I Love My Dummy

A rhyming story that helps toddlers feel brave and excited about saying goodbye to their beloved dummy.

3D mockup of I Love My Dummy, a rhyming children's book about dummy weaning for toddlers aged 1 to 4, by Melanie Van Schelven

Most toddlers love their dummy.

Actually love it. It's comforting and calming. Which is exactly what can make weaning feel so hard.

I Love My Dummy meets your child where they are. It acknowledges how much they love their dummy, follows a toddler discovering everything they can do once it's gone, and gently opens the door to the idea of letting it go.

Mel Van Schelven, Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist and author of I Love My Dummy, founder of The Face Place

The story behind the book...

When I started looking for books to recommend to families going through dummy weaning, I couldn't find one I was happy with. Most focused on the goodbye and stopped there. None of them addressed how to help your child find more functional ways to use their mouth muscles.

As an Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist, that gap was hard to ignore.

I wanted a book that acknowledged how much toddlers genuinely love their dummy, guided them through the discovery of what life without it could look like, and offered something real to replace it with. Not just a farewell ritual.

I wrote this rhyming story one day while nap-trapped with my daughter, and I Love My Dummy came to life.

Illustration of a toddler with a dummy sitting peacefully with alphabet blocks and a teddy bear, from I Love My Dummy by Melanie Van Schelven

I Love My Dummy is designed to be read in the days before weaning starts.

Follow along as the main character discovers all the things they can do once their dummy is gone: from eating their favourite snacks and singing their best songs, to showing off their smile.

Perfect for:

  • Toddlers aged 1-4 learning to let go of their dummy

  • Parents who want to make dummy weaning less stressful

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If you're looking for guidance on the practical side of dummy weaning, the Dummy Weaning Checklist covers the timing, the approach, and what to put in place before the dummy goes.