Sound Off! How and When Should Baby Give Up the Bottle?
Whenever we run a photo of a celebrity toddler holding a bottle (like Suri or Alabama, above), we get a ton of comments from you about what’s right and wrong when it comes to bottle weaning. The American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry both recommend making the switch to cups between ages 6 and 12 months, since it’s important that children are weaned at the right time in order toavoid problems like speech impediments, tooth erosion and toothdeformation later in life. (For more health information, check out this story at ABCNews.com). Now, we want to know what you think.
Here’s your chance to Sound Off! Tell us your thoughts and tips on making the transition from bottle to cup in the comments.
Sources: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, ABCNews.com, American Academy of Pediatrics; Photos by INF/Bauer Griffin.
- Posted on Aug 18, 08 at 1:00PM
- Permalink
- 275 Comments
August 18th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
At past 2 years of age, it’s really time for Suri to be off that bottle. If Katie can take time to fill a bottle, she can certainly pack a sippy cup to take out and about.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I think 12 months is the right time to stop using a bottle. The transition was very easy for my son.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I’m not a parent, but my brother and I were on the bottle for longer than we should have been (esp. him) and we both have crooked teeth and overbites. While these problems may have been genetic, I’m sure the bottle (and pacifiers) couldn’t have helped. That said: I’ll be keeping a close eye on my kiddies so as to save myself thousands in dental bills in the future.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
My opinion? Leave them alone. None of us are parents to these celebrity babies. I don’t give unsolicited parenting advice, and I certainly don’t welcome any. It’s their own business how they raise their children. I love Suri!
August 18th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I personally think its bad parenting. They tell you why its bad for them. ok. So take care of it. Give them a cup. I’ve heard the “she’s addicted…she needs it for comfort” blah blah blah. I guarentee you take the bottle away, the kid will get thirsty and drink from a cup.
I just think its laziness and bad parenting.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I don’t have any children, but when I do I would like to do it as soon as possible. I think once a child can walk and hold their own bottles, than that should be the time that parents should make that switch. I just don’t like seeing kids that can walk and talk using pacifiers and bottles. It just seems a tad bit lazy, I know that it can be frustrating to ween a baby off of those things, but its what needs to be done for the sake of that child. Thats my opinion!
August 18th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I had both of my kids off the bottle at 12 months, but my oldest used a binky until 3 years old. My neighbor’s daughter still had a bottle at naptime until she was 2 because she didn’t have a binky or a lovey of any kind. I think 12 months is a good target, but definitely before 2. My son turns 2 this week and he doesn’t even use sippy cups anymore. He wants big boy cups!
August 18th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
With all three kids I breastfed, but I work so I pumped and they got bottles during the day. At 5 months I let them play with a sippy cup with water. ONce they got the hang of it they got their bottle feedings with a sippy. This occured at 5 months (first duaghter) 8 months (2nd son) and 7 months (third daughter). I think it was important to continue to nurse until they got the hang of the sippy cup since they never formed a real attachment to the bottle.
I think the earlier you get them off the bottle the better! you know how stubborn kids are the older they get
August 18th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I tried with my first daughter at 13 months and she was already forming an attachment and it took me until 17 months to switch over. I learned from my mistakes and got daughter #2 on the sippy cup only at 11 and 1/2 months….so much easier, it seems right after the 12 month mark it only gets harder the older they get.
I see no reason to keep it for so long, yes it can be work to get it ironed out but in the end they are fine without it (more so if you do it earlier) and sipy are so mush easier to clean:0)
August 18th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
We weaned our son at 12 months cold turkey. We put all bottles out of sight and introduced sippy cups during the day. We were told to avoid cups with valves since they are just glorified bottles. We discovered that he liked a straw cup the best…the Take and Toss cheap ones are the best! We still do a small bottle at bedtime, but we are slowly decreasing the amount of milk in it and also working on not heating it up. We’re hoping to be done with that bottle by 18 months.
As for pacifiers…haha! I have no advice. My son is addicted to his. He hides them all over the house. I’m hoping to be done with the binkie by the time he’s two, about the time his sibling arrives.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
12 months sounds good to me. Bottles and pacifiers are comforting to babies, but can become a “comfort crutch” that they cannot sleep or be without. Weaning them off these damaging (teeth-wise, as stated) items will only get harder with time, so don’t let them keep them because it makes life easier for you.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
In the Netherlands people are advised to start giving their babies water (or milk etc) from a cup at six months. My daughter only gets her evening porridge from a bottle, and, when we travel, water from a bottle with a special teat, just suitable for sips. She’s now eight months old.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
My family has the view of letting the child wean off the bottle himself, personally i don’t agree with it. I have 3 cousins age, 3.5, 3, and 2, they all have bottles still, quite ridiculous, 2 of them have horrible cavities but their parents won’t get them off the bottle. I myself had a bottle till i was about to start kindergarten, i still have no idea why my mom let me have it so long, if i ever have kids, there will be no bottles. But I think at about 15-18 months is when the baby should be giving up the bottle at the latest.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Both of my girls started coming off of the bottle at 9 months when they went from formula to milk, per their doctors suggestion. From 9 to 12 months they had sippy cups all day except for bed time. I rocked them to sleep with a bottle. At 12 months we went to sippy cups only.
I wish I could say getting rid of the pacifier was as easy for my oldest! The youngest threw hers in the trash and never asked for another one.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
12 months is an appropriate time to be cut off from the bottle. I have three kids, one of whom is only 8 months, and she is beginning the transition to sippies…I was in childcare, caring for ages 4 weeks to 12 months and we began to transition at 8 months as well. We would take out the stopper on the lid, to help with the flow of formula or water, for the babies who would have trouble understanding how to suck on the lid…once they realized they could get their water/milk from the cup, we’d put the stopper back in…also, the sippy cups with the handles on the sides seem to work best for that age range…
I love little Suri, but she definitely needs to be off the bottle!! Tom and Katie will be paying for braces for her, for sure!
August 18th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I breastfeed but my son has received a bottle of expressed milk. I started him on a sippy cup at about 6 months old – he’s now 8 months old. He usually drinks a little out of the sippy & I expect him to become more proficient in the coming months. He uses a pacifier occasionally but only at naptime or bedtime. I think by 12 months, the bottles and pacifiers should be gone.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
All of my kids were off the bottle at 15 months, I went cold turkey with the bottles experimentally with my first child and it worked so well that I followed suit with my next two.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
My neighbour 5 year old is still on a bottle. Before going to bed she puts 3 at least (with milk) by his bed side. She says that he sleeps better. And then he dosent does not eat that much becouse of that.
I told her to move on, she just dosent listen. She says im the mother etc…
August 18th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Great trick–when my mom was ready to wean my sister off binkies, she cut the tips off. Kids figure out real quick that the magic is gone!
August 18th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
My sister has got my neice drinking from a cup and she is now turned 2.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I forgot one thing. My mum tried to give me the bottle as least as possible. Any juises, water or milk she gave me the sippy cup or to drink water she was giving to me with a tea spoon as a baby so i would not get used to the bottle.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
My nephew will be 1 year old old August 30th and already he has stopped using the bottle
almost completly. The only time he uses it
is at bedtime or night time. The rest of
the time he wants his sippy cup. I think
a year is a good age to start trying to
stop the bottle or pacifire.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Emily, do you have children?
I think this is such a small issue in the big scheme of things. I mean really, do you see any 10 year olds walking around drinking out of a bottle or needing a pacifier? Its just silly. Who cares if they drink out of a bottle? It’s not bad parenting. Suri and Alabama both seem happy healthy and loved.
And just for the record, I breastfed both my kids. They never used a bottle or pacifier at all.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I let my son drink from the bottle till he was 3 (for comfort around nap time), but it was filled with water only since he was a year old.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I have 3 boys and they all gave up the bottle at 12 months. Two on their own and the third we just took it away. I hate seeing kids walking around at 18 months or 2years holding a bottle. How hard is it to give them a sippy cup? Even my youngest who was very attached to his bottle eventually figured out that if he wanted a drink his only option was a sippy
August 18th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
First off, I think Suri is so so so cute! However, she needs to get off the bottle! Shes almost 2 1/2! I feel its lazy parenting! She needs a sippy cup by this age!
