Too old for a bottle?

Question

My son is 15 months and LOVES his bottle. Is he too old, what is the rush to get him off of it? He will drink from a cup occasionally durring the day, and seems to really like the cup when his cousin (same age and only drinking from cup) is around.

Answer 1

My daughter was 16 mnths before she quit the bottle. Use a cup at meals and offer it as much as possible. Only put water in the bottle. Or do it cold turkey. It was a rough couple days, but we got through it. What's the saying...they don't go to kindergarden on a bottle or in diapers.

Answer 2

My first daughter loved her bottle too but after she turned one she began to suffer from frequent ear infections. The Throat, Ear and Nose Doctor was very specific he said the bottle was the cause and in the long run her teeth could be affected as well, so his suggestion was to handle it mercilessly as far as the bottles were concerned. I went home and threw every single bottle away, even some new ones I had not used at all and purchased drinking cups, the luvin care ones that do not drip when overturned. Of course she protested but I stood firm. At that age they are too young to understand reasons so try to make the transition to cups as some sort of celebration so he accepts them. Also use tons of love and care, there will be moments when he will want to relapse and never ever let someone feel sorry for him and give him a bottle, that will do more harm than good.. Don´t compare him to his cousin, that hurts too, focus and praise the efforts and minimize the tantrums, if any. Tell him that you love him no matter what, children are terrified of losing your love, so never associate the cup with your anger or frustration in case things get tough.
Healthwise this will prove more beneficial to your child.
Good Luck

Answer 3

My pediatrician says 12 months old is when they should stop the bottle and move onto sippy cups, cups with straws, etc.

With a baby bottle, they are drinking breastmilk or formula. Once you introduce bottled water, fruit juice, and whole milk they need to drink that from a sippy cup. If they are still breastfeeding and you pump your milk, put it in a sippy cup, too.

It's part of the maturation process, and delaying the progress they should be making is never a good idea.

Answer 4

Off the bottle at 12 months, move on to the sippy cup and off the sippy no later than 3. They say off the bottle at 12 months because "baby bottle rot", where stuff starts to rot the babies teeth because it has almost direct contact with the teeth and then sits there eating at the teeth. My older two never took bottles, but my 10 month old does and we are already transitioning to the sippy cup with flexible spouts. In the long run it is better to break them early, less stress for you and less emotional for them.

Good luck.

Answer 5

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be weaned from bottles at 12 months, with their main concern being tooth decay.

Also, children don't need much milk at this age, and they tend to drink a lot more if they are drinking from a bottle. Before a year, breast milk or formula provides the bulk of their nutrition, even as they start expanding their diet. But after a year, kids should be eating a variety of other foods, and milk becomes less important (in fact, filling up on milk can sometimes prevent them from eating other healthy foods). Sixteen ounces a day is enough.

So as long as you are brushing his teeth regularly (especially after the bedtime bottle), as long as he's not drinking so much that he's not eating a good variety of foods, and as long as he's not drinking way more than 16 oz a day (weight gain concern with too much milk as well), I don't see why you would have to take him off his bottles.

Answer 6

We got our son off the bottle at 13 months. Moving him to a sippy cup wasn't that difficult. But you know, kids are all different and move at different speeds. They focus on one thing this week (like motor skills), another next (like talking) and they (most, anyway) develop fine. If the bottle works for you, use it. If you think you want him off it, wean him from it gradually.

At first, we poured most of his bedtime milk into his sippy cup and kept the bottle with a little milk in it. We'd give him the bottle if he cried for it. Then we started leaving the bottle outside the room and gave it to him only if he needed it. Pretty quickly, he was only using a sippy cup. All of our bottles are gone.

Answer 7

Hi,
My son is about the same age, and I understand your concern. We recently went to his checkup, and the doc said that he should be off the bottle by now. What I plan to do is to pack up all my bottles in the house into a box and just have him use his sippys.
My doc didn't say why they should be off the bottle, but my mom didn't get me off the bottle until 2 and I ended up having braces.
My son hasn't grown really attached to the bottle like yours has, though. Hope this helps

Answer 8

To still be on the bottle at 15months is not a problem but you need to ensure the flow of juice, milk, water flows faster through the teat to ensure he get used to the idea of not sucking so hard as its the sucking thing that babies get used to and this starts right from the moment of birth. As the hole gets bigger in the teat once he realises its the same flow as he gets from his cup he wont be bothered, I assume its a training cup you are giving him to start off with, this is the best way. Good luck, dont worry, you are doing a good job as his mum.

Answer 9

The reason why toddlers should be off the bottle is because the nipple will mess up their teeth alignment. The bones that make up the roof of the mouth are still soft. The 'sucking' action actually makes the roof of the mouth go up, pulling the sides in. If this happens, the only way to fix it is through oral surgery (after the permanent teeth come in) to break the roof bone and re-set it.

You want to make sure your son is off the bottle (and a pacifier if he uses one) before all of his teeth come in.

Answer 10

Take that bottle away!!! You should have taken it away at 1 year. The longer you wait the harder it will be to take it away. He should be eating real food and drinking out of a sippy cup, quit using the bottle as a pacifier for him.