Taking away the bottle...how to do it effectively?

With my last child, it seemed that he would drink a bottle forever. When it became a "family argument" not really, but snide comments were being made. I asked his pediatrician, she responded that he would eventually break himself and he did. Occassionally, at almost 5, he still will request a sippy cup of milk at bedtime (sippy cups are the only ones allowed out of the kitchen). Every child is different and while I do believe that a child needs structure in their lives, and it is our job as parent to provide that; I also believe that we need to pick our battles--what is the harm being caused to your daughter still drinking a bottle at night? Is she having dental problems as a result of going to sleep with a bottle in her mouth? I, as a parent, do not believe that we should attempt to stop one of our children's behavior because it does not fit into the norm of society. The bottle may indeed be a "comfort" item to her - again, not something you want to take from her. I wish you the best of luck with this issue.

My son went off the bottle by the time he was a year old. The bottle is really bad for their teeth. you daughter is old now, she will really resist. I hate to say it, but suck it up, let her cry it out, in a few nights she will be past it. Good luck, get ear plugs

I never had this problem. My son's 19 months now. We took away the bottle on his first birthday. He'd had a sippy for a few days, just every now and then during the day, and he seemed to like it. Then we took away the bottle on his birthday; he got 4 new sippys for his birthday. If I remember right, we let him have the bottle a few more times after that at night, but I told him if he had to have it to go to sleep, all he got was water or watered down milk. We put all the bottles away about a week after that. He really pretty much weaned himself. Maybe if you start diluting the milk in the bottle it might help. Or if you offered her milk in one of those sippys with the silicon spouts? Baby bottle tooth decay can really be a problem. My niece had that problem; she had her bottle till she was almost 2 and now she complains that her teeth hurt; she needs them fixed. So you really want to be careful about that.

My children were all off the bottle by the time they were a year old. By that time they were ready for a sippy cup and didn't need to have the bottle anymore. It wasn't hard, I am the parent, therefore I was in charge. I just got rid of all the bottles and offered a cup. The first few days are not the greatest because of course they wanted their bottle but when a young child gets thirsty enough they will drink from the cup. Have a good day/night. Thanks for sharing with us.

I took the bottle from my daughter right before her first birthday. I put something in she did not like and put milk in her cup. after that she did not want her bottle any more

it's all about transition. it's time to bring in the sippy cup =)

My daughter had hers taken away at 3. My son had his taken away a lot earlier but my daughter was a pain about it. Then my husband got sent to Iraq and I didn't have the energy to fight with her. Sad :( Plus with her dad being gone, she was so confused and clung to it even more. Eventually, I just took it from her. Enough was Enough. She was too old for the bottle. She could hold a regular cup and go all through the house without spilling it. She could eat well with silverware and she still thought she needed a bottle. We just took it and she fussed a little--nothing like I thought she would. I think for those parents who have trouble, we put it off because we think it is going to be worse than it is. My daughter didn't fight as much as I thought she would. She seemed to realize we meant business and that was that. Good luck.

in my experienced..after one year i taught them to use a glass instead of feeding bottle...i did not stop them in drinking milk though but i see to it that before going to bed they drink a glass of milk..i just told them that they are no longer a baby and i try to let them see some of their age that already drinking milk in a glass..that way they will immitate also..no fuss actualy its easy..

Every child and every parent are different. When my daughter turned two, we gave her a special doll to sleep with. We also encouraged her to drink from a cup some milk before she went to bed. Another idea is to do the bathroom routine, we brush teeth, get a drink of water,go potty and off to bed. I can't even remember how my son stopped drinking from a bottle. I know that some children are bottle free by two years old. The older they are when you wean them off, the more difficult it may be to get them to stop. Try to replace it with something "special". Positive reinforcement is better for all instead of just taking it away. Through the day say positive things like, your getting bigger now, you don't need that bottle anymore. She should be sleeping through the night by now, I think the bottle thing is why she wakes up. You shouldn't be getting up in the middle of the night at this late date. But there is a way to change it. Sometimes any change will upset a child, but they get over it. It's more about the parent being able to get through a few difficult nights to get there. You could also talk to her pediatrition for ideas. Anything you do will take time. It won't work in a day. So, you have to make a plan and stick with it. Another idea is no drinks after 7 or 7:30pm. then it's go potty,brush teeth,a drink of water and off to bed with the special stuffed animal or doll. Good luck and what ever plan you use, remember, she'll adapt, you just have to stay strong until she gets it. I know it's hard but you have to stick with it.

I quit giving my son a bottle when he was a year old. I just took it away. I started giving him sippy cups before he was a year old so it was pretty easy. He didn't even fuss about it. I suggest you buy him a sippy cup and it will make it much easier.

Well, my son is 8 and it was really hard to get him off the bottle. In fact, his dad actually did it when he was visiting him. My daughter is 1 1/2 and she still takes a bottle, just like yours, only at night and I have to refill once before morning. I don't really know what to do effectively that will not drive me crazy because when she wants that sucker we all suffer until I give it to her. My aunt told me that when my cousin was 1 she made him throw it away. Later that night when he wanted it she said "Remember, you threw it away." She said he made a face like "oh sh$t, I did." And that was the end of it. I just don't think it is going to be that easy for me.

I found with all of mine the best way to do this was to switch from the bottle to a sippy cup as they are very similar to the bottle and you don't have to worry about the messes . My daughter is one and a half and is now drinking from a regualr cup by herself as she doesn't like her sippy cups anymore although I still give them to her for bed . For at night how I did this was too slowly decrease the amount of milk by adding a bit of water and she never noticed me doing this . I had her off milk in about a week and only drinking water for naps and bedtime . Hope this gives you some idea's , all the best of luck as each child is different and some are not as easy to change as others , I believe I lucked out with all of mine this area as I didn't have a problem with any of them in this area .

I started my children on sippy cups by the time they were 18 months old. They still had milk when they went to bed but we gave it to them in a sippy cup. As long as they used a sippy cup, they had as much milk as they wanted. Your daughter may be willing to use a sippy cup. If she'll take milk in a sippy cup then the transition may be smooth. However, if you want her off milk altogether, then I suggest investing in a good pair of ear plugs and letting her scream it out for a few nights.

My daugher stop only when she turned four. She just sto p wanting it when other people told her she was too old for the bottle. On the other I managed to stop my son at four by putting in another brand of milk powder that he did not like. When he tasted the milk he gave the bottle back to me and stop asking after that.