Weaning a todder off their dummy teat can be a struggle for parents. But there are gentle ways to make the transition smoother. The time must be right though – “namely when the child is ready to part with it anyway,” says parenting expert and author Nora Imlau. If the child is still strongly attached to their dummy and parents try to force the matter, say, by offering to exchange a gift for it, the child will agree in order to get the gift. “But they might cry in the evening because they miss their dummy,” warns Imlau. Parents must realize, she says, that even a child who willingly gives up th…