When should I take the bottle away from my son?

Question

My son is 20 mths old and he still takes a bottle. He has never liked the pacifier so that is not an issue, but I am not sure when is a good time to take the bottle away. When he goes to sleep at night he wants his bottle and if he wakes up he will cry until he gets it...I think it became a security blanket for him.

I just want to know when he shouldn't have it anymore...?

Thanks

Answer 1

Oh the bottle...that dirty lil thing that never seems to go away!!! It is very very important not to give your child a bottle during sleep time. It is proven that your child will ruin his teeth, they will rot and need to be pulled. The only thing you can do is to stand your ground regarding the issue. One of the best ways to stop a habit of a child is by weening. Start using the bottle less and less each day. He is almost 2...and it's not health for him to keep drinking from a bottle. Try introducing different types of sippy cups to get his interest, and make it a big deal for him to be drinking out of one. Children love to be praised. You can't give into him at night, he should be sleeping through the night by now, and there is no reason for him not to be. He knows that you will get up, so that is why he persists. Kids are way smarter than what we think!!!

Answer 2

I took my baby off the bottle at 10 months. It's probably better to make the switch when they are younger and not so stubborn. Sucking on a bottle for that long damages there teeth. You should never put a baby to bed with a bottle. There are numerous reasons why that is bad. Let him pick out some bright colorful cups (sippy or regular) and let him decide that he is big enough to drink out of those than out of a bottle. Explain that it is something that you do when you become a big boy. If you let him make the switch it goes over much smoother.

Answer 3

I'm not even sure when I took my youngests away for good, just make sure you only put water in the bottle at night, otherwise his teeth could get really bad. I graduated my son to an older kids bottle, they have character tops and you can get them at Wal-Mart in the baby section with the sippy cups. These are more socially acceptable, but drink the same as a baby bottle, and don't leak all over the bed at night.
If you want to wean him off the bottle completely, make sure to only give him water in a bottle, he can have juice, milk (or formula) in a "big boy" cup. He'll soon prefer the cup.

Answer 4

After a year they are really too old for a bottle. Try a sippy cup. Playtex makes one that doesn't drip and I'm sure there are other brands that make the spill proof kind. Make a big deal about buying him a neat new cup and let him pick the design or color.

Don't give him a bottle or a sippy cup at night unless it just has plain water. It will rot his teeth out. You don't want your kid to have caps on all of his baby teeth.

Answer 5

My daughter was completely off of it at 16 months. I thought that was late for most kids! I always heard about people doing it at 12 months. I started taking it away when I started giving her whole milk instead of formula. I put the milk in a sippy cup for a drink instead of a bottle. And gradually used it more times each day instead of the bottle. It wasn't a problem, especially her being at the sitter's all day, giving things up like that has seemed not to be a problem since she has gone there. She used the bottle and the pacifer less at the sitter's than she did at home.

Answer 6

about 2

Answer 7

The bottle should be gone and child on sippy cups by 12 months of age. At 20 months you son is going to continue to rely on this. Its best to literally get rid of EVERY bottle in your house and only offer sippy cups. He will get the point.

The longer hes taking a bottle, the more damage you're doing!

Answer 8

You should have taken the bottle away a long time ago. My doctor said that they shouldn't have one from 12 months and up. Since you haven't tooken it away yet, i'd do it now. Throw them all away in the garbage and start to give him a tippy cup. The longer you wait to do it, the harder it'll be on both you and your son. Tell him that he is a big boy now and needs to drink from a tippy cup. Get him one with his favorite charicture on it. Such as elmo, big bird, or who ever. And don't let him go to bed with it. Let him drink some warm milk about 30 minutes before bed time and then give him a bath with the lavender baby bath stuff that makes him sleepy and he should start going to bed with out a bottle or cup. It may take awhile, but he eventually will. You just can't cave in and give it to him when he cries. read him a bedtime story and have a nightly routine and with in a few weeks to a month or so, he'll be going to bed with no problem.

Answer 9

Most kids should be off the bottle and pacifyer by 1 year. If you give him a bottle of anything but water at bed time it can lead to cavities or earaches. If he cries, let him cry! It won't hurt him. You could try getting him a special bed-time toy. (Teddy bear etc)
Both my kids were off bottles and onto sippy cups by 10 months. My 2 year old is now off sippy's and onto regular cups. (Still trying to get her thumb out of her mouth though)
Cups take a little time and a lot of messes. Keep paper towels handy.

Answer 10

I think about the age of one because as long as u keep letting him drinking out of a bottle he will keep asking for it. It is s good idea to take him off the bottle at a young age like 1. You can trying to get a sippy-cup and put milk or juice in there to keep him off the bottle, try ur best to not to give in to giving hima bottle. And good luck!