August 18th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
my daughter is 7 months and working on the sippy cup. She plays with it and we took the stopper out to make her understand a little more that’s where the milk comes from. I hope before 9 months she’s 100% on her cup.
We are slowly taking her binky as well. She only gets it for naps and bedtime, and usually doesn’t fuss during the day. The only exception are long car rides when we let her have it close by in her seat. We’re hoping to get her off it completely before she’s a year old
August 18th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I must have had it easy. My son (now 4) was weaned from a bottle at 6 months, even at night time. He was also never a very big binky lover, so I really never had to worry about pacifiers. As far as keeping them on a bottle for so long, I too have heard about teeth problems, which is one reason I decided to wean early. If all they are trying to avoid is crying and fussing, then they need to get their big girl panties on and deal with it. Who knows, for Suri-it might be a religious thing?
August 18th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Both of my boys were bottled fed and neither one ever used a pacifier. I switched to sippy cups shortly after they turned 1 however, they both had bottles at nap time and bed time until they turned 2. For whatever reason they both felt comforted by that. I started noticing that they weren’t really even drinking the milk, it was just the “sucking” motion that soothed them. After I noticed that, I only put water in the bottle and immediately removed the bottle once they fell asleep. I threw all the bottles out when they reached 2 yrs. It doesn’t make much sense but I suppose they were dependent on the bottle the way some kids like to suck on a pacifier as they fall asleep. The boys are 3 and 6 now and have had no adverse dental/speech problems.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Thanks for calling me a bad parent Emily…
My son is 20 months and is now walking around with his 2 bubbas as i type.. He needs it to sooth him…. Its his blankie.. he sucks on and empty bag.. we tape it up. smae bubby as the one in the photo. Im sorry you think this way. But if your child sat there and cryed at night for it and thats what sooths him.. I know you would think diff.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
My son was weaned off the breast at 10 months (his choice), and off the bottle to sippys around 20 months. While I definitely think two years old is a bit old to be drinking from a bottle, I can’t bring myself to judge eith Tom & Katie or Travis & Shanna. I think they are all good parents, and if this is the worst thing that happens, who cares? As a mom, I think I can identify with the fact that there is never any set timetable for most things, no matter how much time you spend planning it. JMHO.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Why aren’t they breastfeeding????
August 18th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
We introduced sippy cups and regular cups early on so that the day after their 1st birthday, my kids would have an easier transition. My kids were not allowed to hold their own bottle-they could help me hold it, but I never let them have control over it. Plus, by having them get rid of it sooner, it helps with potty training since they’re not constantly drinking. After taking my daughter off of sippy cups, my daughter quickly got potty trained! Basically, I think all kids should be off the bottle by their 1st birthday.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
My son is 2 months younger than Suri and Kingston and has been bottle and dummy free for over a year. He was off his bottles at 10.5 months and on a sippy cup no problem. He’s now off sippy cups completely – he drinks from ordinary glasses/mug/mineral water bottles/straws. He also stopped his dummy at 11 months.
I have heard that the best time for both to go is between 6 and 12 months – before baby has too much of an attachment.
Personally I hate seeing children older than 1 with bottles or dummies. I know someone who still had their son having an evening bottle at 4 years old. I dont see why a 4 year old would need a bottle??
I also hate seeing squash or tea (or anything other than milk or water) in a bottle – theres no need for it.
I think at the age of 2+ a bottle is a comfort and a laziness, and not a neccesity. Comfort things are important (both my sons have comfort blankets) but IMO there are better things to use out there.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Ashleigh,
Don’t get discouraged. You can tell a lot of the people on here making comments don’t even have kids.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I think weaning at 12 months is right, both of my sons used only a cup by there first birthday.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I don’t understand when parents say “it soothes my child” when they are 2 or older. I have to wonder why a parent is letting food soothe there child and not give them a favorite blanket or teddy at nap or night time.
How is that any different then feeding a 5 year old good and snacks to soothe them when they get hurt or when they get older and become overweight because they are using comfort foods to solve there problems.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
I pumped at work until around 14-15 months when The Boy’s bottle was slowly replaced with a sippy cup. However, because we continued to (and still do) nurse, when I need to be gone for work overnight, he does get a bottle at bedtime (as well as breastmilk in a sippy cup at meal times). He never had the chance to really become attached to his bottle and has never used a pacifier or a “lovie,” though he has started wanted a certain blanket at bedtime, and he is advanced in his vocabulary and clarity of speech.
All of that being said, what works for my family, might not work for someone else. This topic breads unnecessary judgment.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I breastfed all 4 of my kids until 12-15 months but they started supplemental formula drinking from a sipee cup with meals at 6 months. When they weaned from breastfeeding they all continued with a bottle of milk/formula only at bedtime until around 18-24 months because it was really hard to get them to sleep without it.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Isn’t the point of removing bottles, pacifiers and eventually blankies so that children learn self soothing?
Its hard to take things away from the little ones you love but easiest for you is not always best for the little one. Been there.
and Ashleigh…a bag?????
August 18th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Ashleigh
Both of my children cried for the first three nights without bottles but I did it anyway because it was best for them. That is a what a parent should do. I do not know of any pediatricians that would say it is okay for a child to to have a bottle at the age of two. By the way after my children cried they were fine and forgot all about the bottle. Which is what normal, non-lazy people do.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
When my son hit his first birthday, I just stopped the bottle and switched to beakers. Then by 18 months he was using a regular plastic cup, and I feel I have done him good by doing this. I know a 30 month old still on the bottle who has rotting teeth and their front teeth are also beginning to stick out, so I do believe it is bad to continue on the bottle past 18 months or so. I do understand that some children form an attachment to their bottle but I think there has to come a point when you say ‘enough is enough’ and start them on the next step. I really dislike seeing grown up toddlers such as Suri with her bottle, or those older children with dummies for that matter as well…but that’s a whole other post lol!
August 18th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
My son still had a bottle at 2yrs which he used as comfort, yet because of his CP we didn’t have the heart to take him off it until he was ready to give it up himself which he did at around 2.5yrs. With our daughter who is 16 months old we just switched the bottle for a sippy cup at 14 months and never looked back. She cried for 1 day and then was just fine. All done! Cold turkey worked for us!
August 18th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Well since toddlers still have milk teeth it shouldn’t matter if they use the bottle.
Sucking a bottle does nothing to damage teeth. sorry I don’t know where you hear this. children have milk-teeth until they start to loose them for their adult teeth. If some people had crooked teeth it aint because of a bottle, it’s because of genes. Anyways, I think 12 months is too soon to wean off the bottle, I think between 18 months to about 2 and a half years is a good time ti start the weaning process. Just my opinion though. My little brother turned 2 in August and he uses a bottle for naps and bedtime but uses a glass cup to drink through out the day.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
My daughter is 26 months old now and has been off the bottle since she was 16 months old. It was a battle…she is a big time milk girl and would drink water, juice, etc from a cup but not the milk. Our battle now is the doctor wanting her under 20 oz of milk a day…she has a 10 oz sippy that we fill a little more than halfway 3-4 times a day. She eats well, is in the 50th percentile for her weight and just prefers to drink milk to everything else. We took the pacifier away 2 weeks before she turned too and she was fine with it. She carries a blanket and a stuffed bunny everywhere because she won’t sleep without them. I think there will always be a battle about something!
August 18th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I think it’s extremely disrespectful for people to cast judgment on other people’s parenting and act like they are “better” because their child was off the bottle at 1. Myself and my siblings were all around 2 years old when we gave up the bottle – and I do mean gave up. Once we got old enough to understand it was not a “big kid” thing, we were done with it. By that age, we were ready to give it up ourselves and it was not traumatic at all – it was just cold turkey one day.
