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!

We can’t have dairy (both my girls have allergy) but I only ever had full fat milk. Our bodies need fats, particularly when growing. I hadn’t realised there was such an issue with drinking things in bottles. I prefer to drink water out of a bottle (not least safer less mess with young kids) what’s the issue with letting kids continue with a bottle (eldest 2.5)

‘Bottle rot’ is code for parents not brushing teeth properly.

When my kids were small we were told no bottles after the age of 1. Nothing wrong with full fat milk.

She said the dentist said brushing doesn't always get all the sugar off from the milk. Called it bottle rot. It was so sad. Sad for him but sad for her too.

@NiftyKoala Bottle rot is different it’s when a child goes to sleep with a bottle and the milk pools in their mouth allowing their teeth to soak in it. I’m very confident this won’t happen to my daughter!

Well I hope that's how it works out for you. As a parent seeing the mistakes we make harm our kids is horrible and I wouldn't want that for your girl.

@NiftyKoala no, neither did I, hence why we went to the dentist last week but I was more concerned about the position of her teeth than any damage or rot to them. Either way, all was well.

I think the full fat mill is fine. I've only just managed to get rid of the bottle for my 3 year old. We decided to send it to the 'babies' and I bought her a new special cup to celebrate. She has asked/ cried a few times for the bottle but is now used to it and drinking from the cup. Hope it goes well for you x

What's wrong with a child having a whole milk?

Obviously time to skip the bottle. To ease the transition, I'd buy a mug with their favourite character on it and use that and make a big deal of what a great cup it is, so much better than a bottle.

My 4yo has full fat milk in a sports bottle (with a straw) before bed. So long as you brush teeth afterwards I think it's fine?

Can you get her a sports bottle/sippy cup in her favourite colour/character to ease the transition?

I would be encouraging her to get rid of the bottle. She is 4 and should be able to drink well from open cups now. Maybe take her out and let her choose a special milk cup or mug to replace the bottle?
I ditched the bottle at 1 for both mine and my 1 year old has his milk in a straw cup and my 5 year old in a mug. They both have whole milk it’s higher in fat and less sugar so no issues with whole milk at all

I had a bottle until I was 6. I’m grand!

I used to drink tea out of it too.

I'd let Santa take the bottle and give her a fun kiss cup or two.

Kids cup not kiss...

My son was the same, honestly I couldn't get him off the bottle. I used to buy that enriched milk with the gruffalo on the bottle, can't think what it's called.
The only thing that got him off was a weeks holiday in Spain and he didn't like the milk. Good luck, it's hard work!

We switched to semi-skimmed with our almost 4 year old a few months ago when I realised the NHS guidance had changed to either whole or semi-skimmed. I mainly changed so I was only buying one kind of milk as me and my DH prefer semi-skimmed so I was buying both kinds each week. It is absolutely fine to continue with full fat though if that’s her preference.

My DS has his in a straw cup (Munckin simple clean toddler straw cup) usually. He likes to sit in his bed reading a book with it in a morning so it reduces the risk of spillage on the bed 🙈 (I’m probably going to get slated for allowing him to do that now 🙄😂).

We all drink whole milk in my family. I don't think you have to switch to semi skimmed unless you want to.

As for the bottle, have you thought of getting a fun cup with a straw? Like the promotional ones you get at the cinema? Then move on to her own special mug.

As long as her teeth are fine, she eats meals ok and does have drinks out of cups other than a bottle in the day I don't really see the issue? If that's her little comfort what harm is it causing?

What's the difference between a child drinking from a bottle at bedtime, and a child having a comforter or something to sleep with? Genuine question why you believe this little issue is going to create such issues as a teen?

Bottles should be phased out by the age of two so I would suggest your daughter is using this as a comfort.

My son was the same and the health visitor at two said just start reducing the amount by say 20ml each day until there is hardly in there and say she can halve the rest in a bottle.

The fact she is crying hysterically suggests that this is a crutch and isn’t going to get any easier. Just because her teeth are okay now doesn’t mean they always will be and her sucking won’t cause issues as her teeth come in.

Phase out the bottle. It’s more than time.

The milk isn’t a problem.

And why on earth does it matter if she glugs it from a bottle rather than knocking back a glass before bed? A couple of minutes sucking a bottle isn’t going to reshape her dentition or cause decay.

The anti-bottle message was because preschoolers were going round constantly sipping squash or juice and damaging their teeth. But that’s not what’s happening here.

Yes, it’s a comfort issue. But what’s wrong with comfort? She’ll almost certainly feel ready to move on soon, and she can be gently encouraged to do that if you want. But there’s nothing morally more advanced about a sippy cup for goodness sake.

@missgraciea my son is the same! He turns 4 in January and still uses a bottle for milk. He won't take milk in anything else. All his other drinks he uses a straw cup or open cup etc but milk it's always a bottle.

I liked pp suggestion of giving it up for Santa to give to other babies etc and he can have a present in return. I will try that , I know the bottle needs to go

Ditch the bottle, just bin them.

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

Even then, changing to semi skinned would do very little about that undress she is drinking gallons of the stuff a day.

Whatever milk you think your child needs is fine. Both of mine are tall for their age and very good eaters. I didn't see the need for them to have full fat milk after about age 3, they both moved onto semi-skimmed like the rest of the family. If they were skinny or lacking in any other areas of nourishment I'd have kept them on full fat.

Why don't you buy her a lovely bottle of her choosing with one of her favourite characters on that she can have for her bedtime milk? You can get some really nice, gentle on the palate, kids bottles that are the next step up from a babies' bottle.

I can't help on the bottle front as mine refused bottles 😂
But she is 6 and has full fat, I'm 37 and have full fat. No problem with full fat milk at all 🤗