DUMMY WEANING

Medically the optimal range of time for dummy weaning is around two and a half years.

Dummy sucking is a way of selfpacifying.
From a psychological point of view it can reoccur in the following situations:               
               
                Parents are getting divorced – a pain of parting develops;
                The family enlarges – a baby arrives;
                The common environment alters – a moving takes place;

                All this may cause that dummy weaning happens later then at the age of 2.5 years.
                Yet when starting kindergarden (age 3) the dummy should be weaned.

Suggestions for nice dummy weaning –rituals:

                1) In some kindergardens there is a dummy tree where
                    you may hang up your dummy, as there is a big 
                    girl/boy by now and there is no more need for a
                    dummy.
                2) Mom or Dad or Granny/Grandpa can shoot the dummy up
                    into the sky at New Year’s Eve.
                3) The dummy together with a letter is tied to a
                    (gas-filled) balloon rising to the sky, and in the letter
                    the finder is asked to dispose of the dummy.             
                4) The dummy is put into a bottle together with a letter
                    and then a message in a bottle swims away. The finder
                    is asked to dispose of the dummy.
                5) The dummy fairy is phoned and she fetches the dummy
                    so that there are sufficient dummies again for
                    the little babies.
                6) Children who are ready to give away their dummy are
                    visited by the fairy each day for one week.
                    She comes with a pair of scissors and each day she
                    takes a little piece of the dummy. In return for giving it
                    away the fairy usually has a gift or the child.
                7) The dummy can also be put into the kangaroo-mascot’s
                    pouch at our surgery and for giving the dummy
                    away the child is rewarded with a song.
                8) Sometimes even the Easter bunny or Father Christmas
                    help to fetch the dummy and again the child receives
                    an “extra-gift”.
                9) By painting the dummy you can of course brighten up
                    all the give away-rituals.Thus the little children’s hands
                    say good-bye another time to the beloved dummy
                    in a creative way.                   
              10) Furthermore tongue playing can be an alternative to dummy sucking
                    by providing the still dummy sucking child with novel mouth– and
                    tongue experiences, such as touching lips, lip humming, siren lips,
                    propeller lips (and so let melodies bubble), whistling, smacking,
                    kissing, blowing up ballons, blowing cotton wool balls into a goal,
                    balancing a single noodle on one’s upper lip etc.        
               
              All dummy weaning rituals can be accompanied by a dummy-weaning-
              rhyme (like rap), such as:
                                 “Ich werf’ den Schnulli in den Gulli und die Windel auf den Müll,
                       weil ich groß bin und alleine in den Kindergarten will.“
                   The English translation of this rhyme cannot exactly mime the rhyme, but
             endeavors to relate at least an idea of what it is about:
                            “I dump the dummy into the drain and the diaper onto the garbage,
                   because I am big and want to go to kindergarden on my own.”
               
             (All ideas and authorship by Mausini )

KAMILLA recommends the dummy “Curaprox” (available in all pharmacies).