Full fat milk for 4 year old in a bottle!

[missgraciea]

Please no judgement. My daughter - just 4 a couple of weeks ago - still drinks whole milk. Guzzles it to be honest. I cannot get her off her bottle. I have a couple of questions.

Should I have switched her semi skimmed a while ago? I’ve only just realised if doesn’t matter anymore.

The bottle- she drinks milk from it in the evening and in the morning. She loves it. She is not ‘babied’ in any other way - dresses herself head to toe every morning, is incredibly chatty and will walk/run for miles. Has been potty trained since just over two. Her teeth are fine. We’ve just had a check up - I was worried the bottle might be damaging them. But she loves this bottle. Does it really matter? Should I just let her have it?
She’s my only child if you couldn’t tell!

“I cannot get her off the bottle” yes you can, she’s 4. If you want her to stop throw away the bottle and offer her milk in a cup.

When dd was small it was "full fat til five".

The bottle really needs to go though.

full fat milk is recommended until 2 years old. and yes in a cup.

DS still only drinks milk (full fat) or water, very very occasionally he will have some fruit juice but asks for it to be diluted 50/50 with water.
He's six, eats very well and it's tall, slim and active, why would you stop her drinking full fat milk unless it's stopping her eating or if she's overweight?
The bottle you need to get rid of straight away, it'll ruin her teeth, even if it hasn't already it won't be long before she starts losing those baby teeth and getting new ones

I’d really really try and get rid of the bottle. It has become a habit and possibly a crutch for her too. It can be replaced with something more suitable for a child her age. Maybe she could keep it until Christmas and then Santa could take it and replace it with a big girl bottle / cup that she could use?

The bottle needs to go.

Get rid of the bottle, absolutely no excuse for a reception age child to be drinking out of a bottle.

Just switch to a sippy cup. It will be fine.

Whole milk is perfectly fine. Actually, it’s lower in sugar and more nutritious than other milks. It’s the only milk we’ve ever bought (even pre- kids).

Umm... I drink whole milk as a 40-something (mainly in tea / coffee). What's wrong with that? Serious question and not intended as a hijack!

My kids only ever had full fat and I think it’s only worth changing if you are concerned about her weight

my dd was a milk guzzler but stopped drinking it so much once the bottle went (she was a lot younger though). I think it can be more the bottle than the drink

dd moved onto a straw cup for a bit and then we took those away and swapped for a cup. She wasn’t happy about it so we had to persist.

I wouldn't bother with a sippy cup. Straight to plastic beaker. The bottle has to go but nothing wrong with her drinking full fat milk though.

Does she eat a wide range of other foods and drink other drinks?
If the milk accounts for a lot of her daily calories, she may be missing out on other nutrients, like iron.

Does she brush her teeth after her night time milk and every morning?

Yes, she really shouldn't be having the bottle.
The full fat milk is less of an issue because it's easier to fix by adding a little semi skimmed to her usual drink, increasing the proportion over time until she's drinking semi skimmed.

It's better for her teeth if she drinks from a glass because there's less chance of milk continuously sloshing around her teeth that way.

She may well grow out of the bottle without you pressing the matter. If she goes to school she will find her friends don't have a bottle.

You could also take the bottles away and have her choose a nice toy instead, a little like a tooth fairy operation. Some people do this when it's time to get rid of the pacifier/ soother/ dummy .

Gather the bottles and bottle brushes and put them all in a basket in a special place in the house. Build a sense of excitement about the bottles being taken and a note being left in the basket instructing her to go to a toy shop (or wherever) to choose a toy and a special mug or cup.

Full fat milk is not bad for you.
presume she isn’t sleeping with the bottle.
and that teeth get brushed before bed.
I think there are worse things.
if she’s actually guzzling the milk, not endlessly sucking on the teat.

Full fat milk is fine. Some of the extra calories in the milk is fine, especially for little ones.
i actually prefer the taste.

Full fat is actually more nutritious, so don't be worried at all. Transition to a cup somehow that's all

The bottle is not a hill to die on if she is still attached to it You could try switching to drinking from a cup with a straw if she would like that.

I also don’t understand why anything would be wrong with full fat milk? It’s very wholesome and nutritious.

Full fat milk is not an issue, feeling that she "can't" give up the bottle is

I think because of the quantity drunk and the increase in overweight children there was a move away from full fat - from age 2 I believe.

I always thought that was a bad message and we didn’t follow it

They can have semi skimmed from age 1 and skimmed from age 5, but I don't really think there's an issue with full fat.
What if you used a nuk toddler cup? It looks like a bottle but the spout is sippy plastic.

The bottle has to go. A glass is appropriate, make sure she sits still to drunk it.

Full fat milk is fine if she is eating enough of a varied diet and isn't overweight. Semi-skimmed is ok from two and skimmed from five but if all else is fine full fat is often preferred. We gave semi-skimmed from two as that is what we like and we didn't want to buy two types of milk.

We only have full fat milk in our house, blue top milk is not an issue, the bottle is inappropriate and needs to stop.

It's getting close to winter, you can make a thing of getting her a big girl china cup that she picks herself and a little jug to warm it up in the microwave, create a new ritual for milk before bed.

The milk isn't the issue here OP 🤷‍♀️

I don’t think full fat or semi skimmed matters. It’s just that at 2 you can switch to semi if that’s what the rest of the family have no need to buy a separate milk for the toddler. The bottle needs to go though. You’re the adult, just chuck them out and if you want to do it gently do a variation on the dummy fairy and get her a big girl present to swap it for.

@Mammyloveswine she’s not in reception!

My DD 4.5 still has a dummy at night and whole milk in her sippy cup before bed. She likes it and I'm sure she won't still have it aged 25. 4 is still so little, it really doesn't matter.