Practitioners working in early years settings strive to provide babies with the best start in life, supporting their communication, wellbeing and emotional development – including soothing them with a comforter such as a blanket, toy or dummy. Parents often introduce dummies with the best intentions, as they can quickly help soothe and comfort their baby during their early months. However, as professionals in early years, practitioners understand the wider impact of prolonged dummy use. By building trusted relationships with parents through the key person approach, practitioners are in the best position to confidently support a sensitive transition when ditching the dummy, without imposing any blame or judgement.

Weaning a baby off a dummy can be challenging, as it often becomes a reliable source of comfort and self-soothing. The ideal time for beginning this transition is between six and twelve months as babies start to form stronger attachments, develop communication skills and become more social. Some organisations, such as The Lullaby Trust, support guidance based on research that suggests dummy use may offer protective benefits during sleep to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). However, this is during babies’ early stages of life and during sleep, therefore reducing their reliance during waking hours should begin between this time to help reduce their dependence on a dummy for comfort.

So, why is it important to ditch the dummy early?

There are several reasons why parents should support their babies and toddlers to transition from dummy, involving health, safety and developmental implications - if used for a prolonged time and throughout their waking hours. As social beings, babies and toddlers rely on adults and peers to engage in responsive interactions, building connections, strong relationships and attachments through positive moments of serve and return. They learn early social rules through these interactions and begin to practise babbling and sound play as they develop speech and communication, and by being tuned in to their different sounds, adults begin to learn what they may need or want. As babies’ emotional brains are developing, they rely heavily on adults to adopt a sensitive, relational approach for co-regulation to help share their calm and support them to feel comforted and emotionally secure.

 

What are the health and safety implications, and how can they be avoided?

• Open bite
  When introducing a dummy, parents should opt for an orthodontic design to support healthy dental development. Prolonged use of cheery shaped teats could contribute to an open bite and misaligned teeth - depending on the frequency and duration of use.
• Ear health
  Dummy use has been linked to an increased risk of inner ear infections (otitis media).
• Skin irritation
  Rashes may develop around your baby’s mouth due to saliva and dirt becoming trapped behind the dummy.
• Tooth decay
  Avoid dipping dummies in, or giving babies their dummy after sugary foods or drinks, as this can lead to tooth decay.
• Dummy clips and straps
  These can pose a strangulation risk if wrapped around a baby’s neck. Always remove them when a baby is resting or sleeping. Always supervise babies when they are wearing one.

How can practitioners support babies in an early years setting?

Practitioners play a fundamental role in caring for babies and helping them to flourish and develop relationships, healthy habits and skills for now and their future. The key is to first develop trusted, secure relationships with parents and families to form strong partnerships which will help with them to be on board to receive professional advice and guidance. By providing an enabling environment that offers opportunities for communication and interaction, and by adopting a consistent relational approach across the team, practitioners can ensure that all members are responsive through caregiving practices and sensory exploration. By supporting babies as co-regulators, rather than relying on objects, practitioners lay the foundations for babies and toddlers to have the best possible start.

Frequent daytime dummy use may slightly affect speech sound development by reducing opportunities for babbling and practising sounds, although any related errors typically resolve as children grow older. However, it is important to note that many speech difficulties can also arise from factors unrelated to dummy use, so it is not a direct cause of long-term speech problems (Speech and Language UK). Although, when used often throughout the day, a dummy can act as a “speech stopper”, limiting opportunities for communication and sound play. As children’s vocabulary and language skills develop, reliance on a dummy may also make them less likely to remove it when interacting with others. Talking with a dummy in the mouth can restrict tongue movement, making it harder for babies to produce sounds such as t, d, n, l, and s. This can affect speech clarity and make it more difficult for others to understand your child. This can cause frustration when they are unable to communicate clearly, which can impact children’s wellbeing and behaviour, sometimes leading to conflict with others.

If parents continue to struggle to ditch the dummy, gradually reduce dummy use by limiting it to sleep times and involve them in the process - for example, by letting them choose a special dummy pot (ensuring it is cleaned and sterilised daily). For many babies and toddlers, this is a significant transition, so it should be approached gradually to minimise distress. Start by encouraging them to remove their dummy when speaking, offering choices to help them feel empowered and in control.

You could say:

• “I can’t hear what you’re saying - shall we put your dummy in your pocket or in your pot?”
• “I’d love to sing together, but I can’t hear your beautiful voice with your dummy in. Where can we keep it safe?”

This keeps the interaction positive and avoids negative language.

Some parents try strategies such as sending the dummy to a “dummy fairy,” giving it to Santa or the Easter Bunny, or cutting the dummy so it can no longer be used. These approaches are not recommended. Children often form strong attachments to their dummy as a source of security, and sudden removal can be confusing and distressing. It may undermine trust and lead to anxiety, frustration, and disrupted sleep. A gradual, supportive approach is more effective - working with the child in a way that feels secure and predictable. By ditching the dummy babies and toddlers gain connection, communication and confidence – parents are not giving anything away, they are giving something back. The key is to take small steps, involving them in decision-making, and respect the attachment they have formed. A dummy can even transition into a keepsake; a child may choose to store it in a special box or give it to a teddy for safekeeping. Over time, they will naturally move from wanting to suck it, to holding it, and eventually to letting it go.

References

• The Lullaby Trust – Dummies
• Myth-busting: Dummies - Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives