Like an addict waiting for our next hit, the relief Leisa felt when she found a dummy in the bottom of her nappy bag was like a high like no other.

She was the first to admit it, dummies were a blessing for their family. She understands that some babies will not take one and some parents prefer not to offer one, however when the midwife said her premature baby was one of the worst little suckers she had seen, Leisa immediately took her advice and offered Daniel a dummy.

He practised sucking his dummy daily until one month later Leisa and her husband Chris finally had permission to take their baby boy home from the hospital.

By age 2, Daniel was at the height of his dummy addiction and sucking a dummy got both Mummy and toddler through Daniels hungry uglies, tired winging and the common 2-year-old emotionally explosive tantrums.

The dentist was the first to pop Leisa’s bubble saying Daniels’ teeth were starting to curve, quickly followed by the Dr who commented on the number of ear infections he had been having. Finally, a Speech Pathologist said it was time for the dummy to go as the pronunciation of the letters p, b, t, d, s was also becoming affected.

Leisa felt anxious just thinking about what life would be like without the dummy. She had visions of tears, tantrums and sleepless nights, both his and theirs. Unsure how to tackle removing his dummy Leisa asked around and was surprised to hear Mothers saying ” just cut the tip off or tell him the dog ate it”. Leisa chose to put herself in her child’s place and considered how she would feel if someone snatched something she loved and relied upon such as her iPhone. In truth, she just may throw a tantrum as well.

It’s normal to feel uncertain about whether you are ready to make the change and if you have what it takes to quit your child’s Dummy addiction and not give in. Leisa knew snatching was not the answer, so after careful consideration, she chose to embrace pretend play and introduce Daniel to the Dummy Fairy. Through her, Leisa gradually got Daniel to use to the idea of his dummy being collected by the fairies.

With thanks to the Dummy Fairy, their road to recovery was without the bumps or setbacks she imagined. It was actually pretty smooth sailing. Leisa went on to enjoy life without the anxiety and fear of being at the shops and looking in the bottom of her bag for a dummy and not finding one there.

Over 1000 families have now successfully ditched their dummies with the help of the children’s book “ Daniel and the Dummy Fairy “.

Through Marketing her book Leisa has gone on to Launch the Little Kids Business online Marketplace, where over 110 of Australias both Boutique and Big Kids Brands can be found collectively selling together.

Source: Little Kids Business