Moving from bottle to beaker at 16 months - tips or should I not bother?

[millingtonsmummy]

I've just been reading the "Why no bottle after 1?" thread with interest. DD is 16 months and has a bottle morning and night. I've tried giving her milk out of a beaker and she looks at me like I'm off my rocker. I've not pursued it and always gone back to the bottle.

So, is it time to move to a beaker or do any of you believe it's not worth the battle? And for those of you that have done this successfully, where do I start?

Thank you!

I think it's worth it, but why not introduce an open cup instead? I'll explain: DD1 never took the bottle, and always drank from closed beakers - trouble is, she didn't learn to drink from an open cup properly until she was in Reception, and even then, she would sometimes forget and swing a cup of milk around, spraying the kitchen (...aged nearly 6).
So with DD2, who did take the bottle, I simply chucked out all the bottles one day (I'd made sure she knew how to use a beaker before I did so!), and she accepted the transition at once - the beaker had warm milk, which helped. She's OK with an open cup with a straw (Tesco do a pack of 3 tall cups with a removable straw inside the lids); her nursery have taught her to drink water from an open cup, and I'm copying that at home - messy, but worth it long term IMO.
HTH

We kept the bedtime bottle was ds1 for ages simply because he found it soothing before bed and so there was no reason not to really. He never had water from a bottle, so when he started on water/juice he learned to drink from a sippy cup. We then moved his milk to an open beaker almost accidently because we went on holiday and forgot to pack a bottle for him and because we were somewhere different anyway, he accepted another change in how things were done without comment.

A bottle night and morning. Please can someone explain to me why that's in any way a bad idea?

seeker check out the "Why no bottle after 1?" thread, all to do with an increased risk of tooth decay.

I'm really on the fence on this one. She drinks well from a cup and straw and from a beaker with a spout as long as it's not milk. When I offer her milk in anything other than a bottle she looks at me like I'm crazy.

AcademicMum I like the idea of doing it when there's a change in situation anyway. I'm kind of hoping that if I stick to my guns after a few days of refusing a beaker or cup she might give up and drink ... ????

Most beakers with spouts are actually no better for tooth decay than bottles. It's to do with how far back into the mouth the teat goes and if you think about it a beaker spout usually goes less into the mouth! I think there are 2 that are dentist approved - the Avent magic cup and the TT Easiflow cup.

An open cup or cup with straw is by far the best thing where teeth are concerned.

Saying that if she drinks everything else like that I wouldn't worry too much. My DS has his milk in a bottle and he is 2.11

Personally, I think if they still enjoy a bottle then why not keep it? I think the issue with teeth is probably more relevant for the ones who are sucking on a bottle all day rather than those who have 1 or 2 in a day at set times. There are much worse things you can do than give them a couple of bottles a day (sticking them in front of the telly with Mars bars springs to mind)...

Ladies thank you. I've made my mind up and I'm not going to bother. DD loves her bottle and it's 5-10 mins twice a day. I'm going to wait til she's older and I can explain to her (or bribe her with a sticker chart ) and move her to an open cup.

Thanks MNers, all your comments have helped a great deal.