Banana Moon Day Nursery recognises that a dummy can be a source of comfort for a child who is settling and/or upset, and that it may often form part of a child’s sleep routine. As children get older they need to learn to move their mouths in different ways; to smile, to blow bubbles, to make sounds, to chew food and eventually to talk. As babies move their mouths and experiment with babbling sounds they are learning to make the quick mouth movements needed for speech. The more practice they get, the better their awareness of their mouths and the better their speech will be. The overuse of a dummy may restrict these movements from taking place and therefore affect a child’s language development. 

• We will discuss this with you first to support you and your little one
•  Only allow dummies if a child is really upset for comfort (for example if there are problems at home, they are new to the setting, etc.) and/or as part of their sleep routine. 
•  Store dummies in individual hygienic dummy boxes labelled with the child’s name to prevent cross-contamination with other children
•  Clean and sterilise the dummy if it falls on the floor or is picked up by another child. 

•  Have a designated place for the dummies to be stored, which the child will be aware of.  
• Comfort your little one and if age/stage-appropriate explain why they are not allowed the dummy in a sensitive and appropriate manner.  
• Distract your child's attention with other activities and ensure they are settled before leaving them to play. 
• Offer other methods of comfort such as toy, teddy or blanket. 
• Explain to your little one they can have their dummy when they get home or at bed time. 

• Giving the dummy to Santa/tooth fairy/ Charity 
• Swapping the dummy for a new toy, blanket or cuddly toy.