2yr old still drinking out of a bottle ..........help

Shannon - posted on 09/26/2011

i feel sippy cups are as addicting to toddlers than bottles my 2 yr old son drinks from a big boy cup all day. dont mind the spills its a part of the transitioning. no bottles/ no sippys. just tell her your a big girl now and big girls drink from a cup and she will learn.

Amber - posted on 09/26/2011

When I finally figured out what to do I realized it was me that wasn't ready, not my son. I wasn't ready to hear the crying and whining for the bottle if I took it away. If you've tried everything then that means you should've tried to take the bottle and tell her there's no more bottles for big girls BUT she still has it right? So I'm guessing you don't want her to bawl for the bottle. My strategy was this: I bought one of those Nuby bottles with the big no spill spout and I told my son," this is your new big boy bottle. That other bottle is for babies.". He took the Nuby and examined it. I gave him some milk in it and he liked it instantly. Replace the bottle wit somethinng

Christina - posted on 09/26/2011

I have to agree with Heather try giving a sippy cup in placement of the bottle slowly.Good luck :)

Diana - posted on 09/24/2011

Sounds like there's a security issue there, but then, a lot of kids still have a bottle at 2. If you think about it, they are learning to do all kinds of new and scary things in a very short time frame. Maybe she just needs it for a while longer?

Jennifer - posted on 09/23/2011

Have you tried one of the sippy cups that are see through just like a bottle, with three different tops, one is a bottle top, the secound one is the straw top, and last the sippy cup top. They are all soft like the nipples. I found that my two girls did not like the hard top sippy cups.

Amanda - posted on 09/18/2011

My older son was the same (he's 7 years old now) and when he was almost 3 I decided it was now or never. I explained why he couldn't have it anymore that if he was "a big boy" and helped Mommy throw them all away, we could drive to Toys R Us and he could pick out a special prize. We did just that. That night before bed he asked for a bottle. I reminded him that we threw them all away together and he cried for a few minutes. I reminded him of his new toy, and he never asked for it again. :-)

Christine - posted on 09/18/2011

i had the Same problem with my oldest she almost 3 now but when she was 2 1/2 she was still using the bottle well one day i asked her to pick it up and put it in the sink so i could wash it after i was done feeding my newborn baby and she ended up throwing it out instead so after that i wont give her any more bottles..it was hard for a couple of days but it was easier than i thought...

Heather - posted on 09/14/2011

i would say just throw the bottle out and get the sippy cup with the "hard" nipples...the are the nuby ones....

Cara - posted on 09/14/2011

My oldest still had a bottle when she was 15 months. I had tried all kinds of sippies to get rid of that stupid bottle and nothing was working. I finally gave in and bought one of the Nuk sippies with the soft spout an it worked! She took to it right away and that was all it took to finally get rid of the bottle. The binky was her problem tho. I finally got rid of that back in february when she was a little over 2.

Kerry - posted on 09/14/2011

just throw them out she may ask a few times 4 them but just say there in the bin and we nave big girls cups now.x

Rebecca - posted on 09/13/2011

On bith of my boys first birthday while they were sitting in the high chairs, I gathered all their bottles and showed them that they were going away.

Katie - posted on 09/12/2011

good for you trying to get her off the bottle! binkies and bottles past age 2 start to make an impact on their teeth!!!

here are a couple different approaches:
-ween her down to only at night, then every-other night, then not at all... make sure you keep an end goal for last night, and remind her of that constantly!!!
-find a baby to give all her bottles to (whether they keep them or not isn't the point). bottles are for babies, she's a big girl now, and whenever she asks about them, you can remind her that the baby has them now and is so happy she did that for him/her!
-only put water in the bottle, but juice in a sippy cup (for now, until two weeks from now when the bottles disappear after she lessens her water choice)
-stage 1 nipples where practically nothing comes out until she gives up on them
-let her keep the bottle, but she can't have the nipple!

whatever you do, you have to be just as stubborn as she is about this whole thing!!! it's gonna take a couple nights of fits, but she'll get over it! good luck :)

Erin - posted on 09/09/2011

try hidin her bottle and tell her all u can find is a sippy and she has to drink out of it thats what i did for my daughter and it worked.

