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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

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

74 replies

HRHQoQ · 16/11/2005 17:25

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?

OP posts:
pashmina · 16/11/2005 20:26

just thought of horrible memories of measuriong out formula powder, forgetting how many you put in, and chucking the lot!!

weesaidie · 16/11/2005 20:39

lol - pashmina I did that... good old blue top is much simpler! In a cup of course

Passionflowerinapeartree · 16/11/2005 21:10

Ah, I never pay any attention to what HV's say. They generally talk a load of old rubbish.

Passionflowerinapeartree · 16/11/2005 21:16

This in answer to Pasmina's post of course, Weesaidie's mum is the exception I'm sure. BTW Weesaidie that's what I thought about full fat.

original · 16/11/2005 21:18

I lost mine childrens around their 1st birthdays, they didn't even notice. I did it then as it's easier to do it while they're young.

I do think that a bottle is for a baby that cannot manage a cup and don't see it necessary for a toddler. However i have learnt since having children to have the opinion of 'what works for you'! This is what worked for me.

piffle · 16/11/2005 21:18

3 was my cut off point.

madmarchhare · 16/11/2005 21:22

DS stopped at 12 months.

julienetmum · 16/11/2005 22:19

I think they should stop having a bottle at 12 months and I stopped dd's easily at exactly that age.

Unfortunately ds had different ideas and I have only just managed to get rid of his bottle at 21 months. He was breastfed until 16 months though he had bottles in the day whilst I worked.

MummyJules · 17/11/2005 12:37

DD stopped hers at 2 1/2 because it took me a while to get her to drink from cups!

daisy1999 · 17/11/2005 12:39

I stopped at 12 months

Gobbledigook · 17/11/2005 12:41

By 12 months ideally.

Ds1 and ds2 were off bottles by 10-11 months but I've been rather lazy third time round and ds3 still has a bottle at night and he's 16 months. He drinks from a cup the rest of the time. It's just easier to get his milk down him and then he'll sleep - he won't down a cup in the same way as he will a bottle.

Gobbledigook · 17/11/2005 12:42

My friends little boy is in reception and is 4 and has milk in a bottle at bed!

I will get rid of ds3's bedtime bottle by the end of teh year at the latest!

SackAche · 17/11/2005 12:43

I'm just impressed he's drinking from a cup without a lid!!! My 16mth old dd would just pour it over the floor..... In fact sometimes my 4yr old ds has difficulty keeping a cup upright!

fennel · 17/11/2005 12:53

dd1 had milk in a bottle til 3.5 shock horror . It was the only serious battle which she ever won, every time i cut out the bottles she stopped drinking milk. eventually at 3.5 I didn't care about the milk consumption.

dd2 stopped at 1 but then noticed dd1 still had bottles so went back to them til 2 (she stopped when dd1 stopped).

dd3 stopped at 15 months.

some children are remarkably attached to their bottles. i didn't LIKE seeing my 3yo with a bottle but it was such a big thing for her.

izzybiz · 17/11/2005 14:42

my 18 month dd still has a bottle for milk, at bed. when shes really tired she will cry for it, im not going to fight her over it yet, its a comfort to her. she never had dummy or anything. she will even just hold an empty bottle in her mouth when sleeping.

tortoiseshell · 17/11/2005 14:44

I think age 2. Having said that, dd never had a bottle, so wasn't an issue. Ds was happy to change to a cup when he was about 18 months. Don't know what I'd do if they were really attached to their bottle though.

pinkmagic1 · 17/11/2005 14:55

DS who is 17 months has his milk from a bottle, but all other drinks from a beaker. I can't see the problem, its a comfort thing that i'm sure he will give up when hes ready.

jenkel · 17/11/2005 15:00

DD is 3 and is still having one night time bottle of milk a day, never when we got out, in fact only at night.

I have tried stopping the bottle and give the milk to her in a cup but she refuses it and will rather go to bed with nothing, it really comforts her. She has a very small appetite so I think its a way of getting some more calories into her. I'm hoping she will just grow out of it, but if she is still having a bottle when she is 4 I'll try to stop her again.

oliveoil · 17/11/2005 15:02

who cares

Why did the pastie man give me a chicken one instead of veg at lunch, that's what I want to know.

Lucycat · 17/11/2005 15:06

hope you sorted him oo!

original · 17/11/2005 16:42

To oliveoil-HRHQoQ cares. That's why she asked the question. I'm new to mumsnet-are people always this rude?

vickiyumyum · 17/11/2005 17:06

difficult really depends on the child! i stopped ds2 having a bottle when he was 12months old, (he had only been having a bottle for a couple of months anyway) and changed it to an anyway up cup which took us another two years to get rid of, actually more than that as have only just got rid of it in the last couple of months and ds2 is now 3.9! i personally would try and make a start gettign rid of it now, offer a cup instead of a bottle without saying anything and see what he does, but then again if you are happy for him to have it and it is only the one bottle at home then thats up to you.

LIZS · 17/11/2005 17:17

jenkel, dd's appetite for food has really increased since she stopped having milk. She is just 4 and was still having some at school and when she got home until half term. ds stopped at 3 (he had a sicky bug and blamed milk) and it had the same effect.

expatinscotland · 17/11/2005 17:18

When they're ready. I'm a strong believer in live and let live and allowing people - including children - to do things at their own pace.

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