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Behaviour/development

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Original poster

How to stop the night time bottle of milk

22 replies

Vangough · 13/04/2010 21:46

Panorama tonight has scared the life out of me ! My DD is 2.5yrs and still has her night time milk (she loves it and goes to sleep drinking her bottle) We rigorously brush her teeth at bedtime but she then has the milk after so I know we have to bin the milk so it can't rot her teeth. But how ! she LOVES it. We have tried stopping it in the past but it has only resulted in tears and sobbing so I'd love some helpful hints....

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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mumblecrumble · 13/04/2010 22:05

All I can say is that our DD was like this aged 2 years 4 months and now 2 years and 7 monhs is not bothered about milk at all.

Personally I think there is worse things than milk at bed!!! Its her comfort. Perhaps brush her teeth then give milk O(maybe milk will taste yucky after toothpaste?)

Balls to Panarama. As long as teeth get brushed and she is healthy otherwise... surely thats ok?!?!!

annieshaf · 13/04/2010 22:25

Mumblecrumble

"Balls to Panorana" Im sorry to be blunt but did you not see what those poor kids went through when they had to have their baby teeth out under general anasthetic at a very young age. OP already brushes her DD's teeth before the milk but this doesnt stop the source of the decay which is the milk being drunk after teeth have been cleaned.

Your DD may have decided to give up the mmilk on her own accord but this is not always the case.

thisisyesterday · 13/04/2010 22:27

just do her teeth afterwards

seeker · 13/04/2010 22:29

Brush teeth. Milk. Then another brush round without getting out of bed - you take the brush with a bit of toothpaste into the bedroom with you. Sorted.

BoysAreLikeDogs · 13/04/2010 22:30

ah right

I think that you might have to grit your teeth and be prepared for anight or 2 of wailing

that prog was HORRIFIC

all those tinies having teeth out

Aliarse · 13/04/2010 22:30

what seeker said!

mumblecrumble · 13/04/2010 22:31

Yeah, just rered my post... where i said #all I can say' I kind of meant not really sure but maybe it wont alwasy be like that. Rather than my agressive anti panarama type ness.

I like seekers idea...

mumblecrumble · 13/04/2010 22:32

Or what about drinking warmed water. i think thats my mum 'weaned' me on to...

SOrryif I;m bering arse. DD got chicken oox on second day of holidays and now very bored at home with ill DD and ill DH... sorry.

Feeling bantery and ranty. I shall take myself to AIBU...

longbay · 14/04/2010 10:02

I have always given the milk, then read a story then brushed teeth.
Maybe you could try that.
My DD 11 months has always been given a muslin when put in the cot. She uses it as her 'comforter'.

Octaviapink · 14/04/2010 10:02

I would dilute the milk progressively over a couple of weeks until she's basically on water. You may find that she goes off it that way without causing too much trauma!

Buttons2708 · 14/04/2010 10:34

OMG I have 4 yr old DD who is special needs and the only way we can get her to sleep is with half a bottle of milk, her teeth are not great but have improved massively since we started brushing her teeth 3 times a day, I think I need to watch that programme and stop that bottle immediately or at least put it to half and half and deal with the next month of no sleep!!! Must say though older 2 DD have beautiful teeth and never had any problems. So i am doing something right!

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 14/04/2010 11:50

I saw that programme too and was wondering if breastfeeding at night has the same effect?

countrylover · 14/04/2010 11:50

DS1 had a bottle at bedtime until he was nearly three! I brushed his teeth after the bottle.

We weaned him off it by saying we'd left the bottle on the plane when we went on holiday. We said it had gone to another baby now and he totally accepted it.

We tried to wean him off it when he was around 18 months though and it was disasterous. It ended up with him screaming for up to an hour at bedtime and even waking in the night crying for it. So after a few nights we gave in and waited until he was much older.

thelittlebluepills · 14/04/2010 15:49

I was pathetic at getting DS1 off the nightime bottles - in the end the answer was to stamp on the bottles to break them so that when my will weakened at 2am I wasn't able to go and fish them out of the wheelie bin! DS1 got over it in a couple of nights.

mathanxiety · 14/04/2010 18:51

Replace with a drink of water and tell the DC the milk is all gone, or finished, or there's none left, or something along those lines. Be prepared for wailing and protests, but habits are pretty easy to break in a 2.5 yo. It's just getting over the hump that's difficult because they appear so heartbroken at first. But a snuggle, a story, and a drink of water, maybe even a new little cuddly toy, can all help them get over the hard part.

Ot brush thoroughly after the milk and give no more until morning.

I know a child whose front teeth and some further back were ruined by decay, and the dental care was much more painful than taking away the milk would have been. Or going to the trouble of brushing her teeth after the drink.

mathanxiety · 14/04/2010 18:54

Original poster

Vangough · 18/04/2010 09:52

We had success pretty much straight away - our DD does respond to a 'talk' about most things (I should have given her more credit !) we now have milk downstairs and water upstairs in bed with her book. There were a few moans (tried it on with Daddy) but for a week now she has brushed her teeth after milk and has only had water until morning....hurray.

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Buttons2708 · 18/04/2010 22:22

OMG went cold turkey on Wednesday with dd 4 whose special needs and she's not complained, asked every night we told her we've run out and she's happy with it!!!!!!

PiratePrincess · 18/04/2010 23:19

DD is 23 months and we also stopped her bottle at bed immediately after seeing the programme - with no problems. So much easier than I thought it would be!!

dubbletrubble · 19/04/2010 00:25

Wouldn't give a child a baby bottle after 2 years - and actively reduced liquids after 5pm if considering progressing onto toilet training between 2&3 anyway. Kept milk bottle with eldest ds till nearly 2.5 but took away from ds an dd around 2. Just explained that only babies need bottles to drink and now the were 'big' boy/girl they can have a cup drink after dinner. Wasn't doing any of this from teeth rot knowledge, more just thinking logically about liquid intake before bedtime - and was horrified by panorama programme too!!

Original poster

Vangough · 19/04/2010 13:05

yeah the next step is to stop baby bottle. My 'plan' for that is when new arrival comes I will explain that he needs the bottles now and she is a big girl and can use cups. She still has the hugest nappies at night so we will try and bring the milk drink earlier too....

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MyMamaToldMe · 19/04/2010 16:47

I only recently started brushing my DD's (23 months old)teeth after her bottle, and I can say truthfully that it is so much easier than I thought it would be. She gets very sleepy and relaxed drinking her before bed bottle (only has 2 bottles a day - before bed and in the morning), and because of this I was never keen. However, I think it is because if this that it is so easy. She just lays there with her mouth open and lets me get on with it! I am just hoping I haven't already caused a problem with her teeth.

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