Mandie - posted on 09/07/2011

You should just get rid of the bottles, she will be upset but when she is thirsty enough she will drink from a big girl cup. You just have to be strong and use the tough love because you know its best for her

Kate - posted on 09/06/2011

When i took my girls off the bottle i told them they can have it in a cup instead, that they were big girls, who don't use bottles anymore. They can pick out whatever straw they want to put in their cup and they drink it.

Jennifer - posted on 01/25/2010

I found that going cold turkey is the only way. Just throw them out. Get a sippy with a soft tip. Do it over the weekend so you have a couple days. She'll throw a fit but she'll get the message pretty quickly.

Tracey - posted on 01/22/2010

My Daughter was 2 this month and she didnt want to get rid of her bottle , She used to pull her hair wen drinking a bottle so my partner took the bottle and told her she can only have cup - we went to Boots and got a cup which she has settled to well , The only time she wants a bottle now is for bed.

Mysty - posted on 01/22/2010

What i did with my kids was that i just through the bottle away. Some things that i have heard that work are that you tell them that theres another little kid that needs it and have then give it to another kid if you know one. but all i did was throw mine away

Samantha - posted on 01/21/2010

Find a friend with a newborn and explain how bottles are for babies. Pack up all the bottles and take them to your friend's house where she can see how the baby using a bottle. Explain how she's big and doesn't need them now. Leave the bottles at your friend's place then go to the store and get some brand new sippy cups for "big girl milk". This really works. We just did this yesterday for my 2 year old and she's ok! It will be harder on you.

Amber - posted on 01/21/2010

I did the sippy cups too....at first my son needed it to go to sleep. I gave him the sippy cup one day and he sort of didn't mind it. Then one morning I told him that bottles are for babies and that he's a big boy so let's throw your bottle away, I said. He did it by himself and there was no more bottle after that. He asked for it once and I said that there were no more bottles. It's just a matter of getting rid if them and sticking to it. I thought I would never get my son off the bottle....now I need to be like you and get him potty trained. :) Be firm mom, YOU CAN DO IT!

Latreda - posted on 01/18/2010

Hi my name is Latreda. I took my baby off the bottle when she was 9 months old. I just took the bottle and move her right to a sippy cup,wasn't hard at all. she never had a passy she sucks her thumb.

Amanda - posted on 01/18/2010

I had the same problem with my daugher Hailey I couldn't get her off the bottle at night, during the day she would drink our of sippys and regular cups. I had a easy time taking the bottle for her twin Kailey she was off before there second birthday last June but Hailey would not let her go. Finally I took the bottle and told her that she needed to give her bottle up because the bottle fair needed it because their was babies out in the world that didn't have bottles and needed them. She look at me and said that the bottle fairy could have hers so more babies could eat..

Jennifer - posted on 01/18/2010

What I did with both of my kids is that I only put water in their bottles. And milk and juice in the sippy cup. Sometimes, they would take the bottle anyways, but that's good because they were getting used to water at the same time! So, they usually drank out of the sippy cups when they wanted something different from water. With the pacifier, I cut them dry of the pacifier and only let them have it when they were taking a nap or going to bed for the night. Every once in a while I wouldn't give them their pacifier at nap time. Then eventually they were broken of it. Consistency is the most important part of everything with our children.

Debbie - posted on 01/17/2010

My 2 1/2 year old still has one bottle of milk at bedtime and waketime, the milk is in his normal avent bottle with a normal teat.

All other liquid drinks, water etc started being offered in avent milk bottles with the soft spouts then added handles then introduced other brands of sippy cups) and he's now onto a normal small plastic cup.
I think the fact we kept the actual 'bottle' but added different drinking apparatus and handles helped the change over.
Hope this helped good luck.

