Q Can you help a rising-four-year-old who started our pre-school in September? She still brings her dummy, the only child to do so. How can we work with the parents to help her to give it up?
A We can wonder why these parents have not tackled this issue themselves.
Sometimes parents are slow to realise their child has moved on. I remember a five-year-old who was initially brought to school in a pushchair!
What do the parents think the dummy is doing for their child? Is this a reflection of their anxiety about leaving her at pre-school? In once sense this is the adults' problem. Most children will give up their dummy naturally when they are ready, but adults may get anxious when a child is slow to do so.
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