How did you get your child off the bottle when they refuse to give it up?

Tamika - posted on 04/30/2009

get your daughter to throw it in the bin herself, and do it on bin day so she can see that it is now gone in the bigh truck. Buy a sippy cup with a teet made of rubber so it feels the same to her. You will get maybe a week of crying to get her to sleep, but she will get over it and realize she is a big girl now.

Krystle - posted on 04/30/2009

I actually learned the hard way my mom emptyed my house out of any bottles while i was in the hospital because of my surgery i came home and just kept showing her the sippy cup and telling her that big girls drink out of these instead. The first couple days were rough but after four days she didn't argue with me at all. I guess my mom new i would of gave in to her, so she helped me out.

Lynda - posted on 04/30/2009

my three year old daugther has just recently given her dummy and bottle to the easter bunny, she only had her bottle of milk at bed time and it helped to settle her now she doesn't drink milk at all so i dont care that she had a bottle till the age she did

Sonja - posted on 04/30/2009

You know, I wondered that, too, when my boys were little. Then I realized that, hey, when they are teens they are not going to sucking on a bottle. They will eventually grow out of it and they did. I didn't sweat it and they gave it up on their own. They are both well adjusted teens now and they don't use the bottle. lol. Some things we, as moms, just don't need to cause battles over. They will grow out of their baby ways.

User - posted on 04/29/2009

Tell her the bottle is all gone and pitch them. Going to bed with a bottle kills teeth!

Melissa - posted on 04/29/2009

I was real about it with my daughter. The doctor said she should have no more bottles after age one and she was done. I put them away. Sometimes you have to put your foot down. My girlfriend had a hard time with her daughter and I told her the same thing. Finally after almost 2 years old, she finally put the bottles away... they will learn!

Dorothy - posted on 04/29/2009

/some children just need the security and the sucking to rekax them. As long as she does not carry it around 24-7 and she only takes it at bedtime I wouldn't worry. I have 7 kids and they were all differnt in giving it up . The worst was 2and a 1/2. I started putting a sippy cup on her dresser or where she could get it and as long as she knew it was there she was fine. I would say by 3 is the longest to go. If you force the issue too hard she will do something else like the thumb. Is she potty trained? If she is then you have to watch she doen't revert back. As long as you give her sippy cups during the day don't worry about it,It will happen

Angie - posted on 04/29/2009

I agree with a lot of the other moms, go cold turkey. Just let your child know that he is a big boy now and doesn't need a botte anymore. He may have a few rough nights but he'll be okay. Good luck

Lorena - posted on 04/28/2009

I had a 2 1/2 year old that would scream bloody murder if she didn't get her bottle with milk. It was hard because my one year old was still on the bottle so when I tried taking it away from the 2 year old she would take away the bottle from the little one. I finally threw out all the bottles and made both of them just use sippy cups. In about 2 days they were fine. They found other ways to self sooth during bedtime.

Victoria - posted on 04/28/2009

My Dr. advised putting water in the bottle and offering milk only in a sippy cup. He didn't want the water so he gave up the bottle on his own.

Joanne - posted on 04/28/2009

my boy was 2 and didnt want to give it up so i took him to the shop to pick his own big boys cup my friends little boy gave it to a crocadile that came to nursery because his babies didnt have any

User - posted on 04/28/2009

It may take a week of screaming, but you just need to remove all the bottles from the house. Then you can't be tempted to give in. Offer a sippy cup of a small amount of water before bed and if refused, leave it at that. If you can be tough, you will get through it. I had to do it with pacifiers. I completely cut off the whole nipple, told her they were all broken, and made her throw them in the garbage. After a week, she was fine. You might be able to do it with a bottle too. A nipple that they cant suck on because they are cut off completely, might be a good idea. Good Luck!!

Shereen - posted on 04/27/2009

We had the sookie/bubba monster come and take the bottles and soothers for the little babies that needed them. I kept one of each hidden away just in case and we just stayed strong. It's really hard but so worth it!

Jeniel - posted on 04/27/2009

Sippy cups! It will be a hard couple of nights but she'll forget about it, trust me my daughter was addicted to her binki....I told her that the binki fairy came and took it, that news didn't go over very well but she got over it.

Nicole - posted on 04/27/2009

I threw the bottles away. I did buy a sippy cup with a soft top. Soon, she got rid of that and went for the wine glasses instead!! lol

Angela - posted on 04/27/2009

I had that problem and for some reason one day we were in the car and my son was screaming for a bottle and I said there is no more ba ba, and I threw it out the window. So he saw me throw it out the window and out of sight out of mind

Michelle - posted on 04/27/2009

I weaned my son off of his bottle by switching to a toddler sippy cup (spill proof of course) when he went to bed then only letting him have it right before bed and then not at all. It was a slow process but it worked.

