When should we stop giving the bottle to our child?

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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

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!

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 :)

Normally 5 years. I find.e speaks with an infantile doctor.He is optimum advice.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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 .