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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Won't drink milk from anything other than a bottle.

26 replies

thearty1 · 06/06/2015 01:31

I'm hoping for advice from other parents who have had this issue and resolved it.. The problem is that my DS refuses to drink milk from anything other than a bottle. I've been trying to wean him off bottles for months. He'll happily drink water and juice from a cup, or through a straw, or from a cup with a hard spout etc, but not milk. I've tried warm milk, chilled milk, restricting other fluids and only offering milk in a cup, although I always cave after a day of him refusing to drink and by then he'll often be quite distressed.

He will drink sweet, flavoured milkshakes through a straw but if I dilute them too much with plain milk he stops! (He'll drink 200ml of milk in less than 5 minutes from a bottle) He's 2.

OP posts:

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adoptmama · 06/06/2015 06:05

I think you know the answer is just to take them away and not return them. Hard as the controlling whining is, you need to not cave in and give them back. Where is his incentive to switch when he knows only one day of refusing to drink his milk gets you to give in. Let him go without the milk for a few days - he can get his calcium from somewhere else, or simply sit him at the table and tell him he is not getting down until he does drink it. Bottom line is that you are the one who needs to be in control, so don't let him be.

Newtobecomingamum · 06/06/2015 09:49

Adopt is right. Remove the bottles completely... If he wants milk, he will eventually use the cups. If you always give in and give the bottle back to him he is learning that he will always get his own way.

Sorry but you need to be strict on this and not give in if you want the bottle gone

ASheepInWolfsClothing · 06/06/2015 10:06

Probably not what you want to hear op, but my now 12 yo ds has not had a drop of milk past his lips since the age of 3... We actually left him with his bottle untill that age because every time we tried to give him milk in a cup he refused.
He drinks lots of water - occasionally some juice, and the odd fizzy drink now.
He is fine and healthy (his diet is very "set" he has asd- he eats the same things every day) but if you do a bit of research and your dc is willing to try different foods you can supplement what he is losing from the milk with food. Can you ask for a referral to a nutritionist?

insancerre · 06/06/2015 10:10

Just throw away the bottles
Give him lots ofi milk in his cereal and let him drink the residue from the bowl
Or put the milk in a jug and let him pour it in to his own cup

taxi4ballet · 06/06/2015 10:19

Wrong time of year to do this at the moment obviously (!) but we explained to dd that she needed to give her baby bottle to Father Christmas as he needed it as a present for a new baby. On Christmas Eve she left it on the hearth with the carrot, mince pie and drink for Santa, and by Christmas morning it was gone. She was so excited with her presents (including a nice new drinking cup) that she didn't bat an eyelid and never asked for a bottle again.

buffersandbumpers · 06/06/2015 10:22

It's really common. We had it with DC2. We went to France and I genuinely forgot the bottles. He didn't fuss and I never gave them to him again. I just made more of an effort to get him full fat milk and calcium in other ways. Just get rid and don't make a big deal of it. Good luck :)

Flisspaps · 06/06/2015 10:28

There's no actual need for him to drink milk at all if he's 2, and is getting fat/calcium from other sources.

I don't drink it and haven't since about his age - I know at playgroup I had squash instead of milk as even then I couldn't stand it. I'm now 33.

ASheepInWolfsClothing · 06/06/2015 10:31

Taxi thats what we did too ! Except we went to the postoffice ( not just to do this, had to pay a bill too!) and i must have sounded like a loon to the woman behind the counter when i asked "could we post these bottles to the north pole please?" although fair play to her she recovered quickly and said "yes of course, ill just put them in the special north pole bag (bin)" .

totallybewildered · 06/06/2015 10:34

does he still need milk? My dc haven't drunk any since this age. I don't really consider it natural or healthy.

PuppyMouse · 07/06/2015 10:35

We are in exact same situation withDD. (19m)

I was concerned about her still having the teat rather than the bottle because of her teeth.

Forgot her bottle one night when she was going to bed at my Mum's and tried to give it to her in a sippy cup. I've never seen her so hysterical. It was hideous.

Anyway we were sure we didn't want to go back at that point - we've always used NUK bottles and they do sippy cups with removable spout that fits the same screw top as standard bottles. So we tried one of the spouts the next time and she was fine.

I doubt she'll have milk before effort much longer get but I think it's fine to have the bottle bit with a sippy cup top at night. No different to us drinking juice out of a teacup!
Hope this helps.

Goldmandra · 07/06/2015 17:13

If a two year old were only getting milk from BFing I don't think most people would think it was a problem.

I wouldn't worry about it.