Melody - posted on 04/27/2009

It was difficult for me with my daughter to take her bottle away. All I wanted to do at night was to go to sleep peacefully and she just refused to do that without her bottle. I finally started diluting her milk until it was at a stage of almost water then went to water completely. A slow change was best for her and she never realized it was not milk. I started out with 3/4ths milk and 1/4th water and changed it every third night by 1/4th. She chewed on her nipples and they would get holes in them and leak. I started showing them to her and telling her they were broken because they leaked and had holes. I would give them to her and tell her it had to go in the trash. We walked to the trash and threw it in. We then pulled out all the ones we had left and counted them. I told her this was all we had left and when they were gone she had to use a cup. I would do this everytime one got a hole. When we got to the last one she knew there were no more and she never asked for another bottle again. It was cups from then on and water at night. She was the same age as your daughter and will soon turn three. She now will drink water before bed but does not drink any during the night. I think their security at night should always be treaded on lightly. Any dramatic changes are too upsetting when they are trying to prepare for a peaceful sleep. It needs to be done but in a peaceful way. In the end these are all just stages of development and every child is different.

Jacob - posted on 04/27/2009

With my oldest, the bottle was gone when he was 13 months old. We moved and the bottles stayed. No problem. With my 2nd child, completely different story. We tried substituting water for milk and hoped she would do it on her own. No luck. I think we finally just stopped giving it to her. I think we heard the term "tough love" from someone. 3 nights later, she was off the bottle. It was tough and there was alot of crying, but it worked. With my youngest, she was off the bottle before she was a year old because her brother and sister had regular cups, she had to have one too. Good luck!

Jessica - posted on 04/27/2009

i had that problem with 2 of my girls!i waited till an event such as xmas or easter n told them that the easter bunny n santa thought they were big girls now n gave them to another baby that needed them!that worked as in replace they got to go to the shops n pick out there own big girls cup!

Anne Marie - posted on 04/27/2009

Try putting less and less water/liquid in the bottle each night until there is none. The nuby cups have a softer spout... or try using a cup with a straw. My friend did that with her son... once he realized that he could make a funny noise (by sucking really hard on the straw!) he loved his cup and gave up the bottle! If you do decide to go cold turkey (I did with pacifiers) realize that she will take a few days to be "on strike" before she begins drinking a regular amount from a cup, and there will probably be some crying involved. Stay strong in your belief that it is what is best for her, and she will get over it quickly! Good luck!

Kelli - posted on 04/27/2009

I did almost like the tooth fairy, but we used the wonder pets. She left them out for the wonder pets to take at night for a baby somewhere and they left her a treat. she was so excited that she got to help someone, she didn't even cry. missed it a little that first night, but no tears.

Kimberly - posted on 04/27/2009

I agree with Crystal. I would try the silicone tipped cups like Nuby has out. I actually transitioned my daughter by using formula in the cup then switching to milk once that the formula went over well in the sippy. But I don't know what to tell you as far as bed time. My daughter never had a bottle in bed because she sleeps with me, and I don't want to change sheets every day. But Lord knows I am going to have a horrible time come the end of binkies

Jessica - posted on 04/27/2009

Either throw them away or put them away some where she can't find them. Guess from all the notes I've read I was lucky my son gave his bottle up on his own at 13 months old. I knew when he chucked it across the room he was done. If the only time she takes a bottle is at bed time it's time to take the bottles away.

Gigi - posted on 04/27/2009

I waited until my son was 2.I had his baby sister when he was 16 months so I didn't want to make him give it up then.He really wanted it and would take his sister's so I didn't push it.After he turned 2. I took him shopping for a big boy cup and let him pick out his new one and throw out his old bottles.Amazingly it worked!

Miranda - posted on 04/27/2009

cold turkey, we just put them all away on a certain day and would not give him another one no matter what. he learned to take a sippy instead

Crystal - posted on 04/27/2009

I had to do the same thing with my niece when she was 3. My mother in law kept giving her a bottle at night. My sis in law was working alot so she didnt know so i took it into my own hands. I asked her to drink out of a cup for me. I told her she was a big girl and big girls drink out of cups and bottles are for babies. She drank out of the cup that night and the next day my mother in law tried giving her a bottle and she threw a fit! Didnt touch one ever again. Try getting her the sippy cups with the silicone tops. My daughter is 11 months old and hasnt had a bottle in 2 weeks. It kinda tricks them..lol. I hope this helps good luck

Amanda - posted on 04/27/2009

you could let her give them to the bottle fairy in exchange for a big girl gift, maybe a fancy cup

Amy - posted on 04/27/2009

my daughter was 1 1/2 when i finally got her off the bottle..I actually put dirt in the bottles and told her they were dirty and had her throw them away so she saw them in the trash...there was a couple of nights of crying herself to sleep. But its been six months and we are bottle free!

Amanda - posted on 04/27/2009

at 2 she does not need it. cut off the nipples or just throw them in the garbage. she can not use whats not there.