Hi, my son who is 2 1/2 refuses to go to nap or go to bed with out his sippy cup filled with milk, we tried giving him the milk before bed and then tuck him in after he drinks it up, but that doesnt work he screams for the longest time! So how can I get him to go to bed with out a sippy? (i'm trying to potty train him but having him drink before he falls asleep doesnt help the whole process, he wakes up with a huge poopy diaper)
thanks every one for your advice, I will have to try it out and see what happens, see I also have an 8 mo old daughter so him screaming for two hours straight doesnt help her sleep so thats why I just give it to him so he can be quiet and fall asleep.. But I know I need to put my foot down and it wont be easy..
You put your foot down and tell him no sippy cup in bed. Sorry but he is old enough to understand this.
Maybe get rid of the sippy? I do home daycare, and at 2 years old (24 mos) we toilet train (we do the 3 day method...sort of like potty boot camp..parents do at home and I support here...most take more than 3 days but within a week or 2 we have daytime training down pat).
But at that same time, if not a little sooner...all depends on the child and their motor skills, we get rid of the sippy lid. I have small plastic "juice" size (thats what they were called..in a 6 pk from Target, made from recycled milk jugs!). I start with just a teency bit in the cup. Its small and they can get both hands easily around it. Lots of reminders of "2 hands" and placement of the cup at the table. Cups are ONLY for at the table. No walking around with a cup at all, in the car, etc. There is no need and in my opinion, is where some of these dependancies come from. Again, JMO.
And just do it. No negotiating. Just start with the big kid cup...water. Milk. At the table. This might get him to understand no cup in bed. only at the table. If dawdling happens, set a timer. If he is old enough to potty train (and he certainly is..I have a house ful of kids under 3 who have been trained a long time....one who is a few months from 3 and shes been trained a full year now!), hes old enough to learn these simple new rules.
Good luck!
Stand your ground and no sippy at bedtime...If you are consistent with this, it will eventually work.
I agree with the other mom's, you have to stick to your guns. He will cry but he will eventually learn that the crying doesn't work. My 13 month old just gave up her sippy cup before bedtime. I have to admit she made it easy because she just sort of stopped drinking much of what was in the cup, so I figured she was ready to give it up.
Plus it will be better for future dental bills if he doesn't go to bed with a sippy.
We had the exact same issue. Sippy cup of milk before bed. It lasted until she was almost 2 1/2. She also needed it at naps too. If we didn't give it to her, we'd hear her cry, "milk, milk, milk". If she woke up in the middle of the night, she needed milk to help her fall back asleep. (So we knew it was just a comfort thing). One time when my mom was here, she put her down for a nap and just forgot about the milk...and our daughter somehow knew that since Grandma doesn't know the routine, it'd be fine. (She went to sleep NO problem!) I was baffled that she went to bed without her milk.
So we started to give her a sippy cup with water. She would cry at first, but we just told her "the milk was all gone". We'd also let her take a special toy to bed with her. It was "rough" for the first couple of days...but she figured she'd only be getting water. (Sometimes when she'd cry because she didn't want water we'd ask her, "okay then do you want ice in it??" For some reason she thought that having ice with her water was cool.
The funny thing is, in the morning, she would still have an almost full cup of water. So we knew that the milk was strictly for comfort and she wasn't really thirsty.
She's almost 3 now, and still sometimes asks for water when she goes to bed...but never asks for milk anymore!
Find a replacement item. My daughter loves a certain dolly. If she has her sippy cup with her around bedtime, I tell her, "Here's dolly, let me have the sippy cup so you can hold your dolly." Most of the time she gives it up without a fuss.
My son is 27 months. Many months ago he treated his sippy as his "lovey and wanted it with him everywhere.
I found that by allowing him to take ownership of where it goes before bed deflects this - EX: if it's full, I have him put it into the frig, if empty he gets to put it in the sink. I say "ooohhh, thank you for putting your cup in the frig! We'll get it as soon as you get up. Say nite nite to the cup."
I also don't allow toys in the bed, so when he whines to take one, I simply tell him to put it back where it belongs so he'll know where it is when he gets up.
Hope it helps!
(:
