Trying to get 1 year old off the bottle?

Question

My one year old son has six teeth and I am trying to get him off the bottle but he refuse a sippy cup. He will take juice from a sippy but not milk. I have tried almost every kind of sippy and as soon as he tastes that it is milk and not juice he throws the cup and will not drink it. Any suggestions would be nice.

I have tried strawberry milk but it just made him sick.

He won't go to sleep without his bottle and giving him water in it results in the bottle being tossed accross the room.

Answer 1

I weaned my son at 10 months, and it wasn't really very difficult. We just switched bottles for soft spouted sippy cups, made by Nuby, and he never had a problem. Some children, however, especially older ones, have formed an emotional attachment to their bottle, which makes weaning more difficult.

Here are some helpful hints...

1-Try the soft spouted cups. Nuby makes their spouts in regular sippy cup shape and also in a rounded sport's sipper. They are both spill proof and the feel in the child's mouth is more similar to a bottle, making the transition gentler.

2-Remember that your child only needs about 16 ounces of cow's milk, formula, or breastmilk, after the age of 1 year. He/She may be drinking too much milk altogether. Also, milk is used mainly as a source of calcium and other nutrients, by making sure that your child gets 3 servings of dairy each day, and other adequate supplies of all nutrients, you may be able to eliminate milk from their diet altogether, making this issue rather obsolete. Wal-Mart makes one of the ONLY complete children's multi-vitamins. Most multi-vitamins for children do NOT contain Iron or Calcium, but Wal-Mart's Equate brand does. Make sure you check the label, they make a few varieties and only one has Iron and Calcium. These are chewable, and if your child doesn't want to eat them, they can be crushed and placed in pudding, applesauce, yogurt, or dissolved in juice, milk, or other liquids. Toddlers under the age of 2 only need half a vitamin each day.

3-If it's just milk he demands to have in the bottle, make it less appealing. Put 6 ounces of milk and 2 of water in the bottles for a few days, then switch to 4 ounces of milk and 4 of water, then 2 ounces of milk and 6 of water, and finally, after a week or so, just give plain water in the bottle. By doing this, you are making the bottle less appealing. The alternative, but similar, method, is to simply refuse to put anything but water in the bottles. Offer a sippy cup of milk and a bottle of plain water. Let your child choose which to drink. Even if he/she chooses the water, it's still healthy! Again, make sure your child is getting the necessary nutrients from other sources, just in case he/she decides to forgo milk entirely for a while.

The main thing is to be firm AND kind. Make it clear that you understand that he/she doesn't want to drink milk from a cup, but it's time to give up the bottles.

The other important thing to remember is that your child does NOT have to have milk to be healthy, he just needs 3 servings of dairy each day. These servings can be achieved through yogurt, cheese, pudding, etc. Anything that is made with milk. Also, a serving for a child is only about 1/4 an adult serving. That means if you can get your son eat A slice of cheese and 4 ounces of yogurt each day, you're good on the dairy. Try to include the vitamin as well, though, to make sure that ALL of his nutritional needs are being met.

I'm also including a list of the nutritional needs of toddlers, ages 1-3, so you can make sure your child gets what he/she needs!

1200 calories
16 g protein
45 g fat
325-1000 mg Sodium
40 mg Vitamin C
400 ug Re Vitamin A
800 mg Calcium
10 mg Iron
10 mg Zinc
50 ug Folate

EDIT

Two other things, please don't give your child chocolate or strawberry milk, it is senseless to add additional and processed sugars to a child's diet. You shouldn't be giving much of anything with processed sugars. While babies have a natural sweet tooth, natural sugars satisfy it just fine. If you must sweeten milk, try mashing a banana and mixing it with the milk in a blender, or a few strawberries, blueberries, etc.

Also, to the person who suggested waiting to wean children until they are 18-24 months, I would suggest that you find a new pediatrician. Allowing children to keep their bottles until such a late age can cause cavities, tooth decay, tooth malformation, and an addiction that just can't be broken. In addition to the harmful physical side effects, the bottle will most likely become a comfort object, instead of the more acceptable ones like stuffed animals and blankets. Once a child has developed an attachment to something, it is harmful, emotionally, to take it away. This includes the bottle. Don't let your child keep it long enough to become attached!!!

Answer 2

Ok this sounds just like my son. He is 3 almost 4 and I would say it has been since May that he has had a bottle. He did not want anything to do with sippys eiether. His Doc., and you can call my Mom to verify, Told me at his 3 year check up as long as he was only taking his bottle at night not to worry about. Always offer him the sippy cup too but if he choices the bottle oh well. He one day will choose the cup over the bottle. Well shortly after my son turned 3 I had had enough of all the teasing by realitives so I through all the bottles away. The first night was tuff but it has been smooth sailing since. Just remember that when he is ready to give in he will. Just make sure you are cleaning his teeth and at one he should be seeing a dentist too.

Answer 3

It's hard getting a child to go from a bottle to a cup, but if you are consistent and don't give in, you can do it. Show your child that you are throwing out the bottle, then place it in the trash, and take the trash outside. Show your child that you have a number of sippy cups in your cabinet, and that he may choose which sippy cup he wants to use, every time he is going to use the cup. This will give your child power in the process. He may refuse to drink for a few days, but a few days without milk is not going to harm him. When he realizes that you mean business, that the bottle really is gone, he will give in and take delight in choosing his own sippy cup. Remind him that he is a big boy and that big boys use sippy cups, that bottles are for babies. You are doing your son and his teeth a favor to get him off the bottle. Ignore the tantrum and tears -- appear to be emotionless while he is fighting you on this. If he sees you being matter-of-fact, he will think less of what you are doing. Good luck!

Answer 4

I really don't know on this one. you really have a hard question here because there is no way to trick him to drink the milk from the cup but just keep trying to give it to him but don't back down. i really not good with the whole sippy cup thing because i can't even get my 8 month old to drink out of a sippy cup but she doesn't have any teeth yet so I'm all right for now but she loves drinking out of a regular cup but i don't know. Maybe you should ask a lactation consultant at a health department. GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS!

Answer 5

10 years ago I had the same problem. What worked for me was to mix 2 oz of water with 6oz milk, then after a couple (2) days add 4oz water to 4 oz mile and so fort until he's doen to 1 oz milk and the rest water. Gradually. At meal times you may want to try the sippy cups that actuallt transfer from nipple top to sippy top... Good luck

Answer 6

One is a little young to be weaning from a bottle, my pediatrician usually always suggested 18mo. to 2 years. When they are eating enough other foods, it becomes pretty easy to take it away. They aren't as hungry and then don't ask for it. The only kind of cup my son will use has a straw type top. He will suck out of that, but he won't take a sippy cup. (he is 2)

Answer 7

Try adding a little flavor to the milk in the sippy cup to start. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry anything to get him started. The other trick is to make the bottle undesirable. Thin the milk to make it lose it's flavor, put water in the bottle, etc. He will then find the bottle less appealing.

Answer 8

You have to be firm so that he understands what you want him to do. Have you tried telling him that he's a big boy when he drinks from the cup? Just throw away all of those bottles. NUBY makes a sipee cup that is similar to the nipple of a bottle. That helped my son. Also I just told him that bottles were for babies and that he wasn't a baby. I would show him the commercials on tv with babies crawling and stuff like that and made him understand that he is a big boy. He liked that and we didn't do bottles anymore.

Answer 9

my son was off the bottle except to go to bed. So one day I just stopped giving it to him. He refused milk in a sippee cup also so I started to give him gummie vitamins to replace the calcium, and just let him have juice in his cup. After a month or so he slowly started taking milk in his sippee with breakfast or he will eat cereal and drink the sweet milk out of the bowl. I also give him choc milk which he loves and now asks for.

Answer 10

I just threw all of my sons bottles away. You have to deal with the crying and tantrums for a couple of days. But it stops and they drink from a sippie cups. So if you are serious about getting him off of the bottle, you have to deal with it and be patient.