this. We weaned my son 3 times in the end. I found the easiest way was to just tell him they went to the babies. Dummys are for babies and we sent them to all the little babies. He likes the idea that someone was getting use out of them


  • Hope this has been resolved for you.


  • I’m about to try the dummy fairy with my 2 year old, wish me luck!


  • I used the dummy fairy but mine were much older. How did you go?


  • How did you go with weaning your baby?


  • I agree RACH has said it all!


  • What ever u choose to do u need to stick with it and. Of give in to tantrums.


  • Rach has a lot of useful tips


  • There’s so many different methods for weaning, I had to try a few before I found one that worked. Good luck


  • I said the birds took it. Only had tanties for two days when it was sleep time. Then totally forgot bout it


  • Good luck :-)


  • Taking candy from a baby might be easy, but pacifiers are another story entirely. If you have a toddler or even a preschooler holding tight to the bink, you’re not alone: pacifier weaning is a common challenge. While dental problems generally won’t result from pacifier use unless the habit continues beyond age 3, many parents find that pacifier weaning is easier before a child reaches 2 years old. (If you’re concerned, though, check with your pediatric dentist.) For a smooth transition, try these brilliant pacifier-weaning strategies from Circle of Moms members.

    Keep reading.

    1. Snip the Tip

    One of the most popular pacifier-weaning tricks is cutting off the pacifier’s tip. After the ability to suck is removed, many children quickly lose interest. Try telling your child that the pacifier is broken, and let her throw it away. If the initial snip doesn’t do the trick, moms like Christina M., a mother of one son, suggest gradually cutting off more of the pacifier: “I tried cutting the end of the pacifier off a little bit every few days until there was nothing for him to suck on, and then he didn’t really want it anymore.” Just be careful that your child isn’t chewing off pacifier pieces, which could be a choking hazard.

    2. Swap Soothing Items

    “Try replacing the pacifier with something else that can give her security,” suggests Kate G. While a child may not instantly forget her pacifier, many moms found that alternative soothing items did eventually replace the pacifier. “I replaced the pacifier with a ‘sleep blanket.’ The first couple of nights/naps she would cry for about 10 minutes, but her blanket against her face kept her warm and happy eventually,” says Angela C.

    3. Gradually Reduce Use

    While some moms advocate a cold-turkey approach to pacifier weaning, others like Meredith Z. find that gradually limiting pacifier usage is successful: “First, we limited pacifier usage to inside the house, then only to sleep time, then only to overnight, and then we said ‘let’s try bedtime without your bink just for tonight,’ and after the first night, he only asked for it once, and then he was totally fine. We just made sure we stuck to our rules, and let him be comfortable at each level before restricting bink usage more.”

    4. Get Help From the Pacifier Fairy

    Another popular pacifier-weaning tactic is to have a make-believe character reward the child for giving away their pacifiers. Sarah M., mother of two girls, shares: “Say that the Dummy Fairy will come and take them and give them to new babies that need them. Then you leave a special ‘big girl’ present in the basket for them when they wake up.” Other moms, including Linnea F., use characters the kids already believe in: “My kids all gave theirs to the Easter Bunny for little ones who need binkies and don’t have them. This would also work with Santa. We still had some withdrawal cries, but it didn’t last.”

    5. Trade For Toys

    Instead of having imaginative characters bring a child a reward, some moms advocate openly trading the pacifier for a prize. “Take her to Toys ‘R’ Us and let her pick out a toy in exchange for the pacifier,” suggests Janice D. “It worked for me two times. You may have a few days that are a bit rough, but then it will be fine.” Other moms also had their child “pay” the cashier with a pacifier for the toy — just discuss this with the cashier in advance to make sure she’s game.

    6. “Lose” the Pacifier

    After Melissa C. misplaced her daughter’s pacifier, she realized that simply pretending to lose it would be a good pacifier-weaning strategy. “Maybe if you somehow ‘lose’ yours and have him help you look for it and don’t find it, it’ll let him know that you care enough to help him, even if you can’t fix it.” Dawn D. says she used the same weaning tactic. “I just told her we lost it and we’d look, but then she was OK with ‘we lost it’ and in two weeks she forgot all about it.”


  • take it away a little at a time


  • 14 months is still pretty young – if you don’t have a problem with it, then I’d leave them with a dummy. Slowly get them down to only 1 in the house, then “lose” that one. They won’t even notice it’s gone!


  • i wouldn’t think its a big issue now, if it gives them comfort, keep it up. As long as it doesn’t become obsessive I think its ok and if by 2 -3 its still around, you could always give it to santa as a present ;)


  • I waited till she had gotten most of her baby teeth in and by that time she was leaving it behind anywhos so one day poof it was gone lol


  • We’ve made the decision to wait until the trauma of curing teeth is over as we don’t want to take away something he relies on for comfort when he really needs it. Try cutting it back at first? Only allow it in the cot for sleeps..?


  • there was a post about this last month and lots of suggestions on there – worth a read.


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