How To Make The Child Stop The Bottle?
The bottle and the pacifier can be inseparable companions of a child, those with whom he is comfortable at all times. Mothers are comforted by the fact that our baby relaxes and feels accompanied by his faithful “friend”, but there comes a time when he grows up and must move into a new phase. If you opted for the bottle instead of breastfeeding, you are interested in what we are going to comment on next.
Some little ones change from the bottle to the glass or the cup as soon as we show them how to drink milk, water and juices just like mom, dad, an older brother do… others leave it alone. However, not a few find it a bit difficult to say goodbye to them. If the latter is the case for your child, we offer you some tips that can help you in this process.
Everything you need to know for your child to stop using the bottle
Should the child be encouraged to stop using the bottle?
In fact, it is necessary to allow his own rhythm to stop the bottle since forcing him to do it when he does not feel ready is completely counterproductive for his development. Although it is worth mentioning that the older the child grows, the more difficult it will be to get rid of his precious bottle.
For a small child, the bottle means a moment of relaxation where he is accompanied by mom or dad, or he can even take it without help … but relaxed and enjoying the moment. You can use the bottle in addition to feeding milk or juice, relaxing and falling asleep, or playing with it.
It is not advisable to allow the child to be with the bottle on their own since, if they play too much with the bottle without swallowing the liquid, the sugars in it could cause unwanted cavities. These little ones like to chew on the rubber on the bottle nipple and may even prefer the ease of suction to chewing. The latter could be a problem to introduce solid foods into your diet.
When is the best time to move to the children’s cup
After the first year is a good time, but it will depend above all on his maturity and whether or not you really see him ready to take this step. At the beginning we can start giving him a few sips of water so that he can learn, juice, a yogurt … until moving to milk if that is what we want at the end. Check that you really know how to sip from a glass
Getting the child to put down the bottle
If you think your child is ready to give up the bottle, then we are going to give you some tips to make the process easier for everyone. Do not lose detail and remember to always respect their rhythms.
- Allow him to choose his own glass to drink, in this way he will feel involved and will be able to accept the change with a better attitude than if you imposed it on him. Ideally, have only 1 or 2.
- Show the glass to your child with enthusiasm and teach it with phrases that encourage or motivate him to want to drink from that container. You can say things like: look at what a beautiful glass you have to drink your milk! What beautiful colors!
- Allow your child to hold the glass and observe and explore it at their own pace. If you want to play with him, of course let him do it without hindrance for a little while.
- Once he’s explored it, pour in some water, milk, or other easily recognizable liquid and show him how to use it. Then give it to him to do the same. If necessary, guide him with your hands to hold the glass together until he becomes familiar with the technique.
- If a little liquid is spilled, don’t be angry. Laugh together, clean up any spills, and encourage him to try again.
Once the process is started and your child has willingly accepted drinking from an infant cup, put the bottles away and do not return to them. Although if you miss the bottle you can use it once a day, such as to drink your milk before going to sleep, but the rest (water or juices) that you drink in your glass. Little by little, make the transition progressively so that it adapts without problems.
What to do if my child does not want to give up the bottle completely?
If your child has adapted well to the process of drinking from his glass for water and juices, but still wants to continue drinking his bottle, as we mentioned above, nothing happens because you leave him a little more to drink his milk in his bottle , for example at night before going to sleep
Keep in mind that this is part of the routines that your child has established to go to sleep, and it will not be so easy to remove the bottle without also stopping sleep. Also, that your child only takes the bottle to drink milk only to go to bed, it is not so bad, right?
But of course, if your purpose is to make him leave the nipple behind once and for all, then you should start by changing the routines to go to sleep: a bath, put a song, sing to him, read to him, caress him for a while … the routines they will depend on how they are in your family. Adapt them according to your daily needs.