Jacqui - posted on 01/17/2010

I'm having the same problem with my son, who is 2 and a half. He looves his bottle, which thankfully doesn't contain milk, but Rooibos tea. I've tried putting his tea in a cup/juice bottle, but he won't touch it then. He gladly drinks his juice out of a cup during the day, but at nap time/bed time he wants his bottle. I'm not pushing it yet, as he's been doing great at his new daycare without a bottle. We'll see how it goes:-)

Alison - posted on 01/16/2010

Get rid of all the bottles. Get her a straw cup and/or sippy cup for 2-4 year olds. If she is thirsty, she will use it. Just don't give her the option of a bottle.

Alicia - posted on 01/15/2010

okay what i did for my son may sound mean but he got over it. when he was 2 i gave him i sippy cup that has the soft nipple its called(nuk sippy cups) i think thats what they are called. they are made by munchies in the baby section and told him that the bottle was gone and that if he wanted a drink he had to use the cup. your lil one WILL throw a fit if you have to use timeout that would be okay after a couple days(week) the cup should start working just as good hope that works for you just be patient cuz she will scream and everything else

Sally - posted on 01/15/2010

I am at that stage with my 20 month old. He absolutely loved his formula in his bottle. In the past I have tried a couple of times to get him to drink out of a beaker and he did not want to know. Trying again now is doing much better. To start with he did not drink a lot but now he is drinking a reasonable amount. He is drinking from a very basic beaker with a hard spout and this has a large hole, as long as I am there with him, he drinks ok and does not chuck it everywhere. You need to persevere with this, if she does not drink very much from a beaker maybe just giver her her bottle in the evening. Hope this helps unless you have already succeded.

Amber - posted on 01/15/2010

This behavior is a security thing! My daughter never took a bottle. She went straight from the breast to a soft spout nuk orthodonic sippy cup. It was the only thing she would take. She is 2 and a half now and even though she can drink from a cup like a big girl she still enjoys the comfort of the sippy. Bc my daughter seemed to be born a nervous child I asked my psyc professor about it and he said it was more important for her to feel secure than to take it away!

Another thing you could try is to get her to give her bottles to her baby doll! Help her to associate the bottle with a baby, not with being a big girl! Either way its important to ballance what your pedi says with her overall psycological health!

Georgia - posted on 01/15/2010

You can tell her that there are babies out there who need the bottles and since she's a big girl (and not a baby) she should give her bottles to the bottle fairy who gives the bottles to babies that need them. Let her help you gather up all the bottles you have (take that time to remind her that she's going to help the bottle fairy help lots of babies) and put them in a bag. When she's having a nap, throw them all in the trash outside so she doesn't see them again and replace the bag with some kind of treat (like a small toy) and say that the bottle fairy left it for her to say thank you for being a big girl and helping all the babies.



I had a friend who did that and was actually surprised her daughter was excited about helping babies and the couple of times she whinged about wanting a bottle all it took was a gentle reminder that she gave them to the bottle fairy (and got the toy) to help babies.



What I did with my son was water down the milk every couple of days until it was all water. He continued to have 2 bottles a day (naptime and at night), but it was only water so I didn't care. Then one day he just didn't want them anymore.



Good luck!!

Michelle - posted on 01/14/2010

What is the big deal with having a bottle at 2?? My daugher has one or two a day when she is tired and thats fine with us, its not like she is 14 and doing it! Too much pressure on your poor kids, let them be babies while they are. Mine is potty trained and wakes up dry every morning, she as a dummy still and we are fine with that and her teeth are perfect. She drinks out of cups and sippy cups and sports bottles you name it.

Stacy - posted on 01/14/2010

We simply threw away all his bottles and gave him a sippy cup liked it better anyways because he could carry it around and we wouldnt let him carry around a bottle.

Christina - posted on 01/14/2010

I would suggest you simply take all bottles and throw them in the trash. Offer beverages only in sippy cups or a regular cup that you would drink from. This is what I did when my son turned 1 year. Give her the sippy cup to walk around with and if she refuses to drink from it than simply have her drink from a regular cup with your help. After a while she will become thirsty enough and want to be independant so much that she will start drinking from that sippy cup.

Brittany - posted on 01/14/2010

I used the Nuby transition bottle/cup. Now I think they are just called the sport nipple. I broke my daughter Melanie from the bottle at 9 months with these. She didnt even notice the transition. Good luck!

