What age do you think toddlers should stop having a bottle.....

[HRHQoQ]

for their milk??

I'm not really fussy - but a friend of mine commented the other day that she though I'd be stopping DS2's bottle soon (if hadn't already) because he's nearly 2.

He only has one bottle a day - just before he goes to bed, other drinks (squash, hot chocolate no sugar added and the dregs of my decaf coffee ) he has from a proper tumbler/mug without a lid or spout.

I've never really thought about 'stopping' his bottle - given that he only has it once a day - and he enjoys it.

What age did yours stop having a bottle?
or what age do you think they should stop?

My little sister was having a bottle at bedtime until she was almost 5. The only problem my mum had with letting her have it for so long was that it was more difficult to get her to give it up than it might have been if she'd stopped earlier.

Given that it's just once a day and that he enjoys it, I can't see that it's a problem. I also can't see that it's anyone else's business and I actually think your friend was rather rude for suggesting that she thought he ought to be giving it up.

well I can't stand seeing toddlers out with a bottle hanging out of their mouth... BUT, i haven't reached that stage with ds yet so may eat my words in a couple of years!

I actually am planning on giving him his bedtime milk in a bottle for as long as he wants it tbh... don't see that it really matters

oh I have no intentions of stopping him any time soon

Just being nosey about other people's opinions

I stopped my older two well before a year. I don't like seeign walkign toddlers with a bottle. Having said that the dts are seven months and I haven't even tried a beaker yet, so we'll see.

Kelly - I'm not talking about during the day - I'm just talking about for milk

DS2 who's been bottlefed from 5 days old - has NEVER had juice or water or anything else from a bottle other than milk. And he only has one full bottle before bed......lying back on the sofa watching TV (often while I nip out for a fag...........).

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and if they never master beakers with spouts??? DS1 never really got the hang of them - went onto "normal" tumblers at about 2yrs old (never took a bottle either) up until then we literally had to sit and hold a tumbler for him while he drank.

And why is it OK to stick a baby on a boob until 2yrs old - but not give a baby a bottle until 2yrs old???

I don't like toddlers wandering about with bottles either, but that's a personal preference and that's not what your Ds is doing anyway. For the record I was very mean and swapped DSs bed time bottles for cups with spouts at about 12/14 mths iirc, and they've never used bottles for anything other than milk. DD was awkward and refused point blank to drink from a bottle, she still has a morning bfeed if I don't get out of bed fast enough I get the same sort of comments about that as you get about the bottle....... she was 2 a couple of weeks ago.

Tbh I think you should do what makes you happy, for as long as you feel comfortable with it. Poo to everyone else

I don't like it when toddlers of 2 and over are running about with bottles in their mouths, don't see anything wrong with a bedtime bottle though for under 2's.

DD was breastfed for a year and drinking from a beaker from 6 months so I just swapped her onto beakers of milk so in a way I was lucky. I know a friend who gives her 4 yo DD a bottle at bedtime of sma!

ooops

how is drinking milk from a bottle bad for their teeth???

Are people actually reading what I wrote??? I'm not talking about juice and coke and other disgusting things that people give chavvy toddlers to carry round in bottles every day.

I'm talking about their milk (if they drink it - DS1 never did until he was about 3yrs old)

Has this thing kicked off yet?

sorry, should read properly. I think if it is jsut before bed that's fine, I wouldn't worry about that if I could get mine to get down to jsut that one. I think by two I might be starting to think about it though, but not necessarily do anythign about it. Once I got mine started on beakers they played with bottles, no way I could have kept the evenign one.

SMA at 4yrs old !!!

DS2 is already on Semi-Skimmed at bedtime - I know I know they shouldn't be drinking it until they're 2 (or something like that) but it was getting bl**dy expensive having to buy semi and full fat milk each week.

Hey! I'm on your side (even if I do have a 2 yr old on the boob )

I think the bottle thing and teeth is to do with saliva as well as sugars, which is why they recomend that a baby doesn't fall asleep on a bottle. Saliva is supposed to protect the teeth, and bottle before sleep removes this. But I doubt QoQ's ds is falling asleep on his bottle.

Aloha - I don't know - but I was going to post this the other day.........but was prompted to as there seems to be rather a large number of "breast" feeding threads on this topic the moment

Off to cook dinner now.........and then give DS2 (2 in 2 weeks time) his bottle of (semi-skimmed) milk, while watching BabyTV, with DS1 drinking his juice out of a 'sports' bottle (don't ask.......) and I have a fag

how the hell does a baby fall asleep on the bottle???

DS2 tried it once when he was about 4 months old...nearly choked as the milk kept dripping out befcause of the way he had it in his mouth - and never tried again LOL/

kama - I started trying to give my DS1 (who was breastfed - and wouldn't take a bottle.....of anything) a beaker from 6 months old......we spent a FORTUNE on the damn things, held them for him, tried him in every position possible......and when he learned to hold a proper cup at 23 months finally gave up...........

my 2 dd's had milk in a bottle at night until dd1 was 3 and dd2 was 2. It was part of their night time routine, so I was loathe to change it. eldest dd really faught it when we finally stoppped, the teat was cut open anyway. we had to post their bottles to new babies, and they went to buy new mugs. they stopped having milk out of a bottle during the day by 11 months. really winds me up especially with juice in....really bad for teeth aqnd it DOES look a bit chavish. The other thing I just don't get is seeing babies/toddlers having a bottle but left in their cots or pushchairs, maybe its just me, but giving a bottle was also time for a cuddle.

pashmina - re the toddlers and cuddles......my DS2 LOVES his cuddles - would cuddle me all day given the chance.

But since we was about 16 months old or so he's wanted to drink his milk on his own......try and hold him and he throws a completely wobbbly

When he still had his afternoon milk he'd have that one in the pushchair on the way to pick his brother up - it was straight after his sleep - and if I'd waited until he got home again he'd have been really unhappy - that was from about 11 months - but the morning and evening ones I ALWAYS held him for.....until he decided he was 15 months going on 15yrs