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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

when to stop giving milk?

14 replies

noni1711 · 04/09/2009 16:26

My DD is 21months and still has a bottle of milk before breakfast and at bedtime. when do you start to phase this out?

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hksi · 04/09/2009 16:34

All advice states your child should have milk in a beaker from 12 months as after this time using a bottle is more likely to cause tooth decay and affect the way the teeth grow.

Seona1973 · 04/09/2009 20:04

ds (nearly 3) still has milk in the morning but it is from a beaker. Advice is to phase out bottles but they can still have the milk out of something else. Both dd and ds stopped having bottles for milk between 10 and 15 months.

mumofeve · 04/09/2009 20:07

Phased out bottle when I introduced cows milk at 12mths. DD still has milk (from a beaker)before breakfast and before bed. She has just turned 3.

cheekychopsmum · 05/09/2009 14:00

Is there an amount they should be having daily? My DS is 21 months and has half a beaker in the morning, after his nap and before bed. I'm just in the habbit of giving it too him at these times, whether he asks for it or not as I though he should be having a certain amount of milk (calcium) everyday. Should I carry this on?

Broms · 05/09/2009 16:26

My DS gulps his milk down out of a bottle in about a minute so didn't think it would be a problem for teeth - however reading all these posts I should have stopped shouldn't I?

EyeballsintheSky · 05/09/2009 16:30

Well DD is nearly 20 months and still has milk morning and night and, depending on mood, sometimes during the day as well. I have tried many times to get rid of the bottle but she wasn't having any of it. She now uses a Nuby beaker with a soft spout that is, to all intents and purposes, a bottle, but just not a baby one. I think she'll be having milk for a long time yet, it's her comfort blanket.

feedthegoat · 05/09/2009 16:37

I gave my ds milk in a bottle at night until just before his 3rd birthday. I stopped when I was finally prepared to resign myself to the fact that he probably wouldn't drink milk anymore.

I tried every thing to get him to drink it from another source (I've spent an arm and a leg on cups) but it didn't happen. We had a little success at first with a bendy straw but he didn't drink it all and soon lost interest after a few weeks. I refused to reintroduce bottles so now have to make sure he has plenty of alternative dairy products.

beesonmummyshead · 05/09/2009 18:22

I think children up to the age of 5 are supposed to have 1 pint of milk a day (or the equivalent in calcium, ie from cheese/yoghurt etc).

Dd eats a little cheese, occasionally yoghurts and refuses to drink milk from a cup. She has about 1/3 pint in a bottle each night as that way at least I can be sure she gets some milk.

She is 2 BTW, and I have no intention of taking the bottle from her (I do give her the choice of milk from a cup, but she nearly always declines or spits it out). IMO it is better to get some milk into her and risk the possibility of tooth decay, than no milk and brittle bones/teeth.

FabBakerGirlIsBack · 05/09/2009 18:23

Milk doesn't ever have to be stopped but 6 months is the ideal time to move on to a cup ime.

BornToFolk · 05/09/2009 18:28

DS is 22 months old and still has a bottle of milk before bed. He won't drink milk from a cup - we've tried them all, and he's been drinking water from an open cup for a good few months now - but still downs a good 9oz of milk before bed.

I don't see it as a problem. It's down in 10mins, then his teeth are brushed.

If your child is constantly sipping milk from a bottle, then that's not going to be good for teeth but milk given in one setting once or twice a day is not, IMVHO, an issue.

deepdarkwood · 05/09/2009 18:39

Ds & dd still have milk morning and night (at 3 & 5) but out of cups. Personally, I'd try and move them to a cup - the habit could still last a while
Getting dd (who was resistant to loosing her bottle) to move over was hugely helped by getting her to choose her own (very tacky) cup.

Wellywearer · 05/09/2009 19:17

BornToFolk - donnt want to be too critical but brushing too soon after even faintly acidic food can take tooth enamel off -

Seona1973 · 05/09/2009 19:31

the minimum recommended milk from 1 year is about 350mls (approx 12oz) and not all (or any) of that needs to be in drink form as they can get it through their food too. I think 3 portions of dairy are recommended per day to get the quota so a drink of milk some cheese and a yoghurt would be sufficient.

kreecherlivesupstairs · 06/09/2009 06:13

My dd has refused milk since the age of two. She did show an interest in it when we moved to switzerland and occasionally has the unpastuised full fat stuff you can buy from the farm (I don't like it it tastes too cowy) but never drinks milk. She'll have it on cereal though.

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