My 17 month old will only drink milk out of a bottle, how do I get him to drink his milk out of a cup?

Question

I prefer serious answers please. This is a serious issue for me.

Answer 1

Why force the cup? He will when it is right for him.

Answer 2

Start by putting less and less milk each time into the bottle, until you are down to about an ounce. Then start filling the bottle with water only. Offer milk only in a cup. It won't take long for your child to figure out that milk no longer comes in a bottle, and perhaps by filling it only with water, you will eliminate the attachment to the bottle as well. It seems ridiculously simple, but if you remove the problem (having milk in a cup only, instead of the bottle) you remove the routine. Once a child is broken of a routine (which can take up to 25 tries- so don't give up!) you can introduce a new routine. The most important part of starting a new routine is NOT giving in. Your child will whine, beg, tantrum, etc. in order to get milk in that bottle, but if you don't bend- you will break the habit. Children need routines, and whether it is having milk in a bottle or having a certain blankie to sleep with, the process of eliminating it is the same. Be consistent and dont' give in. Lots of luck!

Answer 3

We started our child with cups that had straws. Even though it had a straw, he would tip it up like a cup or bottle and spill it all over him. So he wanted something different, and he accepted a sippy-cup after that. I'm only guessing here, but does he not see you drinking out of a cup very often? Children that age tend to want to do what the grown ups are doing. If you're just giving him a bottle and going off somewhere else, he will not see you using a cup. Sit with him while he drinks and show him how much you like your cup. Lastly, give him one to play with as a chew/suck toy. One day, put juice in it. He will be latched on to the sweetness of the juice, and he will always want a sippy-cup after that, because he will be ex[ecting juice. Then you can put milk in it.

And throw away all your bottles. If he's thirsty, he will have to choose between a sippy-cup or the toilet, trust me.

Answer 4

Try only letting him have water in the bottle. As far as the milk is concerned, put some chocolate in the milk in a sippy cup. You will have protesting going on, but you know that in the long run he won't have any trauma over not getting his milk in a bottle. Also, try telling him that he is a big boy now and needs to drink from a big boy cup. Good luck on this one.

Answer 5

Hey, i had a similair problem with my son. Heres what i did,at wal-mart they have plastic sippy cups i think they are like 2 or 3 dollars, i threw all my son's bottles away and that was all he had to drink out of so he had no other choice but to use the sippy cup. To my surprise he took right to the sippy cup,he never even fussed for a bottle again. It's also easier for you because it will avoid alot of spills.The maker of the cup is nuk. I tried a few others but he couldn't suck hard enough to get the drink out,so try to drink out of it first to make sure its easy for him to drink. Some things people would think are so easy to do as a parent are the hardest. I hope i have been of some assistance to you.good luck

Answer 6

I don't know if you've seen them, but they have some really neat cups out on the market now. My son really liked the cup that has a built in straw. It has a lid that is attached to it and when you flip it to the other side a rubbery type straw lifts up and they can drink out of it. This cup does not leak. The child has to suck on the straw for the liquid to come out. There is also a cup that has a soft almost nipple like top to it that is leak proof and works well. We tried both with him, the latter first and he loved them both. Both are sold at Wal Mart. Just a couple of options.

Answer 7

I reccommend the Nuby brand that Walmart sells, the top of it is nipple-like, relatively easy to clean, and mostly spill-proof. Then, well, what most everyone else said, ditch all the bottles in the house. Put them up in the attic or something if you don't want to throw them out. Try decorating the outside of the sippy cups with stickers or something else appealing. Alternatively, you can try switching him directly to a big boy cup, just choose something plastic and accept that you will spend a great deal of time cleaning up spilt milk.

Answer 8

When I switched to the cup my son had to drink one small glass of milk then he could have the bottle and the bottle had watered down milk which he hated. It didn't take long to get him to give up milk in a bottle.

Answer 9

You should try giving him his bottle then a cup alternating through out the day and at night give him the bottle and then slowly start to give him the cup more during the day until he's using the cup all of the time:)

Answer 10

These are all good answers, but one thing I would add is to try different styles of sippy cups. My son has better luck drinking out of the Nuby brand sippers than any of the other cups I've tried.

Another trick I was taught, when you want to transition to "big boy" cups, try using Dixie cups because they're so small, that they will be easier to hold, and when they get spilled, as they always do, it's less mess to clean!

Answer 11

I know Gerber makes a transition sippy cup and it looks a lot like a bottle, maybe you can try that. I had that problem with my now 3 year old son when he was transitioning from bottle to sippy cup. Try the Gerber Transition cup, that may not be what it is called but if you see it you will now what I am talking about. I found it at Walmart. It was like $6.00 for one cup but it worked for me. GOOD LUCK!!!