How old is too old for a bottle?

mamaleh

Tue, Feb 21 2012, 4:26 pm

Neither of my DDs were ever really attached to a bottle (both nursed) so it's hard for me to say what I would have done. I gave them a bottle of water in the crib until they were able to transition to a sippy cup (#1at about 1yr #2 at about 8months). Now they each have a sippy cup of water in their bed/crib.They don't always drink it but I don't have them coming out because they want a drink.
FTR they do have pacifiers- DD#1 is much more attached to hers, although she doesn't usually take it out of the house.

gold21

Tue, Feb 21 2012, 5:11 pm

I voted age 4.

my big boy sucked his paci at night until he was just short of 4, and my little guy sucks his "baba" at night and he is 3.5, and I plan to wean him off it in the next few months IY"H. I am not into "being the perfect textbook parent"- I suppose a "perfect textbook parent" would wean off all baby stuff by age 2.5 or so.

amother

Tue, Feb 21 2012, 9:29 pm

I used to take bottles to school in first grade.
In those days, there was no other way to take a favorite hot drink to school, such as cocoa.
But I was ashamed by the jealous others, so I reluctantly gave it up and then I got it at home with tea but only when I was in bed and not feeling well.

I do know plenty of grown ups, even grandmothers, that still suck their thumbs and always did, before going to sleep. It is almost impossible for some people to outgrow that habit. So what? As long as their DH is okay with it, who is it harming? We all have nasty habits, some of us worse than others.

IloveHashem613

Tue, Feb 21 2012, 10:24 pm

Wow OP I totally understand where you are coming from. If you wanna get technical, its not SUCH a big deal for a 3 year old to drink from a bottle. However, a 7 year old is definitley too old for a bottle. And since you dont want your 3 year old to be drinking bottles at 7, you gotta get rid of them somehow. Anyways, like I said I can totally relate to you cuz my daughter was obsessed with her "botty" until she was about 2 and 3 months. She had many many bottles a day and was super attached to her bottle. Everyone kept telling me to take it away from her but I was too nervous she would dehydrate (she didn't drink from a sippy cup or straw til a few weeks after her 2nd bday) and I just didn't wanna deal with the tantrums of taking away her bottle. Well finally one day I said enough is enough and I just did it. I took away her bottles. I can't even believe I had the courage to do it, cuz I had been so nervous about it. She screamed for her bottle once and then never asked for it again... just sharing my experience. Sometimes you gotta just go cold turkey and that's it. But only when you feel ready. And generally, its much harder on you as the mother then it is for your child. Children are much more adaptable then we give them credit for. He'll probably test you and push your buttons but if you show that you mean business and that he's not getting the bottle back, he'll realize it and he'll be okay. (You can try taking him to the store and letting him pick out a special, cool looking sippy cup insteado of the bottle or promise him a big prize for when he goes a week or 2 without the bottle to make the transition easier) Good luck!

de_goldy

Tue, Feb 21 2012, 11:30 pm

I always felt that 2 was the absolute max. But my second youngest is 4.5 and still drinks bottles a couple of times a day! She only has warm water inside and has not had anything more than that for years. She uses it to self-regulate. It takes her a long time to drink it - she is not gulping the liquid, it is more the gentle sucking. I feel that because herself knows when she needs it, and it's not an all-the-time thing (and she doesn't need it to fall asleep), I don't have to take it away from her. (eg of how she uses it: she starts getting cranky, will ask for a bottle and sit with it for 20 mins on the couch - watching what's going on, looking at or listening to a book and by the time she's done she'll be smiling and in a good mood.)

WriterMom

Wed, Feb 22 2012, 4:50 pm

I'm with gold21 and the "who cares what the books say?" ppl - there's what works for each baby and each mother and each family, and no single right answer.

I heard before my first was born that extensive sucking, on a bottle, paci or thumb, can deform the palate and jaw and lead to problems requiring orthodontia or headgear later in childhood. None of my kids were interested in soothers and so it was never an issue. I now have a friend who's a dentist, who thinks this is nonsense and let her kids use pacifiers until they decided they were too big for it themselves.

For things like toilet training - major nuisance, unpleasant, can't start preschool still in diapers etc - I can see the need to push for it to happen at a certain stage. But I really think with pacifiers and bottles, peer pressure, desire to be a "big kid" and normal growth will take care of it without intervention.

gold21

Wed, Feb 22 2012, 6:36 pm

de_goldy wrote:

de-goldy, your parenting style is right on target, in my opinion. I appreciate hearing from moms who think out of the box and evaluate each situation along with each child, instead of sticking to an inflexible set of rules (whether those rules are natural-oriented, like "Baby must nurse until he is 2" or independence-oriented, like "Baby must sleep through the night by 9 months"). I think you are wise to allow your 4.5 year old to use the bottle, given the way she uses it.

obviously, in an ideal world, I dont think a 4.5 half year old should be using a bottle, but the truth is that situations vary and children are individuals, and in your case, it just makes sense to let her have the bottle.