How can I get my 17 month off the bottle?

Michelle - posted on 02/22/2012

She will give up the bottle when she is ready. My son was 24 months. There is no need to stress about it. It is a non-issue!

Pamela - posted on 02/22/2012

My son, now 10, was the same way he would not let go of the bottle. His front four teeth ended up rotting from the way the bottle run the milk and juice over his teeth. (BTW it took years to get his teeth to look normal, it was horrible, i was a young mom who didn't know any better). Everyone thinks the next stage from a bottle is a sippy cup, that's not true, it totally depends on the child, you can go straight to cups and then maybe with time will accept the lid on it, so u don't have to worry about all the messes. What i done was get a plastic cup and when i was giving him a bath i let him practice drinking water out of a cup so if he spilled it it didn't matter. He got the hang of it and felt like a big boy, he loved it. He never even used a sippy cup. He went straight from the bottle to a cup. It just depends on the child. They do sell spill proof cups that have a straw since he would not go for the spill proof sippys. Hope this helps.

Candi - posted on 02/22/2012

Tough love! I've learned with my two boys, 4 and 2, that it was much harder for me to transition them than for them to adjust because it was easier for me and it was a comfort zone for them. Therefore, they had what they wanted and kept quiet and I had a little bit of peace; you have to mentally prepare yourself to deal with the backlashes of taking the bottle away. It will seem like the worst couple of days every but I promise, you will be glad you did it and it's over! Good luck!

Bonnie - posted on 02/21/2012

I agree with throwing them away. If she knows she doesn't have them anymore and she is thirsty she will drink. With some children, transitioning to the sippy cup takes time. They are use to having their drink one way for so long and now they have to change. It's the same thing with pretty much anything else...soothers, eating a variety of solids, moving to a regular bed, etc.

S. - posted on 02/21/2012

My daughter 16 months is addicted to her bottles too (she drinks way too much but she dose use them for comfort )and has always woken up for one in the night , untill last week when she woke every other hour wanting her bottle for 4 nights running so iv just taken the bottles away this it the second night so still early days! Iv gotten her a load of non spill cups she's really not keen but if that's all that's on offer she has to take them! I do feel mean but She'll soon forget about the bottles, good luck

Brittney - posted on 02/21/2012

Ease into it, the night bottle is the last to go and the hardest to get rid of. Try to get a different sippy cup top, let her choose the sippy cup, start putting water in the bottle and that should deter her from drinking from it too much. You could always just go "cold-turkey" and stop using the bottle completely.

Medic - posted on 02/21/2012

Just throw them away, after a few days she will get thirsty and drink from whatever you give her.