Stop giving him milk altogether if it really bothers you (as long as he's getting other fluids) or just let him carry on having it in a bottle for a while longer if you feel he needs the calcium. If you're not sure, you can always ask for a dietician to analyse a food diary for you to check he would still get what he needs without milk.

Isthereeverarightime1 · 07/06/2015 18:58

Sorry to slightly hyjack op but my DS is 15 months old and still has milk in a bottle as he wakes during the night for it, just wondering on the general consensus, does he still need milk?? He refuses it during the day and only takes before bed and then usually once during the night, if he sleeps through he will have it when he wakes. Does this seem ok or should I try harder to wean him off his night milk?

Lweji · 07/06/2015 19:08

DS was the same. And he doesn't particularly like milk. He prefers dry cereal, although he occasionally drinks milk, mostly at school.

They don't "need" milk. Milk is just another food. Relax.

chocolatedrops31 · 07/06/2015 19:17

My almost 4 year old still drinks milk from a bottle before bed..its a comfort for him and he likes it..not sure why it's a big deal and why the OP is better off not giving milk at all?

adoptmama · 07/06/2015 21:52

A bottle can alter the shape of the mouth and teeth when continued for too long. Once a child can eat solids they do not need a bottle. Therefore you should wean them from it before it becomes a habit that is very hard to break.

chocolatedrops31 · 08/06/2015 09:05

I'm not sure if drinking from a bottle for 30 seconds a day does any harm at all

tictactoad · 08/06/2015 09:23

Ds2 was like this. He would happily drink juice from a beaker but wouldn't touch milk in a beaker. We just kept putting it in front of him. He'd sweep it onto the floor until one day after about three weeks he just picked it up and drank it.

No battle, no drama just plodding on with the message.

BarbarianMum · 08/06/2015 10:07

Well, he doesn't actually need to drink milk for nutritional at 2 so why not drop it for a month?

insancerre · 08/06/2015 13:04

Chocolate drops
Having a bottle affects the position of the teeth and the development of the mouth muscles which may mean speech problems
That's why health professionals recommend getting rid if dummies and bottles at 12 months

KikiShack · 08/06/2015 13:13

You could try tampering with the teat- make the holes a bit bigger for a week, then cut the tip off for a week, then cut more of the teat off, then stick a straw down the teat hole. Might work?

NessaWH123 · 08/06/2015 22:08

Seriously if a two year old wants a drink of milk i really dont see the problem!! My ds is 2 and still loves milk. He has a nottle every night before bed and im not concerned! Totally bewildered im not sure its not natural and is unhealthy is quite rigjt in my opinion! Thats quite an extreme reaction.

CrazyforCrochet · 09/06/2015 13:13

2 years old is not too bad when you consider my sis-in-law was giving her son a bottle of milk to drink at bedtime up to when he was 6 years old! Now that was not natural at all!

Original poster

thearty1 · 12/06/2015 16:57

Thank you so much for the replies. Lots of interesting advice here. I'm not worried that a bottle is causing any physical damage atm, because he drinks 200ml within 5 minutes, and then the bottle is taken away. (It seems logical to assume there's more chance of tooth damage occurring to children who use dummies at this age for hours on end)
I'm keen to get rid of the bottle now, before he gets too set in his ways! Starting this weekend!!! I'm loving the idea of telling him that the bottles are going to be sent somewhere. I should have done it during lambing season, and we could have 'donated' them to the baby lambs ;) I'll think of something!

OP posts:

talulahbeige · 12/06/2015 21:46

We had the same problem, the good news is that she now drinks milk again, however it did take 6mths!
I gave her milk with crusha I'm it (raspberry flavour) we called it pink juice. Slowly we reduced the amount of crusha in it, it took a while but if worked.

Lindorballs · 12/06/2015 22:08

My DD 20 months is exactly the same. If I give her milk in any type of cup (I've tried many) not a bottle she either looks at me in disgust or has a complete meltdown depending on her mood at the time. I was planning on letting her keep going with the night time bottle until 2 then stop and try to up the dairy in her diet. I have friends who breastfed until 1 and never gave a bottle and now their kids don't drink any milk at all. I'd rather she have some milk and used a bottle for 5 mins a day than no milk. Her teeth are fine according to our dentist (she has a dummy for sleep as well) and I always brush them after. I don't let her fall asleep with the bottle. She was actually having a morning one until this week as well but I stopped that as she was being fussy about breakfast. I think maybe she just doesn't like milk that much just likes the bottle! I thought that once they were 2 they didn't "need" to have a specific amount of milk anyway.

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