When should we stop giving the bottle to our child?

Denmark
February 25, 2007 2:43am CST
Our son is 19 months old. He has a bottle in the morning, and another one in the evening. We have been told we should stop giving him in the morning, and instead give him his milk in a cup or a bowl, or just yoghurt. The problem is that he really enjoys the moment and so do we. He loves to be in my arms and get his bottle in the morning and I am really not happy about having to give up that great moment... Although I am aware he cannot have the bottle until he is 10, I wonder if it is good that we stop it now when it is actually an important moment of the day to both him and us.
6 people like this
34 responses
• United States
25 Feb 07
I completely agree with stopping th bottle as soon as possible! I have 2 children and the both were weaned immediately off the bottle at 14 months. Sippie cup or nothing. Bottle nipples can create awful effects to baby's teeth, especially if the only source used is a bottle and therefore every fluid they consume is put in one. A friend of mine had her daughter's teeth pulled at age 2 because her teeth were so decayed from using a bottle too long. Most doctors will say that babies should be off the bottle by no later than about 15 months.
2 people like this
@aozencom (10)
• Malaysia
25 Feb 07
Nature is amazing in that it enables all living things to adapt. A new born baby is transiting from a total liquid diet (in the womb). There are some guides as to the age but there is no hard and fast rule. I guess the right time is when your baby is ready. To get your baby ready, you can actually help in the process, referred to weaning. Simply give thumb taste of regular food to begin the process once you have established a suitable starting point. Continue this every mealtime to get the baby adjusted to this new taste. Increase the quantity as you go, and voila your baby would eventually wean onto solids gradually. Beware of common misconception and "milkoholism" of infants. Mothers develop an over belief in milk as a proper and complete food. After all, this is the natural infant food fresh in the world. Herein lies the danger as the baby grows, milk CANNOT provide the necessary nutrients. Many mothers find their infants are a trouble when introducing solids. With work stress and many modern life commitments, this factor results in some thinking that if the infant refuses cereal or mashed food, then a bottle of milk will keep his tummy fool. Well, the tummy will be full but this creates a nutrient deficiency. Eventually your child's growth is somewhat slowed down. Thi9s is especially true for the brain, which grows at an astounding rate in the early months/years. A trained pediatrician will spot this easily during routine examinations as the child grows; they are able to gauge from the child's motor movements and reflexes. The above happened to my son as he reached two years of age. He was by all means healthy and well formed. However the paediatrician was was quick to spot something fishy. A blood test revealed an iron deficiency. That was back in 1998, when the internet was just about being introduced where I live. I managed to search (AlTAvista back then) and discovered that iron from mothers milk is effectively absorbed compared to formula milk. E.g. 6mg iron from mothers milk will equal 60mg iron from formula milk. This immediately launched me onto a new phase of my life, eating natural & energy foods. There is a major difference between eating freshly cut vegetables compared to getting them from supermarkets (processed). There is something called enzyme food and that fresh produce foods provide better wow factors. Anyway, beware of this milkoholism syndrome.
• Denmark
26 Feb 07
well I never thought about it under that angle. Thanks a lot for this very structured and instructive answer. I will talk to our doctor about it too. I must say that with your information, a lot of things make more sense now and thanks for that!
• Malaysia
25 Feb 07
You mention your son is 19 months old. To cap what I have said earlier, milk should become supplementary and not a main source of filling up the tummy. All said, your son probably has a sort of addiction for the milk, you can add cereals and make his food milky so he gets used to solids gradually.
• United States
26 Feb 07
I would say that it is time to give up the bottle. I know that it is an important moment for you but hear me out. What you could do is start a new tradition like sitting down to eat breakfast together. This is one that you can always do with your son no matter how old he is, even after he is grown and moved out. If it is the snuggling part then after breakfast you two could snuggle up in the chair and have storytime instead of a bottle. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!
1 person likes this
• Australia
26 Feb 07
I have been lucky with my son as he generally filled up on food and didnt have enough room for a bottle,he would have plenty of food then play time to wear him out and he would go out like a light.He was completely off bottles by 9 months.I think you can enjoy moments without having a bottle and also the younger they are the easier it is to break habits.
1 person likes this
• United Arab Emirates
25 Feb 07
if your son is 19month old then you should avoid giving him 2 bttles in a day. at this age its better to feed him some fruits like banana or apple and also start giving him the same food as you eat ur self because its very important ofr him in this age. only milg does not profide sufficent particles which are helpful in grouth. This thing is dangerous to his grouth as well.
• Denmark
25 Feb 07
Hi there, thanks for your response and suggestion. It is true that he has two bottles of milk a day, which represent approximately 0,5L milk per day and on top of that he gets youghurt, butter and other milk products. We also give him fruits, and vegetables but I have to admit he is pretty difficult with food. Maybe getting him off the 2 bottles will help with that. Thanks again for your answer
• United Arab Emirates
25 Feb 07
This is my suggestion. You can have a cup of milk as well as a bottle of milk ready. Take him in your arms and try a little bit of both. You will both still have the closeness, at first you may only be able to get a little bit of milk down but with a lot of patience and no forcing you can increase the amount of milk he is getting from the cup and reduce the bottle usage. I have a friend whose son's front teeth did not come through (according to the doctor) because he wasn't weaned off the bottle. All the best!