BEATRIZ - posted on 01/14/2010

When my daughter was 18mo I decided it was time. So ne morning instead of her bottle I gave her a sipy cup. She didn't like it and didn't even try taking it (she trew it on me). But I repeated the same thing all over for a day and finally se had to drink from it. The hardest part was at night, but once she realized that it was that or nothing, she gave up.

Kyla - posted on 01/14/2010

With our son we had him throw his own bottle in the garbage everytime it was empty till he had none then we bought him sippy cups with his fav characters on them. We have been bottle free for a year now he is almost 3.

Alanda - posted on 01/14/2010

we just break our son of the bottle just a week ago. How we break our son of the bottle is cutting his oz back each day, until there was just 1 oz left and just handed him a cup of milk, and he has not asked for a bottle. I hope this help you.

Marie - posted on 01/14/2010

im daughter is tree and she still as bottle and dummy and she is still in nappies as i have tryed taking her out of them throw the day but she just sits on the potty and sreams till u give in to her and but a nappy on her but i need to know how to work around it because she starts nursery in sept

Rita - posted on 01/14/2010

I have the same problem, daughter is 2 when she goes to sleep she must have her bottle.

Athena - posted on 01/13/2010

Throw that bottles away!!!!!!

Eunice - posted on 01/13/2010

I tossed my sons bottles away and bought the nuby sippy cups with the soft spouts and he didn't seem to have a problem. Although, he still wants his milk at night with the nuby cups. I can't get him to stop wanting milk in the middle of the night! ahh

Shana - posted on 01/13/2010

drinking out of the bottle is a bonding experience and it just shows how strong of a connection the two of you have. my son is 17 months and he still drinks 3 bottles a day and he also likes that i hold the bottle for him. and to be honest i enjoy it myself. if it really bothers you than just get her off the bottle but if not enjoy it while it lasts. Just remember to always brush her teeth after her bottle at night and in the morning.

let me add that this was my doctor's advice as well. :)

Dawn - posted on 01/13/2010

Oh I totally agree. Make it a big deal. Like she's a big girl "like mommy". Oh, my daughter loves anything that is "like mommy".

Dawn - posted on 01/13/2010

Get rid of the bottle...I mean throw it out. Give her a sippy cup. Don't look back. Just keep moving her up from the sippy cups (based on the levels) until she is drinking from a cup.

My daughter is 2yrs, and I can't seem to break her from the night time passy. She doesn't do it much during the day but can't seem to go to sleep w/o it at night. She's also potty trained too.

Sarita - posted on 01/13/2010

Take it away cold turkey. It is horrible for her teeth you will have orthodontia problems if you let her keep it up. Just take it away and don't give her the option. She will get over it eventually. My son will be 2 next month and also loves to drink from a regular cup. If you make a big deal about how much of a Big Girl she is and how Neat the Sippy is she will love it.

Gevah - posted on 01/13/2010

hi ,i have this same problem my daughter is the same way and she is 21/2 and i have tried every thing but she luvs the bottle she even tries 2 drink her baby sister bottle . so what i do is just give her 1 a day and when she dont ask 4 1 i dont give it 2 her.

Chrissy - posted on 01/12/2010

I have the same problem as well, he chews the nipples and I replace them every week, maybe I should try the cold turkey deal. LOL

Lani - posted on 01/12/2010

My son (2), decided to chew the nipple off his bottle and spray milk all over the floor. Well, we went cold turkey with him and so far has done really well. Oh, I have a 11 month old that is still on the bottle.

Chrissy - posted on 01/12/2010

no I have not tried that and I will now, thank you. these suggestions sound good, thank thank you thank you.

Amanda - posted on 01/12/2010

have you tried a straw cup then? My son loves them, wouldn't use sippies for a long time, but used straws very early on (the no-spill kind of course). I don't know if your child likes fast food (mcdonalds) but you could try ordering a milk with him sometime. It's a special place, and a special bigboy cup like at home??
Try watering the milk down a little more each day? Make the milk unpalatable in the bottle, but full strength in the cup you choose perhaps?
I'm just throwing out suggestions here, I know how frustrating it can be. Hang in there! :)