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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

Stopping milk in bottles

17 replies

littlemonstersmum · 22/03/2007 11:52

Am I being a horrible mother stopping my 2 year old having her milk from a bottle? my childminder said she thought bottles should be stopped at 1. i also think she should stop having them now however my mother in law has made me feel like i'm a really evil mother. what does everyone think? she still has her milk but in a cup.

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Dabbles · 22/03/2007 11:57

will be watching htis thread as 22 is almost 2 and still on follow on milk in bottles, doesnt like cup for her milk and wont drink normal milk... am ata a loss as to what to do!

wildwoman · 22/03/2007 11:57

Well you should always ignore mil's as a general rule! It's best for thier teeth to stop as soon as poss, having said that I just waited until mine gave up thier bottle naturally (at around 2) so there were no tears at bedtime etc. I am a big softy though!

Original poster

littlemonstersmum · 22/03/2007 12:01

I'm sure other mum's will think this is a really awful thing to say but have you tried adding something like that crusha (you can get sugar free and i think its half price in tesco!) milkshake stuff to cows milk?

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littlemonstersmum · 22/03/2007 12:04

We haven't had too much of a problem getting her to go to sleep without her bottle, but she keeps waking up at about 3 or 4 am shouting 'booootttttlllle, boooootttttlllle' and can keep it up for a long long time! so far i haven't given in but i feel really cruel! she never used to wake up for a bottle in the night before though.

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wildwoman · 22/03/2007 12:04

I think you're right lmm, my two have hot chocolate now made with milk to try and add to thier calcium intake. I think you have to pick your battles sometimes

Othersideofthechannel · 22/03/2007 12:04

I think this is the right age and if it is difficult now it is not going to get easier. The younger they are, the more quickly they forget.
DS made me feel like an evil mum when I stopped his bottles so I was dreading it with DD. I started earlier with a cup she could suck from and then removed the lid when she was 2. She didn't bat an eyelid at either of the changes.

Othersideofthechannel · 22/03/2007 12:06

Your childminder is no doubt going by experience that they are usually less attached to the bottle the younger they are.

Brangelina · 22/03/2007 12:13

I stopped the bottle at 14 months, precisely for the teeth reasons, but then she'd only been having one a day when I was at work and is bfed mornings and night. She never made a fuss or really even noticed, but the downside is that she does drink a lot less milk now it's from a cup.

Original poster

littlemonstersmum · 22/03/2007 12:19

I really wish I had stopped the bottles a lot earlier - before she could say the word 'bottle', but it didn't even occur to me that i should be stopping them!

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IdreamofClooney · 22/03/2007 12:28

my DS still has a bottle last thing at night. I didn;t realise that milk from a bottle was bad for his teeth as I give it to him after I've brushed his teeth opps had better stop.

He quite happily drinks milk from a sippy cup all day and loves the taste - some days I think he may have too much milk.

I love giving him his bottle at night as is so nice to snuggle up but am thinking of stopping soon. (He's 21 months)

Original poster

littlemonstersmum · 22/03/2007 12:31

I also didn't realise milk was bad for their teeth if they have it after their teeth have been cleaned - i would have thought the exact opposite becuase of the calcium - it was the dentist who told me it contains a lot of sugar!

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mm22bys · 22/03/2007 15:12

DS1 is 34 months and we only stopped giving him his bed-time milk in a bottle a week ago. We didn't let him go to sleep with a bottle in his mouth though, and always cleaned his teeth after his bottle.

We went cold turkey with it. It helped we were away for 4 nights. DH and I both forgot to pack the bottles so we had to explain to DS1 that he would have to have his pre-bed milk in a glass. He was fine with it for those four nights.

The minute we got home he asked for a bottle, and it would have been easy to give in, but we stuck by our guns and there were only 2 further nights where he asked for a bottle, but now he is cured.

So long as a child isn't sucking on a bottle all day (which our DS wasn't) and so long as you clean your DC's teeth last thing (which we did), I don't understand what the problem is with giving milk in a bottle.

amidaiwish · 22/03/2007 15:22

my DD1 has just turned 3 and still has a bottle of milk before bed.
i had got her off it (with some persuasion) before DD2 was born (she was 19 months) - but when i stopped bf DD2 and she had a bottle all hell broke loose.
so i caved and they both still have bottles (DD2 is now 18m)

tbh i have decided to let them give them up themselves. their teeth are fine. they drink their milk and put them down. they don't go to bed with them, they don't go round with them in their mouths, they only have them before bed etc... not sure there is any harm really. my mum says my youngest sister was nearly 6 before she stopped. nothing wrong with her teeth either.

SongbirdIsEasteryEnough · 22/03/2007 15:31

Dd (nearly 2) still has milk in bottle, but with a spout rather than teat (ah, the wonder of Avent bottles!). She still drinks about a pint a day as well as her meals and snacks but she?s not a porker so I guess it?s OK. She sometimes has water in a cup cup but she?s such a busy bee that she invariably ends up spilling it and gets upset, so we usually use a sippy type cup. I think it swills round the mouth more with a proper cup, than with a spout or teat but I must be wrong if all the healthcare professionals say bottles are bad for their teeth.

powder28 · 22/03/2007 15:32

I think if ds1 had been an only child he would have stopped by now [he is 2] but because his 1 yr old brother has them ds1 still wants them.
I have tried to give ds1 his milk in another cup. He just hands it back to me and says 'no'

Weegle · 22/03/2007 16:41

I could well be completely wrong because I can't for the life of me remember where I heard this but I thought the issue over bottles being bad for teeth was the same reason as dummies - they can cause the teeth to be pulled forward with prolonged use. But as I say I may be wrong. And anyway I'm not really sure how 10 minutes a day sucking on a bottle could really be responsible for changing the shape of the teeth.

Original poster

littlemonstersmum · 22/03/2007 17:03

The main problem with my dd having a bottle was that she went off to sleep with it in her cot at night after her teeth were cleaned - my main concern was that i wouldn't be able to get her to sleep at night without it, however it obviously bothers her not having it but not to the extent where she will not go to sleep.

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