When Should a Child Be Taken off a Bottle?

Worried Dad,
Don't worry that is. Both of my children had their bottles until 3 to 3 1/2. One is 22 and beautiful with perfect mouth and teeth. The other is nine and most of baby teeth gone and perfect mouth and teeth. So it's fine it's his bottle and he'll get rid of it when he's ready.

Hope this helps,
K.

I do think that it is time he come off of the bottle. My girls were more than ready to give it up before they were a year old, so I didn't have a problem, but maybe you could take him to the store and let him pick out a "special" cup that you could still call "baba" for his mental well being. Then switch the bottle out with the new "special" cup. He will soon forget about the bottle all together anyway, and he will feel special because he gets a certain "special" cup in the mornings. good luck!

Both of my children were weaned of a bottle by 13 months at least.... My oldest is 4 now, and LOVED his pacifier, but weaned himself of the bottle at 10 months old, and got formula from sippy cups. My youngest who is 33 months, like 2 3/4 (lol) was a little more attached to his bottle, took until 13 months to fully wean him of it. The recommended age is 12 months. But I know several people who have done it longer, but I do not know anyone who has continued till 2.5 whatever the reason I do agree with most, that it is time to start weaning. My son that will be 3 in Jaunary (2 3/4) drinks only out of big boy cups at home now, we havent used a sippy cup in 4-6 months.
It isnt going to be easy at this age, have patients and be stern yet loving. My old, like I said, loved his pacifier, and was about 2 years and 2 months when it was gone for good.... we started at 18 months but had a slip up when baby brother was born when he was 20 months....we gave him his time to adjust to the life changing event and then started the weaning process all over again.

GOOD LUCK :)

Oh, I can't wait to see what other people say about this one! Well, everyone will likely tell you that he should be off the bottle. There is danger of bottle rot (teeth rotting out). However, embarrassingly (or not) my daughter who is 3 1/2 still drinks a bottle at those times. I give her all water (tap with flouride) with a splash of milk. The dentist said her teeth look great. I don't let her take the bottle out in public and have decided that four is when she will be required by law to get rid of it. Right now, it provides her comfort and relaxation with a dad deployed for a year. So, remember, he won't go to kindergarten or college with a bottle and will likely just decide to give it up himself one day, just watch the teeth. I have to go, my daughter just asked me for a bottle, ;-)

Hi B.:

Please don't be concern, my daughter is 4 and still have her bottle at night, she loves it !!I spoke with my pediatrician ( who is very open minded and don't go by "the books") he said it is O.K. as long and she does not develop any problems with her teeth. We had our first visit with the Dentist 2 months ago and he told me her teeth are perfect without any problems. One thing to consider I feed her only Soy Milk, she never had "cow milk". It keeps her much healthier. Please don't go by the books, I know there will be a lot of mothers telling you different, let her be, every child has their time. Enjoy your child and celebrate life !!
Grace
Happy mother of one adorable daughter: Isabella

I don't think he is too old for a bottle. I have never bottle fed, but I have nursed three children and each one was weaned around three years old. I know by American standards, this seems late, but the Worldwide standard weaning age is about 5 years old, I believe. Anyway, the little ones have an innate need to suck and it develops their jaw line. I would guess that if the bottle is taken from your toddler, he will only replace the need to be oral with something else such as fingers, toys, food, etc.

something other mothers haven't mentioned is that your child is also more likely to acquire a deviant swallow. This means that as your childs swallow technique can actually CAUSE him to need braces when he otherwise would not have needed them.

Sorry Mom, Dad is right on this one :) You can make it a fun thing to go pick out new sippy cups, or cups with lids/straws (Publix has a decent selection) to graduate to big-boy status. Let him participate so it can seem like his decision (your son, I mean, but maybe Dad too).

I took all mine off by 12 months because it causes gum problems . I sujest weaning him soon . Good luck.

To: Worried Dad

You should be concerned. Putting a child to bed with a bottle once they have teeth is not a good idea. I work for a dentist and have seen some sad stories. The sugar from the milk, formula, anything but water, just baths the childs teeth and can cause decay. You probably won't find the decay for a couple of years. You might try putting just water in the bottle. Your son probably won't like it and it will help wean him. If he likes the water, it won't hurt him.
Hope this helps..........

T.

Hi, my name is A. and I have a daughter who is thirteen and two boys six and seven. I know my doctor told me that one year they should be done with the bottle. Now my boys are eighteen months apart and so the older of the two was still on the bottle when I had his brother and my doctor flipped out on me because he was eighteen months and still on the bottle. So the bottles were thrown away that day. It can be a very hard thing to do but it is easier to do it all cold turkey and say "bottles are going bye bye because your a big kid now". I hope this helps you but I guess to me all kids are different and ready for different things at different times. A.

I don't know if anyone has told you this, I didn't read all of the responses, but the longer you keep your child on the bottle (or sucking thumb, etc.), the more likely they are to develop tongue thrust or a lisp in their speech. Wean him as soon as you can. I knew this professionally, but ignored it with my first because he barely ate anyways and it was easier to give him the bottle, and now he's in speech therapy to correct something that may have been prevented (irony of ironies...).

Hey I think you are right to be concerned. A two in a half year old should be drinking from a regular cup by now and maybe occassionally a sippy cup.