People these days push their children to grow up so fast – be weaned fast, potty trained fast, start learning fast. Let your babies be BABIES because they’ll have to grow up soon enough.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Okay, I am siding with Ashleigh on this….my two girls are 18 mos. apart. My oldest was off the bottle @ 13 mos. and the little one at 9mos. because she would take her sisters sippy cup. She was just used to seeing them around and when she was thirsty, she would grab a sippy cup, that was easy. Now pacifiers are a different story…my little one would die without her “tsumi” and we are having a big problem with it, the older one who is 4 1/2 will take her sisters sometimes but we tell her flat out no, we made a point to have the dentist tell her “no” so it makes it ok, to her at least. The little one is another story, I am doing all in my power to get her to throw that thing away but she won’t cry herself to sleep…she just screams for hours. It is by far one of the most difficult things I have dealt with but we will work through it. I don’t think anyone is a bad parent, each child is different with different vices…and we as parents want are children to be happy and content. Ashleigh, you are not a bad parent, you love your son and will deal with your/his issues when YOU feel the time is right…..I know I will have to do the same!
August 18th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
It is so easy to sit back and criticize when you are outside looking in, but (for those that are actually parents) I bet each one of you have said “If that was my child, I’d do this or that” and when you actually HAD a child it was so different. I have eaten enough of crow since becoming a parent to choke on. Everyone’s child is different and what works for one will most certainly not work for all.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
personally, i feel it is lazy parenting. i have 3 perfectly well adjusted children who *gasp* were actually made to cry it out for a night or 2 when adjusting to life w/o the binky and bottle.
these parents who just think it is so tramatic to let their little ones go without, are the same parents who inconsistently discipline, because they don’t want to hear whining or complaining. suck it up. it’s better for them and you as a parent in the long run!!
August 18th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Kelly,
Any parent will tell you that it is soothing to a baby/toddler when they suck on a nipple – be it bottle, breast or pacifier.
I think all kids are different developmentally and the parent knows best as far as being tuned into their childs feelings and needs, and most parents just want to make their baby/toddler comfortable. I also don’t think one could forsee a huge difference in the actual child in the long run if you “weaned” your child at 18 months vs. 2 years or even *gasp* 2 1/2 years. Will you or anyone be able to tell when they were weaned from sucking on something in their future? Will the timing they were weaned affect them when they go to preschool? When they go to the prom? Probably not… Parents should just keep on doing what they think is best for their child.
Now dental health, cavities,…that’s a whole different issue and with that it’s probably earlier is better as far as when to wean.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I forgot to add that when we took away the bottles I bought my daughter a pretty purple sippy cup and let her play with it for a while. I told her she was a big girl now and that I would be putting her milk in this new cup. I showed her the sign for milk (we do baby sign language) and let her watch me pour the milk into the cup. I then gave her lots of praise when she took her first sip. I could tell she felt proud and she kept on sipping away. Now she drinks from regular cups as well as the sippy and cups with straws.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
All three of my kids had their last bottle the eve of their first birthday. They got their milk in sippy cups the next day and the word was never mentioned again. None of them missed it and it was a great transition.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
12 months – bottles should be gone IMO. Yes it is hard and yes it is work to get them to switch over, but if partents transition slowly, it is much easier. Don’t let you kids go to sleep with a bottle, and they won’t “need” it at bedtime. I think some parents prefer the easy way out. When their kid is crying their eyes out a five to play in the road, are you going to let them or find an alternative? Don’t be so lazy. And yes I have two kids and they were off a bottle by age 1.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
My daughter self weaned at 8 months, and it had nothing to do with me. However, she is 2 1/2 and still has her pacifier for soothing. I think that if something soothes a child, and it doesn’t do harm, then why can’t they have it? I mean, if indeed it is doing damage, that is another story. However, I know kids that weaned at 12 months and have horrid teeth and kids that had bottles till 3 and have great teeth. I think its definitely in the genes as opposed to bottles/pacifiers/thumbs. I think alot of the issue is that a child having a bottle at 2 is rare and some people don’t like the way it looks. Too bad. Before I had kids, I thought 2 year olds with pacifiers looked stupid, and then I had a child and saw that that was what soothes her and it isn’t hurting her at all, so why not? She also has a blanket that she is attached to.
I believe in self weaning 10000%
August 18th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I think there is no right or wrong to this answer, because it’s all relative to each family. But we’ll start weaning our daughter from nursing and the bottle at 12 months.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I think anyone that says it is bad parenting to let their child still have a bottle should reevaluate their statements. It is a parents choice whether you like it or not. I had a bottle when I was a baby untill I was 2 and I never had any cavities as a child, problems with my weight or ear infections. My daughter still has her bottle and it has been difficult weaning her off. Yes if a child is thirsty enough they will drink out of a cup but it does offer comfort and that is why they have trouble giving it up. She gets one or two bottles a day and she is 20 months old. Her cousin was off at a year but had a pacifier and so didnt care. Parenting is difficult and to say it is bad parenting to let your child have a bottle is absurd. It is a difficult transition and one that should not be criticized the way it is. people are mean spirited and should offer suport not judgement.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
My daughter had a bottle before nap and bed until she was 2 yrs old. She drank it, we brushed teeth, then went to bed. At 2, we took the bottle away. It was no big deal because she was ready. My pedi was fine with her having 2 bottles a day until 2.5 yrs. She is a well adjusted 3 yr old. It really isn’t a big deal as long as it is controlled and not sucked on all day. At the end of the day, you do what is right for your child and family.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
i always giggle when i see suri with a bottle because even though my kids are off the bottle, they still use a pacifier at night to sleep. i want to get rid of it but they go mad crazy and so i keep putting it off i know that some think that’s “bad parenting” but it makes me feel better knowing that katie holmes who has access to nannies and childcare can’t even get her kid off the bottle–so me, who is a stay-at-home mom with no help doesn’t feel so bad about not getting it all done in the right timeframe!
August 18th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
What I ment by a bag is he has the drop ins.. We are going to start to take them away at 21 months (2 weeks) but for now he has his clean empty bottle.. we push all air up and tape it so it stys up. He dosnt have any milk or water in it. That stopped at 12 months. But when hes very upset the sucking sooths him.. I tryed a bink and his fingers.. Nothing works.. Sometimes he dosnt even suck it.. just holds it. Sorry i jumped the gun.. i guess this topic always hits me because im told 10 x a day its wrong for him to have it to suck on.. Ya know.. I guess i didnt think of saying he dosnt drink fr it.. lol..
August 18th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I think there are other factors at play in things like tooth deformation and overbite than pacis and bottles, despite what the “experts” say. My 4 year old has absolutely perfect teeth, enviably perfect, and she was on the paci till almost age 3, and the bottle until age 2. My second child is almost two and still on the bottle but never took a paci. Her teeth are also very good but not as good as her sister who had the paci. I know a lady with a large family and the two that took the paci had much better teeth than those that didn’t. Also, breastfeeding is very good for tooth and bite formation because they suck differently on the breast than the bottle nipple. Both mine were breastfed for 1 year.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Both of my boys were off bottles by 15 months or so. Not really anything my husband or I did, we just took our cues from them. First they went down to just before nap and before bed, then just before bed. Then they started drinking only a little before bed so we stopped the bottles. The only time they had their bottles were when they were sitting with us so maybe that helped. We lever let them walk around with a bottle and they only ever had formula/milk in them. When they were on milk those bottles were just before nap/bed. When they had milk at the table with a meal it was in a sippy cup. My first was easy with the sippys but my second we had to try a few to find one he liked. We ended up with the Nubby’s because he liked the soft top. Of course he was also picky about the bottles he used so we weren’t really surprised.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
My son was off the bottle at 10 months per the suggestion of his pediatrician. He is now 2 and 1/2 years old and drinks from a regular cup. No sippy cups. Obviously the Cruise’s and Barker’s can afford the dental care and speech therapists the children will need later, more power to them.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Of all the things to get self-righteous about. Bottles and pacis have so little impact on others and they have only a small negative impact possible for the child. To decide that someone ia a lazy parent for allowing these things is ridiculous. Bad parents levae their children unsupervised, allow them to play with dangerous toys, don’t watch them around cars or water. But to say you are a bad parent for letting a child use a bottle. That’s ridiculous. You may not agree but it’s a personal decision of little consequence to anyone else. I say MYOB!