1 person likes this
• Denmark
25 Feb 07
hum that teeth thing is really starting to worry me. My son has his front teeth already and a lot more, the dentist said they were really great and did not mention anything about the bottle but I also did not bring it up. Thanks for your suggestion, that is a good idea actually to try a smooth transition to get him off the bottle. I will start trying with the evening bottle, because it is wehen I have the most time for it.
@lvhughes (545)
• United States
25 Feb 07
the doctors say one year olds should be off the bottle. try giving it to him in his sippy cup while you hold him that way you still get your time with your baby and he can learn to stop taking the bottle. i have a sippy cup that has 3 different lids. one is simular to a nipple, one is like a straw, and the other a sippy cup. they work wonders.
1 person likes this
@Shelite (212)
• Canada
25 Feb 07
Give it up. Kids should not have a bottle past 12 months. It's so bad on their teeth. You don't have to give up holding him, try a sippy cup. Good luck...it's the little things that are hard to give up!
1 person likes this
• Canada
25 Feb 07
my daughter was off the bottle by the time she turned 1. i defenatly think it's about time you start the transition. you can still have him sit with you in the morning to drink from his sippy cup. you have to let go some time, and sooner is better than later before he gets too dependant on it. good luck.
1 person likes this
@meloy_74 (26)
• Philippines
26 Feb 07
I have a son, he'll be 4 this march. my wife and I agreed that he'll be using the bottle only before he sleeps at night. He is always demanding that we give him his milk in the bottle after he wakes up. Initially we gave in, but he is slowly getting use to drink in a glass after waking. Theres no problem giving it in a glass when hes up
• Indonesia
26 Feb 07
I understand your situation. giving up a precious moment like that... well, maybe if you think that your action is due to his own good in the future, soon or later you will not regret it anymore. you still can have your moment by holding him in your arms while his having his glass of milk. I do that to my 3 years old son. I hold him in my arms while we're watching cartoon together before he goes to sleep at night. so, do not feel too sad about it, okay? best wishes to both of you!
• United States
25 Feb 07
My mom told me she would stop giving the bottle at around 1 year of age because the child would get attached to it. Also it's growing teeth :)
1 person likes this
@Tarsis (12)
• Brazil
25 Feb 07
Normally 5 years. I find.e speaks with an infantile doctor.He is optimum advice.
25 Feb 07
I think it does not matter really if both of you enjoy moment then keep on doing because this time will go very fast and will never come back ,enjoy this precious time with your baby. My son is 18 and he does the same and I am not in a hurry to snach this time between us. My daughter left her bottle completely at the age of 2 and a half and she is doing well ,eating well so do what you feel.
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
25 Feb 07
Well at that age both my Kids where of the Bottle but again it is up to you what you do. But I have to be honest that you do need to take him of it soon as apparently it can affect their teeth, but this is only what I was told by a Doctor many years ago.
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@jolanda33 (720)
• Netherlands
25 Feb 07
my daughter is 2,5 years old and still wants a bottle in the morning! i give some normal milk in it, and she drinks it by herself! most of the times my other daughter(9 months) gets a bottle too. she goes to school now, and on those days she won't get a bottle and she knows it! normaly she won't drink milk, so now she gets some. if i want to stop i stop, and when she becomes three years old i am sure i stopped giving it to her! but you can have that moment also without a bottle right? just take him in your arms for a while, tell him a story and both of you are happy!
1 person likes this
• United States
25 Feb 07
Wow! My pediatrician had us starting to wean our son off the bottle by 9 months old. By the time he was a year old, there were no more bottles. She had us stop giving him formula at 9 months and started regular milk at that time. All she had to do was show me pictures of small children with bad front teeth because of bottles and sippy cups and that was all it took for me. But I think every doctor has a different idea on the times to stop the bottles, when to start regular foods, etc. When my son was 2 yrs. old. He would enjoy cuddling up on my lap and having me read him a book, or tell him a story. I think that kind of replaced the bottle, and at age 6, he still enjoys sitting on my lap and reading.
• United States
25 Feb 07
My son is 15 months old and still has 3-4 bottles a day, I also have people telling me that I should get him off the bottle, but I don't feel the need to right now- my mom said that my two brothers and me had a bottle until about 2 and we never had any problems, so I think I will try to get him off at that time.
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@littlemoo (317)
• Australia
25 Feb 07
12 months is a good age to give up the bottle. So now that he's 19 months, he should be able to cope quite well without the bottle. As for teh closeness, and spending time with him, there are a lot of different ways of spending time being close with him. As others have suggested, you can cuddle up with him and read a book, or do a small puzzle together. So you can still have your moment with him without it being associated with the bottle.
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• United Arab Emirates
25 Feb 07
Well, back in the day i used to drink milk with a bottle till Grade 2 . I got rid of it when my teacher told me it was like and infant. So , i just stopped . So just chill out and don`t worry .
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