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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

2.5 yr old addicted to bottles (for milk)

18 replies

nvj · 19/09/2007 14:06

hi - does anyone else's toddler still drink milk from a bottle? Have been trying to get my twin girls to drink milk from a bottle for ages now but probably my own fault that i haven't perservered for more than 3 days without (just get so worried about no milk intake!)
One of the girls will drink milk from a beaker fine but the other one is so stubborn and will not entertain the idea of milk in anything other than a bottle. Last night we gave in cos she was so tired (first day at pre-school) and just wanted her bedtime 'baby milk' as she called it! bless!
does it matter if she still has milk in a bottle?! not sure what to do... we have tried every beaker under the sun i'm sure and even got her to pick out a special beaker last weekend as her very own big girl cup. have tried a glass, a mug, a plastic cup.. .you name it we'ver tried it!
also when do your little ones have milk at bedtime, before bath or when they are in bed? i never let my girls fall asleep with the bottle, i stay in the room til they've finished but they usually have it after their bath. Maybe i should change the routine? HELP! any advice gratefully received. i've posted here cos i think this is more about behaviour than feeding!

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TheArmadillo · 19/09/2007 14:09

If they are getting milk through their diet (cheese/cereals/yoghurts etc) they don't need milk necessarily at bedtime.

IF you still want to give them a glass of milk every day could you do it in the morning rather than at bedtime?

tori32 · 19/09/2007 14:19

I would go cold turkey, if she is having dairy such as yoghurts, cheese etc then it will not do any harm not to have bed time milk, for as long as it takes for her to realise that a bottle will not be arriving!!
It isn't good for their teeth at this age. My dd would not drink milk from a cup until about 2 weeks after I got rid of the bottles and she was only 14mths.

margoandjerry · 19/09/2007 14:21

If it's only the nightime bottle, I'd be tempted not to worry about it...

It can't take more than 10 mins to drink so I'm not sure how much harm that can do. If she's getting plenty of calcium from other sources in the day she won't need that much more milk in the day so she won't be constantly drinking from a bottle. I suppose the other option is to bring the milk drink forward to half an hour before bedtime so she doesn't use it as her signal to go to sleep and therefore it doesn't matter so much what she has it from?

I know my daughter (11m) definitely relies on the nightime bottle to start drifting off to sleep but I like that 10 mins of the day too so I'm not rushing to get rid of it. She has beakers etc in the day but at night the bottle is very soothing.

margoandjerry · 19/09/2007 14:22

nighttime x2...

sophierosie · 19/09/2007 20:07

My daughter (2.5) won't take her milk from anything other than a bottle.

She still has two bottles a day (one in the morning and one at night) but the rest of the times she drinks water happily from a cup - (she's got a milk allergy and has frankenstein formula so doesn't have much opportunity to top up with other strong calcium sources throughout the day)

I wouldn't worry too much about it - she's not sucking on a bottle all day long so should be ok. Perhaps just ask her every day whether she wants a bottle or cup like her sister and let her choose - after a few weeks she may well choose the cup...

prongsinthongs · 19/09/2007 20:44

'cough cough' my ds...3yrs old... has a bottle of milk at nighttime and i see absolutely no problem with it....he enjoys it, why should we deny them that little pleasure? during the day he drinks milk or water from a cup. his speech is fantastic and i don't think it has caused any problems.....i don't think he will still have it going to university!..its not quite the same has having a dummy stuffed in their mouth all day long

GillL · 20/09/2007 10:22

My dd is 2.5 yrs old and still drinks milk from a bottle. It's only really for comfort. If we didn't give her milk in a bottle then she wouldn't drink it. If she wakes in the night then she has a bottle and she has at least 2 bottles at bedtime. We've decided to take away the bottles cold turkey when she goes to pre-school.

Meeely2 · 20/09/2007 10:29

i think the concern with bottles at night is tooth decay not speech. I never understood what anyones problem was with mine having bottles at bedtime until someone explained it wasn't the milk that was the issue it was the recepticle it was in and the fact that they went to bed with them and as such didn't brush their teeth after drinking it, so the sugar (apparently milk does have some) was sat in their teeth all night.

I didn't rush to give up, we just identified a weekend when it was best, gave the bottles in a kinda 'growing up' ceremony to their new born cousin and started having milk in cups downstairs before going up to bed. We had a few nights of wimpering 'where's my milk?' but they soon forgot.

Meeely2 · 20/09/2007 10:32

my boys are 3 in december btw

biglips · 20/09/2007 10:39

nvj - i stopped giving my DD's bottles of milk when she was 31-32months old..(2.7-2.8yrs old) i went cold turkey and told her that she had left her bottles at her ninnys (which she did and i had no other bottles). It was her comfort the bottles were as she never had a dummy.

When she stopped i noticed that she stopped her milks too so in the 3rd week i start making milkshakes for her when she go to bed. Loads of full fat milk with a tiny bit of milkshake juice..she is happy with that and i let her drink it in bed too. (ive got my baby monitor to listen to her).

So best to go cold turkey and REMEMBER to get rid or hide ALL the bottles ....

Good luck.

brimfull · 20/09/2007 10:39

my ds gave up milk at 2.5yrs.He refused to drink milk again and never has,he's 5 now.
Dietician said there was no problem with him not drinking milk.He also refuses yoghurt and cheese.
I just make sure he has lots of leafy green veg and occassionaly buy calcium enriched tropicana.Also there is calcium in tap water aswell.

On the other hand I don't see a problem with continuiing the bottle aslong as you brush her teeth after.My friends 5 yr old still has a bottle at bedtime

TheBlonde · 20/09/2007 10:42

Mine has only just quit bottles at 2.5
We would go away and only use cups but as soon as we were home he wanted bottles

I had to hide them in the end

RachelG · 20/09/2007 14:17

I spoke to my dentist who said not to worry too much about milk at bedtime, it was more important for me to stay sane than try to settle a miserable child who wants their milk!

Also, on the subject of bottles, I don't see the problem. People seem quite happy to use those non-spill beakers - what's the difference?

I'd carry on as long as you're both happy.

My DS is 2. Loves his bottle of milk at bedtime.

stressteddy · 20/09/2007 14:23

My ds is 2.5 and has a bottle every night. It's a lovely time of day. I have no intention of stopping this. I might reconsider when he gets to about 4.5

Sprogstersmum · 20/09/2007 20:23

My DD is 2yrs 2 months and still has morning and nighttime bottle but we do brush ner teeth after her nighttime bottle. Straw poll among all my friends only revealed one person whose toddler didn't still have a bottle!

Original poster

nvj · 03/10/2007 11:03

just wanted to say thanks for all your replies and sorry haven't posted back sooner.
I have carried on giving my daughter a bottle for her milk and i think will try again when she is 3. She loves her bottle and finishes it in about 2-3 minutes and then we brush her teeth afterwards so she isn't relying on it to fall asleep, i think she just prefers drinking it that way for now. Her twin sister is drinking from beakers so one down one to go!
potty training next! xx

OP posts:

witchandchips · 03/10/2007 11:12

My Ds (2.5) started to demand a bottle about 6 months ago. He had never used one before (went boob to open cup). He was with my PILs for a few days. and they let him have it. but don't think they realised the problem.
Think he asoociates it with being a baby and getting cuddles. How can i convince him that he can be babied without a bottle?

mumchie · 04/08/2008 19:36

my dd 2.2 has just bitten the top off her only bottle...so will have no choice but to go cold turkey...for tonight at least!

(Will probably be out later looking for a 24hr tesco for some sanity and a nights sleep - oh sweet bottles make life so much easier sometimes!)

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