August 18th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Vanessa,
Reasoning with a 12 month old vs. Reasoning with a 5 year old….WAY different scenarios.
The year old rule for weaning is all fine and dandy with bottle fed babies…but try that with a breastfed baby who’s still breastfeeding at 12 months -especially at night. It’s really hard to wean a breastfed baby cold turkey. They almost always have to wean themselves – especially at night and before naps.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I nursed my daughter and went right from breast to a sippy cup so it was not an issue
August 18th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
I weaned my daughter off the bottle around 14 months of age. She didn’t like the sippy cup at first because it was harder to suck out the liquid. She would give a half hearted try, get frustrated and give up. I removed the valve from the sippy cup so that her juice came out faster. When she got the hang of it I put the valve back in. For her it was a fairly easy transition. The key is to not give in when your child begs and cries for the bottle. They will give up eventually. They can’t go too long without a drink! The first few days or weeks will be tough but its worth it in the end. Now that I’ve said that, I had a much harder time weaning my daughter off her binky. She had it until she was 2 1/2, which was something I swore I wouldn’t do with her. Therefore I am more sympathetic then condescending of fellow moms. I don’t think its right to say someone is being a bad or lazy parent. Every situation is unique and you can’t judge a mother when you don’t even know her.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I’m surprised at how many judgemental people there are on here. How about I’ll raise MY child, and you can raise YOURS. No two people parent alike, therefore there is no “perfect” mother.
I gave my daughter a binky when she was born because it helps reduce the chances of SIDS up to 90%. We also co-sleep. I will not try to take away her binky until she is at least one year old – when her chances of dying from SIDS goes way down. It’s comfort thing for her, and yes, I want my daughter to be the happy baby that she is – not screaming for a binky. There are no guarantees in life, and if she’s my only child, I want no regrets. I am letting her be a baby and she will decide on her own when she is ready to give it up. Same goes for the bottle. She has the rest of her life to be an an adult or “big girl”.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
That’s between the parent and the pediatrician or dentist. A bottle is hardly the worst thing in the world.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
To all those mothers who feel attacked, don’t take it personally. Some people are so insecure that the only way they can feel good about themeselves is to bash other people. Let those self-righteous angry moms attack all they want since their personality defects will come back to haunt them later when their kids grow up to be mean like them. I think all moms should make the decisions that work best for them and for their children. Happy moms + happy kids = happy society. Angry moms + angry kids = societal decay. I came on this site to hear moms describe their life experiences, not their pissy opinions. My mistake.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
My opinion is by 18 months to about 2 years of age they shouldn’t be allowed to walk around with it. It should be for bed time and nap time ONLY.
As far as Suri is concerned she’s such a beautiful looking intelligent child who imho looks ridiculous walking around constantly with a bottle in her mouth at 2 1/2.
The longer you wait to take away pacifiers (binkys) or bottles from children the harder it is the older they get. And there really is no reason for them to have these things.
My plan is to never give my children juice in bottles. And my plan is that if they like to have a binky they must leave it at home in their bed once they’ve reached that 2 year mark. 2 year olds are no longer babies. Despite the fact they may be YOUR babies they’re truly not.
My nephew is 3 1/2 and still takes a pacifier to bed and I get on his mom for it all the time. She knows he doesn’t need it because he goes all day without one during the day at school but as soon as he’s in the car he asks for it and she gives in. She tells me she is a push over and can’t say no! So sometimes it’s not the child who really holds onto these items its the parents for making it more convenient for THEM!!!
August 18th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
I weaned my children when they had enough language to understand what I was doing. My daughter weaned from her bottle earlier because she had language earlier but it wasn’t until she was 4 that she stopped her paci. We did that when the pacifier fairy was important to her and she could make that decision w/ us.
My son stopped his pacifier because it was messing his teeth up (which went back into place w/in a few months) and his bottle he gave to the bottle fairy when he had enough language, about 3 years old.
My son now is 2.5 years old and still wants his baba to comfort himself. He doesn’t want a blanket or a stuffed animal when he is hurt, he wants his bottle. And, until he has enough language to understand that he isn’t losing an extension of himself, he will continue to look just like Suri Cruise and have his bottle whenever and where ever he wants.
My husband and I both agree. While we don’t necessarily like how the child looks while it is walking around w/ the paci or bottle, it isn’t about us, it is about comfort. Read the Girlfriend’s Guide series. She makes a good point. The reason why so many of us are closet thumb suckers, nail biters or nose pickers is because we lost our oral fixes way too soon in life. Babies and children are oral and need oral stimulation. If they don’t have a bottle or paci, they most definitely will find something else to stim on and it might not be as easily removed as those aforementioned items. You can’t take away finger nails or thumbs but you can talk away the bottles and pacifiers.
I echo what others have said. I too ate a lot of crow once I had my first child. It is easy to say what you are going to do when you have children of your own. It is another thing to actually follow your advice. Most parents know when the time is right to take away said bad habit items. Before then, parent your child the way you know best and turn a deaf ear to those who rudely give unsought advice!
August 18th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
My daughter self weaned off the bottle at 13 months, so I can’t really comment. She was just done and ready for sippy cups and straw cups. All children are different, so I don’t like to judge. I do think past 2 and 3 it can start presenting dental problems, so that would be my biggest concern. I know the longer a child has a bottle the harder it is to switch. When I have my next child, I will also see if he/she will self wean, but if they haven’t by 13-14 months, I will do it then. It seemed very easy for my daughter. She gave up pacifiers at 11 months due to a very bad cold and she couldn’t breathe through her nose, so she decided she hated it. Lucky for me!
August 18th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I’m not a parent, but I can imagine that 12 months or some tim between 1 and 2 yrs old are probably good times to take away the baby bottle.
Anyway some interesting observations I’ve seen involving baby bottles includes years ago how my one cousin supposedly drank a baby bottle before bed up until she was almost 4, while her yopunger sister never liked the bottle, even as an infant.
Then there was my neighbor’s son who occasionally still used a bottle even at age 2. What was the most ridiculous sight was when I saw the boy at 2.5 yrs balancing a bicycle without training wheels while drinking a baby bottle!?! (Yes he learned how to ride a bicycle at 2 yrs old, even before he was totally weaned from a baby bottle! Even now the boy has incredible balance.)
August 18th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I seriously cannot believe how judgmental people are here. Despite what you may think, letting a child have a bottle or a paci doesn’t make that mother a “bad” or “lazy” mother. There are some cases where, yes, it’s laziness, but there are also cases where it’s not.
And as for the “sometimes it’s not the child” – sometimes it is. Every situation is different, and no one knows a child like their mother, right? When I have kids, I will raise them the best way I see fit – the way I know my own child needs to be raised, not the way a doctor a dentist tells me to. I have enough faith in myself that I will know my child and know when the time is right for them.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I had to wean my son off a bottle at just before 12 months of age for health reasons, but if I had another child i’d do the same.
The parents are just making it harder for themselves later on when their toddler doesn’t want to give it up whereas if you take it away as early as I did, they don’t remember.
I feel the same about dummies (pacifiers).
August 18th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I can’t even follow any of the comments because they so harsh. How is okay to call another parent lazy because their kids are different than yours? How does their child still on a bottle past 12 moths affect your life. It doesn’t. Worry about your family and let others do the same. Calling someone lazy doesn’t help your argument. It just causes hurt feelings but it seems like some of you don’t care about that.
