Mine had one for about 6 months. Used it only bat sleep time and gave it up himself at around 9 or 10 months.
Each to there own but 8 years is a bit too old to be using one still, unless there are special needs involved. Needs comfort from something else, like a stuffed toy or something.

Bin the dummies then there isn’t one to give him even when he asks for it.

This is ridiculous! Sometimes you just need to show a little tough love and rip off the bandaid. What if he gets asked to a sleepover? Be pretty embarrassing if he can’t sleep without his dummy.

Cut them up and throw them in the bin. The father might chug same his mind when the kid needs braces

Each to their own when it comes to the use of dummies but it is somewhat concerning that the 8 year old finds the need to be using one, perhaps there is underlying issues which may need addressing, I personally would of been emoting the dummy a lot earlier than 8

My son never wanted dummy.my daugher is 20 months and she is using it for naps but soon we will try to take it from her

Only one of my kids had a dummy, and he basically gave it up as soon as we asked (around 3).

This mum and her husband should tackle this problem together. Because in my idea it’s a problem!
My daughter never liked the dummy, so luckily I never had this problem.

I have to agree with the dummy fairy and gift idea as suggested in the article.

I find this really sad that a 8 year old still needs so much comforting, may be a reason for this but it should have been done years ago. I never used a dummy at all. I think they are disgusting things that prevent proper development in speech, mouth and jaws. My son went from breast milk to sippy cup, no bottles, no formula, no dummies. It can be done. Shoving a dummy in babies mouths in telling them they don’t want to be heard. I would suggest this lady needs to take this problem into her own hands without husband or mother in law, talk with her son, get him talking or even singing a song before bed, he can’t do this with a dummy, take it out each time and tell him to sing himself to sleep.

I think her first problem is with her husband and especially her MIL. Maybe her husband can’t see a problem because he was allowed to use one until he was the same age. It may be too late now but maybe give her son a choice of the dummy or something else he would love to have.

Engage your child in getting rid of his dummy – set a time and/or way to do it. I’d be concerned about his teeth too, and also of any issues if any school friends etc. know he still has a dummy. It should have been relinquished years ago. Perhaps find a replacement of your son’s choosing – eg a toy or night light or something.

If you can’t get an 8 yr old to give up a dummy I hate to think if the mother has control of the child in any way. Take the child shopping to get a comfort teddy or other stuffed animal & swap it for the dummy, might have a tantrum for the first few nights but the child will survive it.

Just ridiculous! She never should have let it get this far!

I’ve always avoided giving my kids dummies for this reason. I don’t want to have to wean them off yet another item when they hit two years of age. She should just toss them out and be done with it. Her child is old enough to understand and the damage they’re doing to his teeth is completely preventable.

Mine were never given one as most did not like the bottle either. Saw my son battle it out with his daughter trying to get her to stop, whenever I looked after her from age 2 1/2 I would not allow her it, Her parents decided to try harder so by her 4th birthday it was gone all together.

Just dip it in vinegar or lemon juice before you let the boy have it – he will soon not want it.

Personally i think this mum has a battle in front of her. I weaned my eldest off her dummy after her 2nd birthday because i was afraid she would try and steal her little sister’s dummy. The first night was fine. The next day she took 2 hours of crying for it to have her day nap. That was it. With the second she wasn’t really talking at 18 months so i decided to wean her then. Now she’s 3 and i can barely get her to stay quiet (not a bad thing sometimes).
Originally i thought that they would get rid of it when they didn’t need it anymore and i hated anyone trying to tell me they were too old for a dummy (at 18 months). But when i realised my eldest was trying to talk with it in her mouth and my second didn’t want to talk wit it in her mouth. I realised they had to go.

I think that 8 years old is way too late and it is now a crutch that isn’t helping his development. Time to just throw it away and deal with the fall out for a night or two then things will be fine.

I have heard of some people using the nail biting stuff that tastes bad on the dummy so the kid doesn’t want it anymore