Apart from going 'cold turkey', can anyone suggest a way of getting my 3 year old off her bottle? She's still a huge milk lover!

Kelley - posted on 11/19/2008

Give it about two weeks of explaining that new babies need the bottles, then, when the time comes, have her help you pack them into a bag, then they will be gone. Don't give in that first night will be hard, but she'll be fine. Reward her "big girl" status with a sippy cup. She'll love it!

Sari - posted on 11/19/2008

My children are older, so I don't have a problem anymore with bottles, but I did run a daycare and told the parents to cut the nipple on the bottle, so they can't use it anymore, then tell them it is broken. If they cry and get upset, give them a stuffed toy or even a piece of your clothing to sleep with that night to sooth them. They will eventually just forget about it, it's always harder to train the parents than it is the kids. Just a little note...bottles at night are not healthy for a child, they could cause problems with their teeth, reoccuring ear infections, chest infections runny noses, and night time bewetting, so if your child suffers from any of these, just the thaught of helping your child out might be incentive enough to just take the bottle away.

Lizeth - posted on 11/19/2008

I stopped giving my son a bottle last week. I basically prepared him by telling him that in a few days we would be sending off the bottles to babies who really needed them. I told him that he was a big boy and could drink from a cup, but babies are too little to drink from cups and needed his bottles so that they could drink milk also. He seemed to understand because he doesn't ask for his bottles. Every once in a while I remind him of what a great thing he did in sharing his bottles with the babies...he seems to be pretty proud of it.

Samantha - posted on 11/19/2008

Let your child go to the store and pick out a fav sippy cup and throw the bottle away, better yet let your childthrow it away. Your child may not ake to it at first but at three they have an understanding of whats going on. Stay strong when your child cries for the bottle dont give in...at age three a bottle, "nuk", thumb all can start to cause perment damage to thier teeth. Remember you are doing what is best for your child by not giving in to the bottle.

Stacy - posted on 11/19/2008

I took my daughter to walmart and made a big deal out of her getting to pick out her brand new big girl sippy cups. I told her the bottles were getting old and bigger girls can get a bigger drink out of a sippy cup. The bottles were all removed by my husband when we got home and it was mabey a couple of days then she never asked again for a bottle. Hope that helps, good luck to you

Katie - posted on 11/19/2008

I just did this 2 weeks ago. 3yr old. Big milk drinker. It was a minor battle of wills. I told her she was a "Big Girl" and was done with bottles. She normally drank a liter of milk a day (quarter gallon) -- so the first couple of days her consumption went WAY down...but I didn't buckle. I offered her sippy cups at bedtime or when running about the house. At the table, a regular cup. Within 48 hours, she realized she wasn't getting the bottle back. She mentions it now and then, that she misses it. But like every other transition - they adjust. I couldn't believe I let it go past her 3rd bday... time sure flies!

Justina - posted on 11/19/2008

All 3 of my girls loved their bottles at night, it was kind of like a kid with a pacifier or a blanket. My cousin actually recommended with my oldest to have her throw all of her own bottles away and explain that they were yucky, and let them help take the garbage completly out of the house. I figured I would be in for a real fight that night, but when my oldest asked for her bottle I just reminded her that they were in the garbage and the garbage man had them, but I had a big girl cup with milk in it. (don't do the sippy cuz that is just the same as the bottle). I had no problems at all! I did that with all 3 of my girls and even recommended it to a couple friends and it worked like magic! If you do try it and want to keep an extra bottle completely hidden, that might make it easier for your piece of mind- just don't let them know!

Sarah - posted on 11/19/2008

I used the reward system. For every night time she went to bed without her bottle "like a big girl", she got a sticker on a chart. She was three - that was it! I had originally intended to give her something for x# of stickers, but the stickers were enough! If I had known it would be that easy, I wouldn't have procrastinated as long, but it could have been her age that helped that system work....She could get stickers for other things as well, whatever we were working on at the time....

Beth - posted on 11/19/2008

I had a friend with the same problem. One day she pushed in the nipple on the bottle and told her son it was broke, but she had this sippy cup he could use. He fell for it and they were bottle free!! :)

Karen - posted on 11/19/2008

It's been awhile since I've done this but what I did with my kids was told them you are __ years old and you can't have bottles anymore, we have to give your bottles to (anyone having or who has a little baby) I made it a big deal of how they were helping the new mom and the baby and they were such a big boy/girl. I replaced all of the bottles with advent sippers, there sipper spouts interchange with the bottles Basically out of sight out of mind. I never gave my kids milk at night due to the chances of bottle rot. Good luck it is a hard process, but I was blessed that both times my kids did very well. Hope your little one does too.

Heather - posted on 11/19/2008

There is a bottle by Advent that you can switch to a soft "sippy cup" top. If your child likes the bottles from those then switch the top. Also, I found that if there is a drink that is their favorite, then put their favorite drink only in sippy cups. So, the only way they get that is by drinking out of a sippy. I hope this helps.

Staci - posted on 11/19/2008

We did sippy cups even at night with milk, it is hard at first but it only takes a few days, I think it is harder on us then them! I This worked for all 5 of my children!

Kallie-Jo - posted on 11/19/2008

my little one is 5 months and already wants big people cups so we are starting her on them slowly and with my luck she will hardly use sippy cups :) .. i dont put anything in the cups yet cus i dont want to change her outfit like 6-7 times a day lol .. good luck with your lil girl

Nancy - posted on 11/19/2008

Hi, I have two toddlers one that is three and one that just turned 2 and we have managed to get them both off the bottles by 1 1/2 yrs. All I did was shop around for a sippy cup that sorta simulated the nipple of a bottle. The Nuby sippy cup is great and both of them toke right to it. Then I transitioned them to the older sippy cups. The great thing was the boys didn't mine the transition even from day one. In my belief it was because the nuby sippy cup was not much different than the bottle..HTH

Kari Schweiss - posted on 11/19/2008

This is what I suggest...take the bottle away during the day and try using cups with straws in them. Another idea would be for her to pick out her very own cup at the store of her favorite character! Good luck!

Staci - posted on 11/19/2008

When I weaned my son, I switched from the bottle to a sippy cup with a very soft, nipple-like spout. The best ones I have found are the Nuby brand at Wal-Mart. From there, we slowly kept upgrading to harder and harder spouts, until now, we are finally onto a straw.

Julie - posted on 11/19/2008

My daughter will be 2 next week and there are no signs of her slowing down on the night time milk bottle. She does use a sippy cup during the day, I know I made a big deal about buying her new "fun" sippy cup. I actually put drinks in at first that she never had and she loved like full strength juice. I also even put some chocolate in the milk to get her used to it. That seemed to work for us. I also never let her go to bed with the bottle she has to finish before hand. Which sometimes takes 30 to 40 minutes. Good luck.