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Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

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Original poster

When to quit using a bottle?

32 replies

EYPEdinburgh · 25/10/2015 18:42

I worked for a family who still gave their four year old a baby bottle of chocolate milk as and when she asks for it.

At first it didn't bother me - if it was convenient for them, great! But then there came a time when the child started rolling around the floor going 'goo goo, gaa gaa' and refusing to do anything until they had the bottle in their hand.

This little girl was also incredibly fussy when it came to food. Nothing could be touching anything else and she couldn't have a fork that had already touched the food and god forbid there be something on the plate she didn't like.

I guess I'm wondering if there comes a time when you finally give up and say no more. I always thought that as soon as they had teeth the time came to give up dummies and teats as they can cause trouble with incoming teeth.

Is four just too old for a baby bottle and is it affecting her eating habits?

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Singsongsungagain · 25/10/2015 18:47

Of course it is! Both my children were off the bottle by their first birthday.

Iguessyourestuckwithme · 25/10/2015 18:48

I am a nanny.

I have all "my" children of bottles by 1 year; if not earlier. I HATE [with a passion] seeing toddlers walking around with bottles in their mouths - especially when they have something other than milk in them.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 25/10/2015 18:50

Mine still had a bottle at 4. Much to my embarrassment. They are all now healthy teens, eating healthy stuff, without rotten teeth. It is not a problem long term.

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SlinkyB · 25/10/2015 18:56

Four is way too old, and nothing other than milk or water should be in a bottle.

My 21mo still has a bedtime bottle as he point blank refuses to drink milk out of anything else, but it will be gone by his 2nd birthday. He can have his dummy for sleep til he's a bit older though.

ffffffedup · 25/10/2015 19:09

After 1-1.5 mine only had a bottle before bed the rest of the time they had a beaker type. I know people who give their kids cola in a bottle at age 4 or 5 I mean wtf!!

nephrofox · 25/10/2015 19:14

I don't understand why anyone would put anything but milk in a bottle. I threw them away when DS was 18 months and eating a balanced diet, his milk consumption dropped when using only a cup but that's fine in my opinion

Phineyj · 25/10/2015 19:32

We chuckled them away when they wore out (DD was about 2.5). She wouldn't drink milk from anything else and it was an easy way to get vit D drops into her. She hasn't touched milk since the bottles went -- apparently it is wrong out of every other type of container!

Phineyj · 25/10/2015 19:33

Chucked! Not chuckled, you weird ipad!

WitteryTwittery · 25/10/2015 19:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BlueThursday · 25/10/2015 19:38

DD is 9 months and still on 4 bottles a day, not sure how to go about getting rid of them. I clearly haven't thought ahead!

Fluffy24 · 25/10/2015 19:43

DS is 9 months and we've not used a bottle in a month. He gets BF once a day, has milk in solid food, and takes a little from a sippy cup with meals.

nephrofox · 25/10/2015 19:49

Whittery I would just leave it. 15 months is still little and one a day won't harm - just make sure you brush teeth after

Original poster

EYPEdinburgh · 25/10/2015 20:36

Nice to know I'm not the only one. I completely agree that nothing should go into bottles except milk or water. Seeing little kids drinking cola whatever its in gives me the creeps. It cant be good for the rest of their bodies not just their teeth.

I think a two year old who is still on a bottle is perfectly acceptable, everyone starts weaning at different times so it's only natural that they might still have the occasional bottle but as soon as they can feed themselves independently with a knife and fork/spoon the time has come to abandon bottles.

Found an article on NHS website which discusses this...

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/drinks-and-cups-children.aspx#close

Hope its helpful to those not yet at the bottle-less stage.

OP posts:

BlueThursday · 25/10/2015 20:46

I've struggled to find a good sized free flow cup, they all seem to be non-spill.

DDs little water cup is free flow but not big enough for milk feeds. Can anyone recommend a good sized free flow cup?

Fuckwitteryhasform · 25/10/2015 20:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lj8893 · 25/10/2015 20:50

My Dd occasionally has a bottle of milk at bedtime, but only when she's really overtired so maybe once a fortnight. She's 2 though and it's getting less and less.

I hate seeing baby's/toddlers with bottles with anything other than milk or water in! I saw a baby of no more than a year with a bottle of coke the other day and my judgypants came out a bit!

ffffffedup · 25/10/2015 20:51

wittery I'd leave it for now a new baby is a big enough upheaval as it is for your dd leave her with a bedtime bottle she's still very young to be taking that away imo

Scattymum101 · 25/10/2015 20:54

I got dd off the bottle around 14 months I think. She only had one for bed by then and I just offered milk in a sippy cup at that point. She wouldn't take it initially but didn't pine for the bottle. After a few weeks she started taking bedtime milk from a cup.
She didn't drop the dummy until just before 2 but she only ever had it for naps and bed. I HATE seeing toddlers walking about with dummies in. Drives me crazy!

Dd2 is nearly 9 months and still has 5 milk feeds a day. She's not a bit eater yet so I'm not going to worry about bottles until she naturally starts dropping some feeds once she starts eating a bit more.
X

didireallysaythat · 25/10/2015 20:58

Both DS1 and DS2 were milk monsters. Both dropped asking for a bottle of milk at bedtime around their 4-5th birthdays. The dentist wasn't concerned, they both only drink water (and very little milk now it's not in a bottle). Everyone is different and I chose to fight bigger battles.

ffffffedup · 25/10/2015 20:59

fluffy are you sure your dc is getting enough milk?? It was my impression that milk is still a big factor in a baby's diet until at least 12 months. My ds is 8 months he has 3 meals and 3 bottles a day.

littleducks · 25/10/2015 21:04

I never used a bottle with any of mine so can't really understand the difficulty of weaning from a parents view point.

From a professional point of view (I'm a SALT) bottles aren't great,a beaker is preferable as the suck swallow action is different.

Newlywed56 · 25/10/2015 21:07

I not only seen someone gave their son a bottle (guessing age 6) not only filled with Coke which was bad enough... But the child was that old it screwed the top of the bottle back on themselves lol

5madthings · 25/10/2015 21:11

Some of the madthings bfed until almost four years and dd had a bottle before bed until she was three and a half? She always had teeth cleaned after and the bottle was drunk quickly, it was comfort and part of her routine, her teeth are fine. I didn't see it as any different from my children who had bfed at a similar age. It's a UK/USA thing to stress over bottles and dummies. In many other European countries they have them to a much later age without the angst we get here. Tends to be a judgemental snobby type thing, nothing wrong with a young child having a comforter. I would only ever put milk in a bottle but see no harm in them.

MilkyChops · 25/10/2015 21:12

My LO has 3 or 4 bottles a day of milk. If you try putting anything but milk in a bottle he won't drink it but will happily drink water out of a tippy cup. Hoping the transition to milk in tippy cup will be easy as he drinks water really well out of it.

I don't see why a 4 year old needs a bottle, unless there are some sort of additional needs. Does she have autism?

VinylScratch · 25/10/2015 21:17

My DD had a bottle of milk at bedtime until she was 3, we only stopped it when we were going on holiday abroad and didn't want to take bottles.

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