3 yr old wont give up the bottle

[lyppy]

Please help. My 3 year old son wont give up his bottle. I have been trying to get him to since he was a year old, but when I try him with a cup/straw, he refuses to drink, and wont drink for days. Eventually, I give in and give him his bottle because I'm worried he'll get dehydrated. Its now been 8 days since he last had a drink, although he is still eating healthy, and I'm this close to giving in again as I dont want him to make himself ill - but I dont want him drinking from his bottle. Any help would be great. Thanks

Hi there lyppy,

is it just milk or all kinds of drinks he wants the bottle for?

dd was a nightmare too, though now just 4 she only insists on milk being in a bottle. The rest she'll drink from anything.

We thought 'granted milk's always been in the bottle' so she is allowed that. For the other we went 'merchandising'. Does your dd have a favourite cartoon/tv character? Maybe get a drinking cup/straw cup with that on and tell him it's a special treat for non-milk drinks?

In the meantime if he doesn't drink just try and make sure he gets fluids with his food... milk in cereal, tomatoes, cucumber, soups etc.

Not much help I know, but just so you know you're not alone in this struggle

sorry... meatnt to type ds!

I think he must be sneaking a drink in somewhere - 8 days without a drink wouldn't do him much good