Lovies

One of our boys (2.5) has a lovie that he only gets when he is sleeping. It is a puppy and he has had it for 2 years and it very attached to it at bedtime and naps. He has always sucked on the ear but over the past 6 months sucks on it while he is sleeping and I am constantly washing it but it is disgusting and no longer becomes clean. It smells and his breath smells from it etc. So it is a health problem in my eyes and I am not sure how to break him of it. We have an identical puppy but he knows the difference. My husband constantly tells him the puppy's ears will fall off if he keeps sucking on them so he suggested cutting off the ears and sewing the base of the ear. Any other ideas?????Thanks so much...as I can't find much on this on the internet

 

How about sewing on a safety button then he might not like it

 

i understand your concern, but i also really worry about anything that would mess w/their sleep! can you just try really hard to get him attached to the newer one, even though he knows it's not the same thing? maybe that way you can both win!

gl, jl

 

I would not fight this battle. It may gross you out that the ear never really looks clean, but if you're washing it regularly, it's just dingy, it's not really germ-infested.

Sarah has chewed/sucked on her bunny's ears since she was 6 months old. They are usually wet & disgusting and I just try not to touch them. Fortunately they at least dry out while she's at preschool every day. I wash it once a week and consider myself lucky that she never got attached to a pacifier. She can keep sucking on those ears until she's in college if she wants.

 

Cooper chews on his lovie all the time. I just wash it regularly and make sure he is brushing his teeth twice a day. This is what comforts him and I don't want to mess with that. I do think it is disgusting and his lovie always looks dirty (even though it has just been washed). BUT....oh well. ardon:

 

Mine chew on their sleep sacks and the result is the same... Put some oxy clean powder in the wash, honestly it gets rid of the smell pretty well.

 

My niece does the same thing with her stuffed dog only she prefers the tail. It's really quite common for a child to soothe in this way. Personally, since it's already only used for sleeping, I'd simply keep washing it regularly until he grows out of it.

That said, if you are decided that this is what you want to do, I'd take the same approach as breaking a pacifier habit. You have to get rid of the thing completely and then deal with the repercussions (which will likely include trouble sleeping and fits of crying). You should also know that sometimes kids will shift their attention to another comfort method which might or might not be preferable to the current one.

 

Hey girl =) Hope you are hanging in there! Just wanted to weigh in! With all the recent changes in your life ... big move ... twin sisters ... yada yada ... starting preschool ... I would not sweat this right now. This is what I tell myself with the paci, anyway. I agree that as long as you are washing it then it is likely not a real health threat. I DID think, though, that if you are game to tackle it now then maybe you could get some of that antibacterial hand gel or something of the like and put it on there and then it would taste gross and maybe he would not want it anymore (and, as a perk, the germs would be dead, too If you are worried about him ingesting that stuff, then I know that they (whoever "they" are ... maybe you could try google) make stuff for thumb suckers and nail biters that is the same type idea. My college roommate bit the skin on her thumb (STILL when she was in college ... old thumb sucking habit) and used that stuff ... she said it tasted like bitter bananas and it would help her remember not to bit her skin. Anyway, to make you feel better, we are still on the paci and blankie ... at least you don't have the 2.5 year old speaking full sentances with the paci in ... I'm not ready though and I really don't think they are either. I want to get them through the new baby transistion and maybe tackle the paci this summer.

 

Hey, me again ... just had another thought ... could you cut the ear off the new one and sew it on the old one? Would that tick him off? My girls are the same with the tag on their lovies (don't suck on them but they rub them on their faces or whatever ... sometimes between their fingers or even (gross) between their toes) and they may know the difference if I ever switched the tag out but I'm not sure ... You could even take it to a seamstress or something if you weren't sure how to do it ... and maybe a professioal could trick him a little better than if you try it yourself ... just a thought.