Ashleigh, you sound like a good mother and I think anyone saying you are a lazy parent is not respecting you or any other parents out there.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
My son is 9 months old and we have been giving him a sippy since he started holding his bottle(around 5 months) he does really good. He gets juice just from his cup. And hopegully we can have him completely off by his first birthday. He doesnt sleep with his bottle, we feed him his bedtime bottle holding him then put him in bed. ITs all we’ve ever done, so thats what he knows. As far as the binky I took that away after about a week of going in his room finding that he just threw them out of his crib, so I stopped giving them to him(at 5 months), and he never had a problem. Occasionally now when he sees other kids with them he tries to take them, but mostly just to chew on.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
It’s nice to try around a year, but if they really like the bottle, why force it? The whole bottles/pacis leading to dental problems later is pretty absurd considering most Americans get braces anyway. Why force something on a child who is just not ready? I do cringe when I see juice or *gasp* soda in a bottle, but whatever makes them happy!
August 18th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I have a daugther who will turn 1 in a few days and I have every intention of weaning her completely off the bottle within the next few months. She has been using a sippy cup for the past few months for juice/water at snack time. I understand how/why some people let their babies keep the bottle for a little longer…but after the age of 2, I think that’s a little extreme.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
My son was 12 months when he got off the bottle, about 3 when he got off the binky. My daughter was 2 when she got off the bottle (with the purchase of new Princess sippy cups) and will be four in December and still uses the binky. While I am working on the binky with her (mostly because of the judgment) , I realize that I drove myself crazy worrying about these society imposed rules that really had no long term effect either way with my son. He has perfect teeth. No speech issues. Same with her. They really are just little people and our expectations for them are so ridiculous. I mean, we are encouraged by WHO to nurse until age 2, yet we can’t give a bottle? Makes no sense..oral soothing is oral soothing.
Then again, I am just a lazy parent.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
This debate drives me insane. Who cares? What is the difference between a bottle and a toddler’s sippy cup? The same goes with binkys. You parent your child and I will parent mine.
How about we debate the need for three year old children to be potty trained and out of pull ups?
August 18th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
As far as the postings from people who “I don’t have kids yet but here is what I would do…” That is like telling me how react to a car wreck that I have been in and you have not.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
One more thing….
I really think that posts like this are the reason why you end up with nasty name calling on this site. It’s almost as if the writers/editor are trying to incite heated discussions with these kind of controversial posts and then fall back on the standard “See our comment policy” when things get a little hot.
Maybe the more heated it gets, the more hits this site gets.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
April, I agree with you. I’ve seen it too and I have to say soda in a bottle is just wrong. Why would anyone give a baby or toddler soda? My opinion, if the kid is young enough to have a bottle, they’re not old enough to have soda. My oldest is almost 5, she’s never had soda, and for some reason I cringe at the thought of giving her soda. So many better/healthier alternatives…but I don’t really drink soda either – maybe if we go out and if I’m in the mood for it, VERY occasionally – so maybe that has something to do with it. It’s never even in the house…
August 18th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I switched my son over to ’sippy cups’ at about 12 months. the first time he didn’t like it because he didn’t know what to do,but the second time I put him in his highchair and took the filter thing out of the cup and he realized real quick how to use it and he’s never had a problem with them since then. he was really really attached to his binkie,but after he started using a cup he quit using a binkie. I was amazed,but very happy that he caught on as fast as he did.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
At the age of 2. Just show the child the garbage and throw the bottle in while they look and they will cry for bit but they will get over it. Start using a cup with a straw and when she/he is thirsty enough they will drink. A child will never starve unless you starve them.
Mother of 2 (6 years & 3 years).
August 18th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I tend to think that if the AAP has bothered to issue a specific statement about bottle use and age, then parents should listen to it. It’s not a HUGE health risk, but it’s something that is important for the development of the child.
It seems common sense that a 2 year old would be able to use a cup – they have enough fine motor skills to do it; they have enough cognitive awareness to do it.
Parents who let their kid use the cup past two are really letting their kids run the show. At 2, the kids are probably just requesting it, and the parents are giving in.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
I took my 2 older children off the bottles at 12 months. When they were old enough for regular milk, they were old enough to not need a bottle, in my opinion. They both great about it, once they started using a sippy, they had no problems at all. I am breastfeeding my 3rd right now, but she does get a bottle during the day when I am working. I’m going to go the same route with her. The binkie has been a whole different story for us! My oldest was 2 1/2 when she finally gave it up, and that was only becaus eI was expecting again, and we used the “babies use binkies, not big girls” argument. It worked though, she gave it a kiss, and threw it in the trash all by herself, and never had one again! My son is now almost 2, and he is having a lot more trouble getting rid of it. I tried going cold turkey, but he was so upset waking up at night without it that he started throwing himself against the hard plastic of his bed, and kept hitting his head. So now I put him down without it and some nights he goes to sleep fine, others I have to go in and give it to him. Or he wakes up later wanting it. But slowly but surely it’s happening. I gotta say though, I am more worried about the baby that the other 2. She hates the binkie and is already starting to show signs of being a thumbsucker. I do not want to go through that, because you can’t take their thumb away!!!
August 18th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I knew it was type to switch to cups with my oldest when he started to throw the bottles at 8 mths…it took me like 3 months to break him from it..and with my youngest its been easier because he sees his brother drinking from a cup and wants to do it too..
August 18th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I don’t think that a parent is lazy for letting their child use a bottle past 12 months old. My brother was adopted when he was two, and it took us untill he was four to give up his bottle at night.
My parents are not lazy, my brother had a lot to adjust too and stopping his bottle was the least of our worries.
In a world where we are worried about children growing up too fast, surely we should leave children be if they want to use a bottle or stroller at an age we deem too old?
August 18th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
i took away the bottle on my daughter’s 1st birthday. No drawn out explanations, etc…just switched from bottle to cup. End of story. As far as I can remember, I believe it went pretty smoothly- i don’t recall any tears or protests in wanting the bottle back.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
I personally think that babies should wean from the bottle when they are ready and willing to use alternative feeding/drinking item like a sippy cup.
My daughter is 21 months old and still uses her bottle three times a day for her expressed breast milk. I have been pumping for her since birth (she had a breast aversion,severe tongue tie, and recessed chin and could not physically nurse) and if she were nursing, I suspect she would still be nursing now.
With that said, she *just yesterday* accepted her first sippy cup. Once she gets used to drinking from it, I will slowly transition all of her bottles to using her sippy cup. For the record, she only drinks breast milk and water (from a straw cup, she refuses EMB in a straw cup).
I don’t think babies or toddlers should be forced to give up their bottles OR nursing before they are ready and willing to accept an alternative feeding method.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
My three were totally off the bottle at about a year. It seemed a pretty easy transition after they were eating food. My oldest was the only one who took a binky and he gave it up at about two. After one he only had it at night or naptime for comfort. When my oldest was almost 1 I saw a child that looked about five at a dept store that was in a stroller, sucking on a binky and holding a bottle. He got out of the stroller, drank from the small fountain, sat back in the stroller and popped the binky in his mouth. I vowed not to let that happen and the gradual transition of in the home and outside the home bottle use made it fairly easy.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
My youngest daughter was exclusively breastfed. IE: She wouldn’t even accept a bottle…
I’d tried without success here and there to get her to take a sippy or a bottle, with little luck.
Then a week before her birthday she ended up sick and we had to give her pedialyte. Well the doctor had given us a small 2oz bottle/sample. At that point she finally ‘got’ the bottle and I’ve been weaning her ever since.
She’s 13 months old now….I’m hoping to get her off of that and into a sippy probably by her 15 mo appointment. But for the time being I’m just ecstatic to not be a 24/7 restaurant.
My oldest went from bottle to sippy cold turkey at a year.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
UGH, I am seriously DISSAPOINTED and somewhat disgusted by some of these statements on here by mothers to other mothers….to call someone a BAD or LAZY parent because they chose to do something that is different than what you chose to do, is unacceptable.
Are you a bad parent if you can’t afford to feed your child only all organic food, or only clothe them in organic cotton, eventhough we all know that pesticides and chemicals will taint their little bodies??
