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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To let DS continue to have a bottle?

72 replies

persan · 29/01/2022 16:08

DS is 4, almost 5 and he still has a bottle. I know I'm going to get judged for this.

I tried to get rid of them when he was around 2, but he refused to drink out of a sippy cup and I was worried he would become dehydrated so I gave in.

He has a bottle of milk in the morning before school, I put a carton of fruit juice or a water bottle with water in his lunchbox but he very rarely drinks this.

When he gets home he asks for squash in his bottle and he drinks that and he then has a bottle of milk before bed. When he's at home at weekends or during holidays he will drink cartons throughout the day.

His teeth are fine but my partners mum (not DS’ nan) has noticed DS with a bottle and said he's too old and I should get rid of it but I'm not sure how to as he might refuse to drink again.

WIBU to let DS have a bottle for as long as he wants as surely once he's a bit older he won't always want a bottle?

OP posts:

MistyFrequencies · 29/01/2022 16:13

Yes YABU. He is 5. Drop the bottle.

AtrociousCircumstance · 29/01/2022 16:14

Isn’t it bad for his teeth? I thought longer term use of bottles/dummies weren’t good for teeth development?

pinklillie · 29/01/2022 16:17

Could you try and wean him off the bottle maybe switch to a Nuk toddler bottle, with some milk in and then to a sippy cup with milk and so on. We are just in the process of introducing our one year old to cows milk and to start off with he didn't like the Nuk bottle but has been adjusting to it for daytime milk.

olympicsrock · 29/01/2022 16:17

Come on OP! You need to get rid. Bribery…. And a bit of firm parenting.
No screens if he doesn’t drink a cup of water / squash with his meal .

JLQ1020 · 29/01/2022 16:17

Try a straw or a juice bottle with a straw. It might be he feels that drinking without a bottle makes too much liquid go into his mouth. Which is why he is reluctant to give up the bottle.
But I think it's time to give up the bottle

Justkeeppedaling · 29/01/2022 16:17

I also think it's bad for his teeth. a) they might not grow straight, and b) I think it makes them more likely to decay because the sugar is on the teeth more. Something like that anyway.

But regardless, he's 5. He's not a baby. No more bottles.

user9764577436 · 29/01/2022 16:19

Me and my cousins had dummies forever, definitely up until school age at least… our teeth are as straight as can be - all of us…

Bottle wise, it’s your decision I guess. People will always tell you what you should be doing but it’s none of their business. However, if he isn’t drinking enough at school then perhaps you need to practice more drinking from other sources with him and persist with that. Only because you don’t want him dehydrated at school.

Valdes · 29/01/2022 16:20

It's really bad for his teeth.

A bottle shouldn't be used to make your life easier when it is actively damaging his teeth.

ApolloandDaphne · 29/01/2022 16:21

It is time for him to give up the bottle. It's bad for his teeth and as he gets older his friends may tease him about it. I would go down the big boy going to be five soon route and suggest he stops the bottles and moves to a grown up cup. You could add the extra enticement of a new and highly desirable toy as part of the deal.

Twizbe · 29/01/2022 16:23

It's bad for his teeth and it needs to go.

At this age he is old enough to understand he's too old for it and that it has to go.

Take it away and throw them away. Don't give in. He will drink when he's thirsty as you know he can drink from other things.

LIZS · 29/01/2022 16:25

How are his teeth? It can cause misaligned teeth as well as trap sugars and trigger decay. He can drink out of a glass if he needs flavoured drinks.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 29/01/2022 16:26

He won't learn to drink from anything else if you always give him a bottle.

SnowyPetals · 29/01/2022 16:31

If not now then when? Pretty soon it's going to get difficult for him socially. Just bite the bullet and do it. He is five times older than the average bottle drinker.

Tee20x · 29/01/2022 16:33

Yep get rid. He's not a baby he is able to understand why he is no longer able to use it.

givemepiece · 29/01/2022 16:34

Go and get the bottles now and throw them in the bin.

Thebig3 · 29/01/2022 16:35

Yes he needs to give up the bottle. There's just no meed for him to have one. Drink I drink bottle with a straw....maybe let him pick a drink bottle he likes himself.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 29/01/2022 16:35

Leave them for the bottle fairy for all the new babies that need them, bottle fairy leaves him a thank you gift.

Give them to someone to put them in their bin so they are not in yours.

MintyGreenDream · 29/01/2022 16:36

Definitely drop it,far too old.

20viona · 29/01/2022 16:38

Jesus wept bin them! I can guarantee his teeth Probably aren't fine and not only does it affect the alignment and creates an anterior open bite but squash in there is 100x worse it's just bathing the teeth in sugar. Cruel to be kind and ditch them.

reluctantbrit · 29/01/2022 16:38

What's wrong with a glass/mug?

For me cartons or bottles are for days out, at home it's a glass or mug. Plastic cup in the garden up to a certain age.

He is old enough to talk to.

CovidForChristmas · 29/01/2022 16:38

Keep the bottle if it’s a comfort to him but only allow water in it.
I’m sure that if you stick to this rule, he’ll be off the bottle in a week or so.
Also, hate to be the sugar police but cartons of juice are filled with sugar, even unsweetened. I’ve been led to believe that sugar free squash is better. But milk or water the best.

If you do decide to get rid, don’t just ‘throw them in the bin’. It’s his routine and comfort. I’d recommend doing it together and swapping something he really wants in its place. A bit like, let’s leave the bottles by the bin tonight together and then in the morning there is a fun toy he wants in their place.

firstimemamma · 29/01/2022 16:44

I had to re-read this as I thought it was talking about months not years at first (so I couldn't understand the responses). Yabu op, the bottles should go.

Doggydarling · 29/01/2022 16:45

Get rid of the bottle, my aunt and uncle allowed their daughter to continue using hers until she was 7, once the other kids living nearby they gave her an awful time calling her names, he's long beyond the age that it's a necessity, it seems its just handy and easier for you. My son was just gone one when he stopped his bottle, we were staying with my parents, couldn't find his bottle when he was going to bed that night so couldn't do anything about it, he cried for a while, fell asleep and never went back on the bottle. I found it shoved under the sofa the next day and put it away (still have it almost 30 years later!!).

ANameChangeAgain · 29/01/2022 16:48

Mine had bottles till they started school and my goodness doesn't the orthodontist know about it. It affected the growth more of the second teeth, pushing the gum line back, so that new teeth grew behind old teeth, causing an underbite and "vampire" canines.

FelicityBob · 29/01/2022 16:51

Of course get rid. Do it gently or do it abruptly but make it a priority to do it soon

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