Whether you call them dummies or pacifiers it has to be said, they are the biggest blessing in the world some days, and also the biggest curse. The Boy starts nursery in September and obviously it's probably already past the point of weaning him off it. If you'd have asked me a week ago I would have said I'm about ready to throw the towel in. We could make it on short outings without it but as soon as we got back through the door he'd find it and in it went again. There would be full blown melt downs if I tried to keep it away from him some days. This week however, I haven't tried any tricks. There's been no plots to steal it away in the night. No secret hiding places. Nothing. And yet... the last 2 days he's been completely unfazed by it. Sure he's reached for it, but quickly lost interest to the point of taking it out and leaving it on the side while he's been playing. For the last week he's been quite content to have his afternoon nap (when he's bothered to have them of course) without it. He's even, on several occasions, point blank refused to even have it handed to him. Still gone for it at bed time, but hey, I ain't complaining! He's doing all the hard work for me, I'm certainly not gonna test the limits this early in the game! Besides, I think he owes me one. It's only been the last few months he's started sleeping through so I needed an easy win some time. I've heard and read about nightmare scenarios about weaning from them. I've talked to people who've never used them. Some actually succeeded in getting rid after the first tooth! Then you see kids while you're out and about who are definitely way past that point. This of course is a very generalised opinion, there are some cases, as with most things, that are the exception not the unwritten rule. Obviously each kid is different and has different needs. I know a lot of parents would think Jackson has used one for too long and should be well clear of them by now. That being said, sometimes it's a little... disconcerting? To be in the supermarket and see a kid who's nearly 5, chattering away and having a standard 5 yr old conversation and still with a soother in their mouth. Can't help but feel that kid is gonna get some grief from fellow spawnlings in the same age bracket. Let's face it, it doesn't matter what manners and principles you try and instil in your children, there's almost always another kid who is mean as hell for one reason or another. Having been kids ourselves we know how cruel kids can be right? My earliest, clear memory is from when I was 5 in my first year at school. I know I was 5 because I remember having an argument with one of the boys in the class because he said I was too short to be 5. Couldn't tell you how long the argument was, we all know how terrible kids concept of time is, but it led to him looming over me and damn near shouting in my face that I was lying, I was too short to be 5. It ended with me trying to beat him over the head with a plastic telephone and making him cry. I admit there were faults on both sides of that argument... he later went on to be over 6ft tall while I reached my limit of 5ft 2. We never really interacted much after that to be honest, but to this day I've never been intimidated by a persons height, which as a shorter person is always a small win (buddum tssh). Silver linings and all that. But it just goes to show that kids, can be so heart renderingly sweet in their ignorance of the differences between people be it skin colour, physical or mental limitations or religion, while at the same time being utterly ridiculous to the point of bullying over the slightest thing. Those are my thoughts on the matter anyway