Are you a bad/lazy parent because you CHOSE to or COULD ONLY bottle feed instead of breastfeeding your newborn ?(eventhough any doctor would tell you breast milk is better than formula)…are you a bad/lazy parent if you let your child enjoy his/her favorite tv show on a daily basis, and haven’t signed them up for Kindermusik, little gym and baby yoga?? NO!, you are not…and for anyone to claim so, is ludacris. People can chose to raise their own children as they please! As long as a child is being unconditionally loved, thriving and not being neglected -nobody can claim that what you are doing is wrong.
Oh, and I have said this before and will say it again…if it’s OK and even recommended for TODDLERS to still be breastfead and allowed to self-wean, then how is it so bad for a toddler to still use a bottle for his/her milk?????? That to me, is the biggest hipocracy! You would never hear a pediatrician telling a mom that she SHOULD express her milk into a cup to give to her toddler. Mothers who breastfeed their toddlers often claim they gladly do so, because it offers that child a sense of security and soothes them…..so why are moms who let their toddlers use bottles sooo bad for claiming the same exact reasons as to why they allow their child to still drink out of a bottle??? The only difference there is, is that one nipple is made of flesh and skin, and the other of latex or sillicone..but in the end they all serve the same purpose!
Now, as to my own experience…I offered my child a sippy cup during the day at 5-6 months…he gladly drank his water out of that…at 12 months I tried to offer him milk out of his sippy and he would NOT have it…so I let him be..he got 2-3 bottles a day with milk..and he sucked on them for litteraly 2-3 minutes…and we always brushed his teeth before bedtime….at 18 months we tried again to wean him off his bottles and he HAPPILY accepted…it was almost like he himself knew it was time to do the switch..we never forced him or made him cry it out. He still uses a binky at night time, and I have no intention of weaning him off of that until he is 2. This is how I chose to raise my child, and my child is happy, healthy and thriving..this worked for all of us, and whatever works for you, may be completely different. Every child is different, and so is every parent…that’s what makes this world so diverse and wonderful.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
My mom said I used to make my own bottles – pour the milk, add chocolate syrup and shake – when I was just over 2 years old. That was probably excessive, but I turned out fine! I am mom to 3 boys and all 3 had bottles at bedtime until almost 2 years old. Most often, they didn’t even drink them at night- just wanted to “have” them. After they turned 2, we threw them away together and usually had 2-3 nights of 2-3 hour crying fits, and then it was just done. Their pediatricians all had a fit when they found out they were still getting bottles after 12 months, but they’re all normal, thriving kids. It’s interesting to note that none of my 3 boys ever took a paci, even as babies though. Anyway, I’m certainly not going to judge, as I never thought (pre-kids) that my 2 year olds would still get bottles, but they did…
August 18th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
The worst one I saw was a girl who was clearly around the age of 5. She walked into the chinese restaurant sucking a dummy. Her parents then ordered her a coke, and poured it into a bottle. The same girl then went to the buffet cart and got her food and ate from an adult chair using adult cutlery.
At the end of the meal and her coke, she put her dummy back in and walked out with her parents.
From what we could see, the parents gave the dummy whenever the child spoke and they didnt want to listen (be quiet, put your dummy in) and the bottle as they didnt want spills etc.
But 5? Surely thats taking it a little far?
August 18th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
My daughter is 19mos old and has 1 bottle prior to her nap and 1 bottle prior to bed. We cuddle on the couch while she has it. She has had some health issues and spent time in the hospital and I will not take away a source of comfort for her.
Before bedtime, we brush teeth after her bottle.
No teeth erosion. No speech issues.
I’m aware of what the “experts recommend”. I’m in no hurry.
She is my third child. Each of them were breastfed until over 1 yr of age and they were all off of bottles by 2.
…such judgement passed on these issues!
August 18th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
as soon as my son stated to hold his milk bottle, 3 months ish i began so slowly bring in a small cup, from 6 months i too it away, he now only ever drinks from sippy cups, as for dummys when go goes to bed never throug the day,he showed mr he was ready to move on, i follow his lead, all children our diffrent, lets not judge other at least we don’t get growm men shoving camras in our children faces and selling the pics to make money so web sites can buy them and we can sit up on our high horses and judge if their kids should have a bottle and call them lazy, in turn thinking we must be better mums that celeb mums. its this fair. i don’t think so
August 18th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
My first daughter, i was told by my DR to start using sippy cups at 9mos and off the bottle completly by 1yr. We were right on target, she was ready and so were we! As far as pasifyers go, wel ours found her thumb.. Try and take that away!!! So to all the parents who’s kids are addicted to their pasifyers, take them asway asap! trust me its easier to to take that away than a thumb! and if your still on the fece of doing that, check the price of braces and add 20% (atleast) and your dental coverage and see if you can afford that?? then decide on taking the pasifyer away again… i wish i had that option..
As for daughter #2, she will not take a pasifyer at all! (6weeks old) although she is trying to find her thumb!!! so trust me she wont be using a bottle past 1 yr, at least then i have only 1 battle to deal with…
As for Suri and Alabama, well all i can say is if the parents cant take those bottles away and relplace them with sippy cups, then how are they going to say no to anything else in life to their kids?? Oh they arent as we have seen with too many other celb kids… which ours end up wanting to be just like…
August 18th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I really don’t care what other people decide for their children. My son was very sick at 12 months and our ped. said keep him on the bottle. He drinks from a regular cup but still gets his bottle of milk at nap and bedtime. His teeth will be fine. He is fine. We will do away with the bottle once he has the language skills to cope with it. He is 18 months old right now so it probably won’t be long. I think little kids need to feel some control over their lives since they have so little, if they want a bottle so be it.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I took away my older son’s bottle at one year and he quickly switched to sucking on his two (longest) fingers and would not be without his blanket (like Linus in Peanuts)…this went on until he started school. The older one quit his passy and bottle at around two on his own and no problem. I think you can take their comforts away from them too early. It soothes and comforts them.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
My personal view is after a year (when they don’t need so much milk), it’s fine to still have a bottle of milk to go to bed with and taht’s it, till about 2. But they don’t need it during the day, and having juice or teeth rotting liquids in a bottle is just abuse really. I’ve heard of too many poor children having fillings at 4yrs old. I didn’t have a filling till i was in my 20’s that was bad enough i wouldn’t wish that on my child.
Also in the U.K we’re advised not to use spout cups but you can get cups with a lid on and hole in them making it more like a big cup.
And if you think about it, bottles and sippy cups are pretty new concept, for billions of years humans coped without these plastic things.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
One of the best (and only)pieces of advice that I accepted from a friend was to not let the baby hold the bottle on their own. So, with my daughter she never really did. I held her during her bottle time (as you should). Even when she was old enough to hold it on her own. I never let her walk around with it. It wasn’t something we used to comfort. Bottles were for feedings only. We didn’t just give her one any old time when she cried. It worked out great and she was completely off by the time she was 13 months. Her binky was another story. We would usually let her just have it for naps and nighttime and long car trips but then she got savvy and would throw it out of her crib just to get us to come back to her room. We finally got rid of it when she was 2 1/2 on a trip to Disneyland. I think this ended up being easier since we were away from home and our usual comforts where we’d be more likely to give in. She would ask for one for a few weeks after we got home with a smile on her face just to see if we would give in.
My son on the other hand was never a big binky lover. He was born at 32 weeks and had reflux so we had to thicken all of his feedings. He was in the NICU for a week and got used to the plain jane nipples there and wouldn’t use the Playtex disposables that I had at home. So, we had to find a commerical nipple that was similar to the ones at the hospital (not as easy as one might think). He also used the Soothie pacifiers but completely gave them up on his own by the time he was 5 months. He’s 8 months now and I haven’t introduced him to a cup yet. I did this with my daughter at 6 months but since he’s technically 6 months now(his adjusted age due to the prematurity) I’m sure I will introduce it soon. I also never put juice in the bottles. Sippys only.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
OMG!! Do we not have anything better to do than to critize the moms/dads who allow their babies to keep their bottles past 12 months! My daughter is 17 months old and still has a bottle and my other 2 daughters had their bottles til 2 yrs. They use sippy cups during the day and bottles for nap. I say to each is own!!
