Is it wrong to give 2 year old a bottle?

My DD carried on having milk from a bottle before she went to bed until she was four + four months. I knew she was too old for a bottle but allowed it in a rare moment of indulgence, and not before considering that she had never had a dummy, used a cup during the day without issue, and was advanced in her speech.

Another influence was my Swedish god-daughter, two years older, who had lived with us for a while two years before, and who was drinking milk and oatmeal from a bottle at that time.

Now in their 20s, neither has problems with their teeth.

Technically yes but tbh, if it gives them comfort and it’s not all the time why not? My daughter had a bottle before bed till she was nearly 3…….. she was happy and so was mummy as she slept beautifully 🙌🏻

I hate seeing older toddlers with a bottle. In fact I hate the whole ‘my child needs a sucky cup until they’re 5’ that seems to be the norm these days. But I’m old School with a Montessori Nursery background where we used child size proper cups and glasses from a very early age.

It isn’t recommended because it is damaging to teeth - when babies drink from a bottle the teeth are bathed in the milk in a way that doesn’t happen with breastfeeding or a sippy cup.

That said, my dd did have a bottle sometimes when she was 2 and her teeth are absolutely fine - straight and healthy.

I think “a few a day” is quite a lot though, and if they can drink from a cup I would be cutting right down - maybe one a day is ok.

Bottles should never have anything except milk or water in them.

It’s just what works for you as a parent; there’s no harm in a cot.

Clearly the world has moved on

Both of mine could climb out of their cots by 18 months and the recommendation was to get rid of the cot before they were 2 anyway

How uppity.
Many sleep experts recommend a cot I til 3 and my 2.5 Ur old ran laps of her bedroom all night refusing to go to sleep because she was freeeeeeee when we tried her with the sides off her cot to transition to toddler bed. So the cot sides are staying on until she can climb out or gets more chill about bedtime and stays in bed when put in there, whichever comes first. Because I like sleep. And so does everyone else in the house.

I think bottles are done by one year. My DD never had a bottle and was down to one BF a day by a year when she stopped the day before her birthday and was proficient at a using a cup. My son too. I cringe when I see a toddler with a bottle or dummy.

We only got rid of the bottle at 2.5 for my younger dd. Where we live (France) it the norm to see children with dummies and bottles until much older than UK.
The GP asked me if my daughter still had a bottle at her two year check and i ashamedly admitted she did but insisted I was going to stop soon. The GP asked why I wanted to stop so soon and insisted my daughter needed that milk before bed.
The whole country isn’t walking around with misshapen faces so it’s can’t be as bad as we are led to believe.

Yeah,ds had a night time bottle until 2.5/3 ,can't quite remember but I remember thinking that there were bigger fish to fry.

My 4 year old still has one at night. They drink and eat fine all day - but need that extra comfort at night. They have it while we lie down and read a story, then brush teeth and go to sleep.
Honestly - I'm not going to her worked up about it. Do what works for your child and your family.

The muscles used and the suckling action is completely different from using a bottle and as such doesn't damage the teeth or jaw.

Most sleep experts recommend the cot to age three in fact.

DGS is 2.8. He hasn’t had a bottle since he was 1. His sippy cups went before his second birthday. Any milk he has is drunk out of an open cup, as is his water at meal times. When he drinks water in the day he has it out of a Yeti water bottle.

Why are those children still in cots at 2 let alone 3?

Still reading but do you mean the actual bottle or milk? We give my son (2 in a few weeks) milk still but in a valve free cup

I think 1-2 bottles a day is no big deal. It’s comforting and means they get more nutrition down them. It doesn’t mean they don’t use cups!

OK. I think they’re probably slightly different actions, but not so completely or vastly so.

I did breastfeed, but when moving on to “follow on milk” at around 10 months many of the teats then were marketed as being “just like the real thing”
DS switched between the 2 without a waver.

He's 34 now anyway… tall strong and with perfect teeth!

Despite standardized guidelines, prolonged bottle-feeding (keeping the bottle up to age 2, 3, or even older) remains highly prevalent across both developing and developed nations due to cultural factors, convenience, and community habits.

It's common for toddlers in Asia to drink milk from a bottle until they are 3-4 years old. It's about ensuring good milk intake and preventing rapid weight loss.

My older child stopped at ca. 18 months, he just refused it himself.
My younger one still cried for a bottle at night when he was 4 (and had a rumbling tummy). His teeth are fine.

@Littledidsheknow
The sucking from a bottle and from a breast are totally different and involve different muscles. Breast feeding involves tongue and jaw movement, bottle feeding is lip movement and suction.

It isn’t ideal but DD still has a bottle of milk at night and she’s three. As long as they can drink from a cup I think there are worse things.

My child had a bedtime bottle until he was 3, but he had sippy cups during the day from age 1. He is at school now and can obviously drink out of a cup, but will chose a water bottle everytime, the bottle is a sensory thing for him. No issues with his teeth.

DS enjoyed a bottle of milk at bedtime until he was 2.5, used a cup at all other times.

How can it be bad for mouth and jaw if breastfeeding is still recommended and encouraged until 2? That also involves sucking!

You might want them to be babies still but they aren't.