Two random and unconnected questions about toddlers ...

[spicemonster]

Question 1: is Vache Qui Rit cheese (aka Laughing Cow) full of crap? My DS loves philly and now refuses to eat much cheese apart from that but is this just full of processed rubbish ahd I should not give it to him?

Question 2: my DS (2 next month) has a bottle of milk (in a baby bottle) when he goes to bed and when he wakes every day. He has them like a baby ie cradled in my arms. Will he just grow out of this or will I still be giving them to him when he's 15 if I don't stop?!

I know four year olds who still have baby bottles, but no 15 year olds.

1. Not sure, but we all eat it here. A little bit can't be that bad.

1. I wish I knew. Mine is the same and 2.8, but not in my arms. He just sits there calmly. It keeps him happy and I'm happy he's getting milk. Won't drink it from cup. Hoping to try to just remove it somehow, not brave enough to try yet!

Q1 : My understanding is that the Laughing Cow and Dairylea cheeses are crappy because they have a very high level of salt

Q2 : I doubt he'll be bottlefed at 15 . He's 2, and a baby
I'd just try and make sure you brush his teeth after his bottle

q1 - i assumed they were both processed crap but my ds aged 2.9 eats both

q2 - mine still has a bottle of milk at bed and would like to have one first thing in the morning. we have stopped the morning one b.c we realised he was not eating breakfast because of it. frankly i think my ds would keep his bottle until he is 15 but i'm not too fussed about it. he only has one a day and only has milk in it. sounds like yours gets a lot of comfort from it so i wouldn't rush getting rid of it, but i'm a softie :-)

My only concern re the milk would be that you brush his teeth afterwards, ie before bed. Lots of sugar in milk and does rot teeth. I really don't see anything wrong with it otherwise . Afraid i don't know anything about laughing cow cheese - though i think it may be a cheese-spread (ie not really cheese, ergo lots of nasties) - however i'm a everything in moderation girl x

Oh gosh I don't brush his teeth after his nighttime bottle - he's falling asleep when he's drinking it. I brush them before. Is that really dreadful?

Buy the book

1 - dunno - what does it say on the ingredients list?

2 - god I hope not - DD is like this, loves a bottle of milk first and last thing

I think the advice is to try and brush teeth after milk because it can have a negative effect on dental health

1. No idea - dont use it here, my kids are cheddar lovers with the odd babybell thrown in for good measure.

2. My DD's still had bottles until about 2yrs, then changed to a sippy cup rather than bottle. DS is 14mnths and still happily on bottles so wont be getting rid just yet. How many 15yr olds do you know with bottles?! Its fine.

I think brushing before is OK - then the milk doesn't "stick"

(don't know where I read that, may be crap)

good link to the book, my first thought before reading the thread was "buy the book!"

Can't help on Qu 1 as I hate the stuff and my DC eat stronger cheese than I do.

Qu 2 - no scientific answer but DS was nearly 3 (I think) before we got rid of bedtime bottles and his teeth are perfect.

I got round this with DD by asking my dentist to say 'no milk after teeth time' - which is a mantra we repeat nightly. We do milk on the potty whilst having a story now... then teeth, night nights and bed. I dreaded the seemingly inevitable disruption to routine, but she took it all in her stride