Hurray to those moms who don’t let what others say get them down!
August 18th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Our daughter just turned 1 a few days ago and we started with sippy cups when she was 7 mos old,the only time she still has a bottle is for her formula and even then sometimes we give her a cup.
There is no excuse to give a 2yr and up bottles,I strongly believe for most parents its a way on keeping their toddler a baby in their eyes when they still give them baby bottles.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I knew this one would be a hot topic!!
Did anyone happen to catch Rachael Ray last week??? I only saw a little bit, but she had Leah Remini (King of Queens) and her and her husband were struggling to get their 4 year old off of the bottle. I don’t know anything about Scientology, so I am soooooooo sorry if I offend anyone, but maybe it is something in the religion that encourages the parents to give the children whatever they want in order to help soothe. My first son was off the bottle at 15 months and that was only because my doctor reprimanded me and told me, he should have been off at 12 months. Poor guy, got cut off cold turkey because I didn’t want the doctor to get mad at me again. My second son NEVER took a bottle, which was actually quite frustrating. He went from the breast to a straw cup. However, he is 18 months and ADDICTED to his binky. It makes him happy and I am not even going to think about taking it away until he tells me he is ready.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I think it should be noted that when the American Academy of Pediatric Denistry recommends switching your child(ren) to a cup at the age of around one… they mean a real cup. Sippy cups, as suggested by the very same American Academy of Pediatric Denistry can be just as harmful to your children’s teeth.
That said, the true problem is children being allowed to cart around a sippy cup filled with milk or juice at any given time of the day. In our house sippy cups of milk and juice are to be had only during meals and only at the kitchen table. The only thing allowed to be carried around the house or on errands in a sippy cup is water.
I just find it amusing that parents are so quick to point fingers at parents for using bottles for longer than they did and yet they recommend sippy cups. Do the research and you’ll soon discover there is no real difference.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
My son started with a sippy around 9 months. He was fully weaned from bottles at 15 months.
Pediatrics recommend weaning around 1 year, no later than 15 months.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I think it’s a bit of laziness on the part of the parent, in weaning from the bottle to a cup. It can be hard, and some parents just find it easier to keep the child on the bottle. As for Suri, I believe she’s very capable of using a cup. I agree with the comment made by TidMode, that if Katie can fill a bottle, she can just as easily fill up a cup.
There’s no reason for Suri to have a bottle hanging out of her mouth on a constant basis. If Katie is no longer breast feeding, and Suri is obviously on solid foods now, then she should be using a cup. I understand that some people feel that we should leave them alone, but at the same time, if no one speaks their mind, then there would probably be a lot more older children out there using bottles.
I have 5 children, and only my two oldest used a bottle and a sippie cup. My youngest 3 never had a bottle. They went right from the breast to the cup.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I am amazed at how judgemental people are! It’s one thing to say, this is how I feel about it for MY child, but to call others lazy, is uncalled for. I never put my son to bed with his bottle, so he never used it for comfort. I introduced the sippy cup to him about 8 months old and by 14 months old, he was completely off the bottle….no problem. Getting him off his binky was more difficult, because he did use that for comfort. By 18 months, I stopped letting him walk around the house with it, and started only letting him have it at naps and bedtime, or if he hurt himself. Then a month before his 2nd birthday, I let him know that he would only be allowed to use his binky at bedtime and that when he lost his last binky, that there would be there would be no more binkies. Less than a month after his 2nd birthday, he lost his last binky (we later found it in between the matress and the foot of his crib). When he asked for it that night, I reminded him that he had lost his last one and there would be no more. He cried for about 30 minutes that night and it was so hard not to give in and send my husband to buy him a new one, but we got through it. The next night he asked for it again, and I reminded him again that all the binks were gone. He looked up at me and said “You go to the store and buy one?” I told him no and he said okay and went to sleep. I knew that if he was verbal enough and smart enough to ask me to go to the store to buy him a new one, that I had made the right decision to go ahead and wean him, lol. But in the end, it’s up to the parents to do what is right for THEIR child and I would think about judging others because they weaned their child(ren) earlier or later than mine.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
***sorry, I meant that I would NOT think about judging others because they weaned their child(ren) earlier or later than mine
August 18th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Ignoring the fact that it is Katie Holmes (there are issues surrounding her and her marriage to Tom). I MYOB when it comes to celebrity kids and bottles. Yes they should wean them earlier. And I don’t get why they would want to be dealing with bottles, sippy cups seemed so much easier. That being said we have no idea what these kids go through. Traveling all the time. Paps in their face. If a bottle will help them deal with all the stress of being a celebrity kid, I say MYOB.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
My daughter is 26 months and still takes a bottle before nap and before bedtime. It is her comfort and always has been.
Her vocabulary is amazing for her age and she drinks from regular cups, sippy cups and straws thru out the day without any problems.
Her teeth are also excellent. (She does not fall asleep with it in her mouth)
I don’t really see what the big deal is. Like I said, it’s her comfort. Would I take away a blanket or a stuffed toy because she was “too old”? As long as the bottle isn’t delaying other developments, I don’t think it’s a problem.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Just wanted to point out in Katie’s defense -I think that picture of her and Suri is at least 6 months old – from this past spring or last fall. I’m having trouble recalling a picture of Suri recently (like from this summer) with a bottle hanging out of her mouth. I’d bet she’s drinking out of a cup by now and she’s done with bottles. Unless she’s still drinking them at bed time, which isn’t a crime if that’s what their family thinks is best.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
It makes me worrie that alot of moms and even non-moms are sitting here and calling other moms names. my sons been on a sippy for 12 months, but uses the bottle to sooth (no milk or liquids) when hes hurt or dead tierd. Its sad that ppl have to bash to make their point!
August 18th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
My daughter’s pediatrician advised us to start weaning her from the bottle at 12 months. By 15 months, she was completely transitioned to a sippy cup. We got her off of the binky in 3 days by cutting the nipples off.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Rachel, I am shocked to hear that from the AAPD. In fact, I laugh at it. Dear AAPD, I know you mean well, truly, but this is ridiculous. How on earth do you get a one year old to use a regular cup? That is way beyond their motor skills. Kids that age don’t even know how to walk, nevermind drink out of a cup without dumping the whole thing on the floor. Maybe some kids are talented but my daughter didn’t even figure out how to tip up her sippy until she was 2 1/2 years old. A regular cup huh? Come over and show my kid how to do that. I’d LOVE to see you try. In the meantime, stop coming up with far fetched “rules” that make mothers feel guilty.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
My daughter is 4 years old now and has been off a bottle for a year, so that made her 3 years old when she gave up the bottle. I am also still nursing my 10 month old who also takes a bottle as well. i believe that a child should not be forced into doing things like giving up the bottle. my child’s teeth are fine, her dentist even said so. Who are we to comment about how other people raise their children, celebrity or not, its their choice. let the babies be. personally i think we take away stuff like this so it will make ourselves feel better as parents so others won’t judge us, its not about us, its aobut the babies.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Something tells me there are perfectly well-adjusted adults walking this earth who were pulled off bottles and pacifiers between 6 and 12 months, and perfectly well-adjusted adults walking this earth who had their bottles and binkies well into childhood. This is a personal issue. Each child is unique, each child and family unit thrives differently. Some children need to cry it out. Some need a firm hand. Some need patience and their own time frame. What does it matter?
Honestly, we need to stop parenting each other’s children and allow individuals to go with their own gut instincts on life’s trivial matters.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Its not hard, it just takes some planning. I introduced the sippy to my son at 6 months when he started eating at the table with Daddy and I. We put formula in it and juice, which he NEVER got in a bottle. I cringe everytime I see juice in a bottle. Anyway the sippy was only once a day at first. He understood how to use it and that it was just another way to drink. We used bottles up until he was 9 months old and then he was totally on the sippy and now at 16 months he’s starting to drink out of big boy cups.
Nothing special, but you must plan it out and make it a habit. Babies are creatures of habit, always remember that!
August 18th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I think its a bit harsh calling someone a bad parent for not weaning their children by a certain date. I think children thrive on reassurance and praise.
