My 19 mo ds still has his milk in a bottle morning & evening - is this okay?

[ladymoo]

One of those things that i am suddenly now thinking should i change this? what age did you switch from bottle to cup? & how much milk do they actually need at this age??

My ds is 2.6 and still has a bottle at night.

Have tried to offer him a cup once a month or so but he wasn't having any of it. I am not worried, he can change when he wants to.

I'm not v good at following what you are and aren't supposed to do. My dd (2.7) still has milk from a bottle morning and evening for no other reason than she prefers it this way. She can drink from all manner of containers, but this is how she likes her milk best. I think there may be a dental hygiene issue, but she cleans her teeth after breakfast and before bed, so I don't think my dd is at risk. Not sure if there are 'guidelines' are this.....!!!

My 21mths old only has 6oz of milk in the morning. She still has a bottle. I think dd1 was 2 when we stitch to a sippy cup of milk.

Mind you dd1 is now 5.5yrs and still has a cup of milk morning and night.

Spoke to HV about same thing yesterday - my nineteen month old has the same. She didn't seem concerned, despite the posters.

My DD aged 4 still has about 4oz milk in a bottle morning and night just because she likes it! My DS had his until he was about 4.5(now nearly 8 and great teeth so far!) and he just gave it up himself so not worried.

They usually have around 12-16oz a day at this age. Some babies have less as they make up for it with cheese, yoghurt etc... Sounds fine to me. My ds is 19 mo and still on bottles, in fact he saw his speech and language therapist yesterday and she said it wasn't a concern even if he was still on bottles (rahter than a cup which he won't drink his milk from) for another 12 months

My ds (21 months) still has a bottle at night. He's happy enough to have a cup in the mornings, but in the evenings he has to have a bottle at the moment, and warmed milk at that, last night he sent me back to rewarm the milk... "yuk, cold milk mummy!" I'd quite like him to stop soon for the whole teeth thing, but I'm not going to rush him. I've found if you don't force children to do things before they're ready you yield much better results.

I thought there'd be more fuss about this post. What's with all the posters about giving up the bottle, if everyone secretly believes its okay?

There must be someone out there who thinks its a bad thing!

I've got five children, they were all drinking their milk from bottles until they were about 2 and a half, maybe more and you know what, their dentist has said they have all got beautiful teeth .

i thought that milk from bottle was fine for teeth, but not juices ie blackcurrant, that have sugar in?????
my dd is nearly 3 and still has milk in morning and night in bottle.i dont see the problem as she can drink out of normal cups etc if she wants to but her bottle is comforting for her.she likes having a snuggle with her bottle so i think whats the harm in it???

HV told my DH that DS had to stop having a bottle at night at DS's 2 year check. She said it was to do with speech development.

I finally stopped his bottle a couple of months later (DH went to the 2 year check as I had dd the day before)

Not sure about the speech thing - his speech is and was fine.

He has milk at night in a cup, he was fine about the swap but now drinks far less milk.

My dd's have all had their bottles until well over 2 years, usually they've given them up on their own. It's a comfort thing and I would never take these things away (blankies too) they've led me!! DD4 (21 months) also has no problem drinking out of cups and glasses like her big sisters.

i think it's to do with teeth not speech development? something about drinking from bottle causing milk to pool around the teeth (that's what my dentist said anyway)
and yes, ds is still on a bottle at 2, morning and night...have tried offering the cup but having none of it. his speech is absolutely fine.

Thanks so much everyone - is good to know! will think about moving to a cup when he's 2ish maybe but not push the issue...

Thank you