h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well being the mum of a overactive, overtired child, who will not go for a nap at all. Who also relies on a dummy to get her through the day, I have had to think of many things to get us both through the day with sanity intact.
Children get bored easily, its a well known fact, so instead of giving her all her toys in one go I always find giving her them in stages, she has less reason to be bored.
Also you do it this way and she learns more things in one day rather than being bored, which leads to strain

I have also found making toys together helps (and saves money) instead of buying noisy toy which can cost a fortune in the shops. I found that even if my daughter is destructive these toys are brilliant. If you have an empty pringle box, some rice and selotape. Then you can make a truely facinating toy that keeps them amused for hours. You can them brighten it up with wrapping paper. Also a plastic plant pot and some cling film, you can make a pretty cool drum, that again can be hard for them to destroy.


Even though i seem to have all the answers for keeping her amused, I am stumped on how to get her off this thing that is permiantly attached to her mouth (the dummy). If anyone can help, lease let me know

We couldn't believe our luck when our two year old son told us there was a worm living in his dummy.
Since then he has completely refused to put one in his mouth. He still holds one in his hand when he goes to bed at night, but that's fine by me.
He keeps inspecting his little sisters dummys to make sure they are ok for her, awww bless him

I would say that the best way to get any child to do something it doesn't want to do, is to offer a reward of some sort. Promise them a day at the park or zoo or something if they can last the night without a dummy.
Just try and praise them when they don't have the dummy in their mouth. saying 'aren't you a good girl, because you havent had your dummy in you can have a treat' They soon realise they are better off without it.

Don't take it away completely until they are ready fo that, it will only lead to more stress and more dependancy on it.

I read that you could try removing it from her mouth once she falls asleep, so she gets used to waking up without it, but in my experience, taking it out often wakes them up, and so you both end up with sleepless nights.

Try and get her in a better routine if you can, so she isn't so over tired, then you'll find it much easier to stop her using the dummy.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

Simon the

My 10 month old will not go down for naps in the daytime unless she is cuddled, then she'll sleep in my arms. This is obviously a complete pain as any movement wakes her and if she is woken up from a nap before she is ready, she goes into orbit!

I had asked what controlled crying was on another thread and it is something that I'm going to give a go to in the hope that it will help me get her to have some much needed day time sleep.

If she doesn't get enough naps in the day she is a nightmare - she becomes more and more over-stimulated, fractious (excuse the spelling of that one) and cries endlessly and I have to either hold her until she sleeps, or keep her amused to take her mind off her tiredness. It sounds like you are doing the same.

I need to get a better daytime routine for my daughter which involves some naps. I think Simon is right, if you can do the same, your little girl may be less tired, and more able to cope with the dummy being a less permanent fixture.

Good luck

i have to admit, i have tryed taking the dummy out once she is asleep, and it doesnt sem o be a problem. she is ok if she akes. i have found that since i got leah into a bed rather than a cot the naps seem to stop. she does play in her room with the door shut, but she will not sleep, i have read a brilliant book called toddler taming, by dr. christopher green, and even though i dont live by books on bringing up children. sometime these books are a great source of help.
Unfortunatly Leah always ends up being ill when we take the dummy off her, and if we do take it off her during he day, you cannot then mention the word "dummy" or she automatically wants it then and there!!
thanks for he advice though. and the controlled rying technique is a good way to go as long as you know it takes alot of strain to be able to pull it off.
good luck to yourself as well and thank you again

Dom relies on his dummy a lot, but I think that he'll lose interest in it eventually. He probably won't have it when he's seven - hopefully not anyway!