how do i get my son to give up his bottle???

United States
October 7, 2008 1:07am CST
hi all- i need advice. my son is a little over a year, and he will not give up his bottle. i think it is mainly a comfort thing for him now, but it is something that needs to be taken care of soon. i never had this problem with my first- he just gave it up no problem! someone told me the other day to start putting it in a sippy cup and add a little milk, and every day put in less formula and more milk until he is off the formula. well, i gave him the sippy cup this morning instead of his bottle and he took a sip and then just gave me this funny look, smiled and threw it on the floor. :( he is too smart for his own good. now what? i obviously can't trick the kid... anyone have any advice for me?
5 people like this
12 responses
@rsa101 (37952)
• Philippines
7 Oct 08
Well I guess you have to slowly let him be aware of his age now. You show him that bottles are not appropriate anymore with big boys like him. And then tease him that he still takes bottle and he should now start using those cups. Well sometimes it does the trick like that. In my case I have my son used it until about late 3 years old. We slowly convinced him from drinking in a glass at the age 3.5
• United States
7 Oct 08
Teasing a child is Never a good thing. I don't know what you hope to accomplish by belittling your child and making him feel bad about himself. A parent's job is to praise and build a child up, not tear him down.
7 Oct 08
I agree that you must build a child up not tease him and put him down. I would use this praise to get hime off the bottle. start by saying that you will let him have something that he likes if he will have the cup rather then the bottle then praise him if he takes the cup and give him the reward. Then next time ask him if he wants bottle or cup. If he choses the bottle do not say anything just give it to him. If he choses the cup really praise him. I think this should work over a bit of time. Do not worry if he still wants the bottle sometimes. Children are all different and do not run by time table.
@rsa101 (37952)
• Philippines
8 Oct 08
Well what I mean by teasing is like a play time showing him how a grown up boy should be. I am not putting my son down by doing so, in time he did get the message we never encourage him either to give him up in exchange for something since it just means bribing him out of his habit. What we did was actually showing him that big boys don't drink in bottle but in sippy cups and soon in glasses. We did not deprived him of something just because he did not want to shift to a cup. It was slow but I guess it stuck in his mind that he really needs to change not because it was exchange for something else he wants.
@trixyteddy (1070)
• India
13 Oct 08
My younger son gave up his bottle at the exact age of 3. Does that comfort you now? A little teasing from his Uncle stopped him though. Look at the brighter side. When he is ill, you just have to stuff the bottle into his mouth while asleep and he will gulp it down. Would you not feel better that he is not hungry?? Or if you have gone out and are tired when you return, won't this be easier. So long as he drinks his ilk. shy do we have to take the bottle aways so soon?
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
8 Oct 08
My Wife and I raised 4 boys and we never had any trouble weening them from the bottle. Its as easy as falling off a log, and the kid doesn't even realize you doing it. When you want to ween your child, just gently begin to add some water to the bottle of milk. No need to praise him or reward him in any way. Just gently add a few drops more each day. There is no hurry about this, and make sure there is milk available to him when he decides to try it in cup. We never ever Had a sippy cup, as kids will drink when they are ready. In about 10 days or three weeks you will find the full bottle on the floor and he will be ready to drink out of a cup.
• United States
7 Oct 08
I was lucky. I just took the bottle away from all 3 of my kids when I thought they were ready to give it up. Not one of them put up a fight.
• United States
8 Oct 08
I agree he sounds too smart for his own good.However my daughter was attached to her bottle as well and on her 1st bday I through all the bottles away.She didn't see them and yes at 1st she cried for it but it only lasted less then a day.She picked up on the sippy cup after not being offered the bottle when she cried.The bottle does become a security thing for my babies but can easily be replaced by the sippy cup once they realize the bottle is not being offered again.It may take a day or two but it is worth it,if you keep trying the sippy cup and then giving in anf giving the bottle your child will soon learn that if he persists he will get the bottle.Beyond that he is also learning if he persists he will get whatever he wants it really does not send a good message to give in.Just be strong and stick with it,tell him no bottle anymore only a sippy cup he will figure it out.
@Shar1979 (2722)
• United States
7 Oct 08
my daughter is like that too. we would compromise but in the end she will still prefer to drink in a bottle. she'll just sip and then throw it or just ignore it. my mom suggest that we put a bit of spice in it but i thought it's way too harsh for my daughter. so what i did was cut the silicon nipple thing on her bottle and told her there's no more feeding bottles available for big girls. i told her the raccoons bite her bottle coz they know she's big girl. she believed it
• United States
7 Oct 08
With all my children which I have 4 and the 5th is due in 10 days I introduced the sippy cup around 6 mths of age and would put like juice, water, koolaide, etc...in it. The bottle I would save for meal times, nap time and bed time only. During the next several months I would gradually pull the bottle from meal times and only provide the sippy cup. Close to turning age 1 I would eliminate the nap time bottle and only give a bottle at bed time. By age 1 the bottle disappeared without a problem. Your best bet since your son is age 1 now is to eliminate it except at bedtime and only provide a sippy cup all other times. When he is thirsty he will drink from it. With the bottle at night gradually decrease the milk and start giving water in it only. Of course you will have some nights of him crying because he is so use to it, but a little crying won't hurt him. Offer him a drink from the sippy cup if he doesn't calm down after so many minutes.
@Sillychick (3275)
• United States
7 Oct 08
Cold turkey is the easiest way to go, in my opinion. Just tell him he is a big boy and needs to use a cup. Get rid of the bottles. Do not save them 'just in case' because once you start, giving it back to him will make it a lot harder next time. Give him milk in a cup and if he refuses it, that's ok. He will not starve. By this time he should be getting most of his nutrition from foods anyway- the same foods you eat. He may go a day or two not getting much milk, but once he realizes that he will not get the bottle, he will give in. Children are much more adaptable than we give them credit for, so he will most likely learn to use the cup quickly- as long as he understands that the bottle is no longer an option. If you think he mostly wants the bottle for comfort, be sure he has something else such as a blanket or soft toy that he can use to soothe himself. A gradual transition from formula to milk can be a good thing, but putting just milk in the cup can make it easier, since he is used to getting formula in a bottle it can be hard to drink it from a cup. But since milk is a new thing, he doesn't associate it with the bottle, so he may be more likely to drink it from the cup.
@grammasnook (1871)
• United States
7 Oct 08
Honestly in my opinion after raising 5 children, it is just to take the bottle away and give him a sippy cup. After about three day he will forget all about it. Will this be an easy task? Nope it won't but you will have succeeded with it. If you let him have it sometimes and not others it will just confuse him. Remeber he is just a little over a year old. Maybe even get yourself a sippy cup and share and have a cup of juice with him, after all they learn from watching. Good luck!
@syankee525 (6261)
• United States
7 Oct 08
tell him you need to give it to the easter bunny, or santa to feed the baby rabits or rain deers. we did that with our kids.. made something up..
• United States
7 Oct 08
You might consider this given to me by a very wise Asian parent. Smear a little "bitter melon" (you can buy these at a Asian market.) The taste is bitter and the child will not like it...everytime he trys to go for the bottle it he will be remind "this does not taste good" He will get the message. Perhaps the reason he is clinging to the bottle is more of security issue. You might want to give him his favorite stuff animal to replace the bottle to help make the transition easier.
• Malaysia
7 Oct 08
A wise man told me one day, "decide for your children and not let children decide for you". Well just be a little firm and take away his bottle for 1/2 a day. I believe he'll be fine going hungry for 1/2 a day hehe i've done that to my sibblings in the past, works wonders