Removing comfort items from 2 1/2 yr old

My youngest son is 19 months and he has a dummy (his 'gama gama' as he calls it) I am leaving him to out grow it on his own as I made the mistake of taking away my eldest son's 'doek' (cloth nappy) away too young as he then started sucking his thumb all the time!!!! He always did suck his thumb but only at sleep time in his cot when he has his 'doek' with him. In my scan pics he was always sucking his thumb too!

He will be 7 next week and the thumb sucking has not stopped. He sucks it when he sleeps and if he is troubled.

The last couple of weeks have been hard for him (completely different subject) and the thumb sucking has been so intense that he actually keeps me awake at night with the sucking noise from down the passage!

In my opinion I think it is best to allow little ones to out grow their comforts.

Sorry to hog your thread but any one know if I should stop my older son from stop sucking his thumb, if I actually could, or shall I just leave him, surely he won't still be sucking his thumb when he reaches adult hood?!?!? But with the way things are going now I sometimes wonder if he will ever stop, after all he is almost 7!

I would say don't do it!
My son also is attached to his dummy and his "noonoo" (baby sense taglet)
Really I'd say time limit them to more of bedtime only or in the house only if you wish, but really I don't see an issue with them.
I am a blankie child and I needed mine for a while because of several bad things that happened as a child - but I also knew in bed only.
I am leaving my son with things - also I have a baba due in Dec I honestly don't want him feeling like I took everything away cos baby is coming, so I am allowing it. i honestly doubt he'll need them when he starts school, and if he does I'll deal with it then!
Allow baba to be a baba - their innocence is taken away with so many other things way too early now a days!

Hi Kimika

Joshua has a fluffy dog, Oscar. Oscar goes everywhere... Just a few months ago I sat him down and explained that Oscar can't go everywhere and what'll happen if Oscar gets lost???
Well, I started gradually, in the mornigs when we get to school He says bye to Oscar. He kisses and cuddles and waves bye. Then in the afternoon he knows that Oscar is waiting.

With regards to the milk, I stopped that too. J gets a bath at 7pm. Then sits on my lao and drinks bottle and 7:30 sleep time. The bottle was more comfort than anything else. Last week, J had a seroius bug and I stopped the milk feed. It's been almost a week and he seems to have forgotten about it. I spoke to his paed and he agreed that now might be a good time to stop the milk bottle. Now he only gets juice, balck rooibos(I don't take sugar and do not offer it to J either), or water.

Sometimes he'll ask for a drink at night before bed then I offer water. With all the new things happening, he also uses a cup more often than a bottle. Dh tends to offer water/tea bottle as he says J messes

Taking his comfort things away will def be traumatic. Why do you want to remove it? I find that J is alot more independent and not necessarily as clingy as he used to be. Goodluck!!!!

I was talking to my therapist about this because Dylan is 2.8 months and has a night dummy, blanket, book, toy etc etc. We managed to get him to leave all of the above at home during the day but still.

She said that at this age they undergo major adjustments as their ego's form and it is critical that they keep their comfort items. Maybe you should think of it as a transitional item rather as they move from toddler to pre schooler.

And trust me they find substitues which are less than desirable. Dylan now bites his nails.

My friend A's son, sucked his dummy until he was +5 - but only when he lay on his parent's bed.

He just liked the comfort of it.

But the dummy never went anywhere else.

I have very little advise here - my daugher is 2 and she sucks her thumb and has a "doggie" that cannot be taken from her.

But that being said --- I have seen the method of putting the dummy/blanket/what ever in the cot/bed and the only time child uses it when they are in bed i.e. attach it with one of those dummy cords or something.

That way the child uses it less, over time, and eventually the child will be able to part from it.

I will confess we did "fast breaks" with our kids - decided on a day, kids took their bottles and threw them away and then we moved on.

But THAT is not going to work with my 2 year old daughter, unless I cut her thumbs off and have the "doggie" kidnapped ......

Maybe the slow desensitising will work .... or maybe not ..........

Hi ladies

I need some advice pls!

My son is 2 1/2 now and still drinks milk to go sleep. He also still sucks his dummy AND has a comfort "doedoe" blankie thing. It hasnt bothered me so much before but its come to a point where he wakes us up for a sip of milk or to find his comfort items. And he walks around with them during the daytime.

The milk I can remove the easiests.. but Im worried about taking away his doedoe.. he uses the tag of the thing to soothe when he sleeps and when he is upset. How to I take it away without him suddenly needing it to soothe??? Wont it be terribly traumatic? I thought by now he would outgrow it but he is not..

Any advice would be great???!!!

xxx