I think the biggest problem is that the longer you wait the more it becomes a control issue. Kids want to feel like they control something in their lives. So they pick the common issues you see on here- bed issues, nap issues, food issues, pacifer issues, or bottle issues. There is no reason a 2 1/2 year old should be on a bottle. In fact, now is the time to teach him to drink from an unlidded cup. Trust me on this-- my 8 year old refuses to drink from a normal cup. He thinks he "has to" have a straw. Mind you, he has great teeth since the straw keeps the sugar mostly off them, but it's still ridiculous that he won't drink from a normal cup. For us, it's now a battle. Sometimes as parents it's easier to do what's easiest; i.e. not wanting to upset our "baby" because if we take the 3 year old's pacifer or bottle away they cry and scream or refuse to sleep, but we all know it's not about doing what's easiest sometimes. Good luck!

Hey there,
You usually want to have them off the bottle 12 to 18 months. The doctor told us it was not good for the development of their teeth, not sure how true that is. It really should not be hard to swith to a cup at this time. What I ended up doing was throwing away all the bottles at one time so I would not give in to giving my son one. He was used to the cup in a day, no problem. Good luck.

I think the experts recommend weaning from the bottle at around a year, so, yeah, he's a little old for it.

It can be hard to wean an older child who is attached to the bottle, but you may be able to start introducing sippy cups or regular cups and making a big deal about it being a "big boy" cup. Good luck.

Just a note: someone said that soy milk is healthier than cow's milk. This is not true - there are a lot of concerns about the problems with soy milk in kids. Soy milk has a lot of aluminum because the soy plant naturally draws it out of the soil. It's also mimics estrogen. It can cause thyroid problems as well. I would not use soy milk even if my daughter was allergic to cow's milk.

Personally I think its too old, but every child is different and for every Dr you find that tells you to wean them at 1 year I am sure another Dr will tell you differently. Persoanlly both of my girls were weaned by 13 months, my oldest weaned herself and my youngest never seemed to notice it was gone. Does your son also use a pacifier? suck his thumb? Best of luck and I am sure you and your wife will decide what's best for the little guy.

Our pediatrician recommended we wean to a sippy cup at a year. It is not easy at first but stick with it!

Yes!!!!!! He should have been broken from the bottle at one year of age....... I would suggest breaking him from it now if you don't want him to have serious problems with his teeth in the future. Also having the bottle still at that age can cause gerd...... I know this from people who have allowed their children to stay on the bottle. I was always told that people keep their children on the bottle because it is easier than breaking them.....No child at any age should go to bed with a bottle.........

As others have mentioned, all three of my children were given a sippy cup at 12 mos. And, yes, it isn't good for gum and teeth formation to give a bottle for so long (we all need to refrain from giving any beverage before naptime or bedtime, too, as it can cause tooth decay also). But I'm actually writing to give some reassurance that although this might be the case for your son, it isn't too late. And the transition will be tough, but be patient and stick it through and don't give in. Just like everything else, give it time. Be persistent, stern, but loving. Replace the bottle with lots of kisses and hugs and tickles.

I agree with the other opinions. Even if he was just on the 'comforting bottle before bed' that many of us parents are guilty of doing long after they should be off the bottle, I would still say 2 1/2 is WAY too old. Three times a day is more than my 12-month old babies had. He should definitely be on a sippy cup exclusively by now. Hope that helps. (It's hard for us moms to let our babies grow up... give mommy a break... sometimes a gentle reminder is all we really need. Good luck!)

looks like you got lots of advice already and i didn't read them all, but for my daughter, her doctor told me to take her off the bottle at her 12mo check up.

To do so, I just gave her everything (milk, juice, water etc) in a sippy cup. The Dr said if, for some reason she MUST have a bottle to give just 2oz of water and no more and after a couple of days she would no longer ask for the bottle.

I didn't even have to do that though, by satisfying her thirst with a sippy cup, she would still say "ba ba" and point ot the fridge, but it didn't mean bottle anymore, it jsut meant "Im thirsty"

Good luck!
@}~>~~

Yes, I believe 2 1/2 is too old for a bottle. I took both my children off when they turned 1. Maybe you could go with her to the next doctor appt and ask the doctor while both of you are there in the room - sometimes it helps hearing it from a professional? Good Luck:)

Hi, dad.

When my son turned 12mo, it was strongly advised to take him off the bottle and I did. One day, the bottle disappeared and in came the sippy sup. He's happy now. Not all kids are the same and the longer you wait the harder it will be to create a new habit. I found these great Munchkin brand sippy cups that have a cilicone mouth piece. This helped the transition greatly because he still had that sucking comfort. Then you can move on to the rubber mouth pieces. The change is important for their teeth and you may avoid social issues once kids find themselves in a group setting. Good luck, hope it helps.

BTW: My husband also drank from a bottle until he was 6yrs. He turned out fine (bottom teeth are crooked) but that's too much!!!!!!

how many teenagers have you seen with a bottle? Just kidding. Probably should take it away soon the danger is they can bite off the nipple. I think it is great your taking part in your childs upbringing...

I think it maybe a little old. Try weaning him down to one in the morning and before bed. After alittle while, give him just a bottle a night. That's what I'm doing with my daughter right now and not having any problems. One thing that might help is that beginning sippy cups have soft sippy spouts so there in between a nipple and a regular sippy cup. I got mine at Wal-Mart, think the brand is called Nubby. Good luck to you both!

Hello Worried Dad - yes, your boy does not need a bottle anymore physically, assuming there are not any developmental or physical issues you did not mention. He is probably using it as a security blanket, a lovey. It will be hard to detach it as such but if you feel strongly about it, just start to cut back on his use of it (one bottle feeding per day, for example). I have not had the courage to take my kids' blankies and pacifiers, so I can't speak from personal experience. Good luck!