I have a 4 & a half year old son. We threw out the dummy at 6 months, he was bottle-fed until 12 months, only because I cant breastfeed. He was also fully toilet trained at 18 months. I think he did all this with ease because he did it when he was ready.
Only a month ago he start sleeping in his own bed. – And he did so with no hassles at all. I was extremely lucky in all departments there, but I think encouragement went a long way.
I would say however, some parents really do need to implement some tough love.
I dont run to my boy when he falls over or has a tiff at Kinder over toys. I let him discover things for himself.
Children need tough love to prepare themselves for disappointments in life.
Wrapping a child in cotton wool won’t do them any favours at all. They will always expect to get what they want, when they want it and parents will always be giving in to them.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
JEEZ!! Such snarky comments! Do those of you calling mothers who let their kids have bottles after 1yr SERIOUSLY think they are bad and lazy mothers? Seriously? And are you seriously suggesting that bottle feeding after 1 yr means their kids will grow up to be bratty, out of control, kids with bad teeth who will be unable to soothe themselves as adults? Are you kidding me?!?! All I can say to that is that by being such negative, judgmental people you are most likely passing that negativity on to your kids. Nice. Can’t wait til your judgmental, rude kids are in school with mine. See how ridiculous that sounds? I”m sure you don’t like me passing that kind of judgement on you, so maybe you should think twice about judging other mothers over something SO MINOR as bottle feeding! Teaching your children rude, judgmental behavior (kids learn by watching their parents behaviors!) is soooo much worse than bottle feeding past the age of 1! Get off your high horses.
Also, how is a sippy cup any DIFFERENT than a bottle?? You suck out of both! So all those of you feeling so “superior” for having your kids use sippy cups instead of bottles are just swapping out one bottle with a sucking top for another!
I’m sooo glad I didn’t know how many people out there are so rude and judgemental when my son was younger. He had his bottle til he was nearly 3 (I don’t see a difference between a bottle and a sippy cup as I stated above) And made the choice that he could still use it. NOT out of laziness! I’m quite old fashioned with discipline (No running wild for my kids – And no, I don’t believe in spanking, just consistency and sticking firm to the rules)) and manners (Respect elders, sit at table for meals, say “excuse me” when you burp, always say please/thank you etc) so it was not out of a lack of discipline on my part (As many of you seem to think that parents who allow bottles longer must let their kids run wild with no rules or discipline) He also drank from a REAL cup during the day (No lid) And I can tell you that as a 6 year old now, he has perfectly straight teeth, no cavities and GASP He’s one of the most well behaved kids around! People actually comment in public on how polite he is! So Using a bottle til nearly 3 years of age didn’t make him bratty or unable to soothe himself.
SHEESH!
August 18th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
**I understand that some people feel that we should leave them alone, but at the same time, if no one speaks their mind, then there would probably be a lot more older children out there using bottles.**
Wow the world would definitely go to hell in a handbasket if kids walked around with bottles now wouldn’t it??? What ever would happen to us all?
I am literally rolling my eyes at some of these comments here.
The world is in rough enough shape and I think concerns are valid elsewhere where needed like the environment, wars, the escalating price of gas ETC ETC ETC…than the fact that a two year old has a bottle!
Give it a rest people…you raise YOUR kids and let others raise theirs. I’m sure if it was YOU getting all the comments and bashing that it would be a different story I’m sure.
Sheesh.
That said, my son had a bottle at naptime and bedtime until he was 18 months. His paci was gone at almost three and HE chose to give it away to the “babies”. My son also used a straw cup, not a sippy and his teeth are very crooked but it’s due to FAMILY inheritence on my hubby’s side NOT the bottle, sippy cup or paci. He has perfect vocabulary and has been talking clear and understandable since age 14 months. So I don’t believe in any of the old “teeth rotting etc etc.
I am pretty sure as well, that our grandmothers and mothers survived with bottles as there were no sippy cups until about ten/fifteen years ago. How EVER did they manage?
August 18th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
At around 12 months a parent should begin introducing a sippy cup. Some babies are ready earlier, some a couple months later but there should be no need for a bottle past 13 or 14 months old. As far as pacifiers go I loathe seeing children as old as 3 and 4 with pacifiers. They are not meant to soothe toddlers…pacifiers are for babies. They (as well as giving a child a bottle who has teeth) are not good for jaw, gum, and teeth development. Ask any doctor, dentist, or orthodontist.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I don’t have kids, but I know it looks strange to me to have a child at age to stil drinking from a bottle. Not being judgemental, but we are all entitled to having an opinion. I guess it must be more convenient to give children a bottle than a cup, because I’m not sure why parents would continue to give children that age a bottle otherwise.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Caroline funny. I cut the tips of my nieces too and will do the same with my nephews. And sure they may not be my kids but they’re in my care!! My niece I had full time and began transitioning her with an avent sippy cup at 7 months and by the time she was a year she had her juice and water in a cup and only a bottle at night and in the morning with milk. Her parents though let her remain on a bottle until she was 18 months then cut it cold turkey. At 2 1/2 I couldn’t stand the binkies so I cut the tips. I told her she could still have them but they wouldn’t be the same. She cried for all of about a day and that was it. Her parents though let her have them at night until she gave them up about 6 months later. I’m working on it all with my nephews since their mother is a bit lazy and does things out of convenience. But I keep telling her that all of this isn’t good for their teeth. And although she says, “yeah I know” she still doesn’t want to do anything about it.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
oh and I don’t know if any of you caught the episode of Rachael Ray where Leah Remini was on trying to get her 3.5 year old daughter off a bottle!! Wow! I was extremely disappointed in Leah’s parenting after watching it!!
August 18th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
ok…I have no children myself…but i have a cousin who is 2 1/2 years old, and still on the bottle and pacifier!
I HATE IT!
His mom is just a lazy mother…she drugs him at night with benadryl so she can have “a couple hours to herself”..im sorry but if you want time to yourself..then don’t have a child…
I do not like the fact that he is still on the bottle and pacifier…any child who is..in my opinion has lazy parents…but i am entitled to my own opinion…soo when i have children…my children will be off the pacifier at 3-6 months and the bottle 6-9 months!!!!
NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!
August 18th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
SH Suri has had a bottle in just about every set of pics lately, CBB just doesn’t post those pictures. There are a bunch in that gallery on the top right though.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Don’t you think if they discover their kid has ruined teeth they will be able to afford to get them fixed? I mean, they will be able to pay the child psychologist as well! Seriously, I took the bottle away from my oldest on his 1st birthday. I figured the day was full of changes anyway and he had enough new toys to distract him. My second didn’t need the calories and his pediatrician said he could just go to milk at 11 months. With my third, who is 6 months old, I introduced the sippy cup (with water) to her just last week. I did this with all three of my kids at 6 months because I wanted them to use it efficiently. They only ever had water in the sippy unless I chose to use it at a feeding and then I did formula or milk. A bottle past 12 months, unless for medical reasons, is irresponsible in my opinion.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I think it’s a little strange to ask what people’s opinions are on the subject when the facts speak for themselves. I’m not going to judge anyone. I’m sure all 111 people who posted before me love their children, and in the end that is what matters.
But there is a distinct difference between sucking on a real nipple and a fake (bottle or pacifier) one. And even though children lose their baby teeth, the human jaw is shaped by muscle action and unfortunately bottles and pacifiers encourage improper sucking action.
Here is an article on the subject written by a doctor and endorsed by UNICEF:
http://www.brianpalmerdds.com/bfeed_oralcavity.htm
I think it’s actually quite fascinating, not too long and definitely worth reading.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
to katie– Oh yeah I’ve got kids.
I’ve got a 4 year old, a 15 month old, and a 3 month old. My 4 year old, I sat him down at 6 months and said “here’s a cup” and he had 3 days before he was weaned. My 15 month old she wouldn’t have anything to do with a cup until 10 months, but it took her a week.
It’s laziness that you don’t want to teach patience and a new skill. I bet the parents that let their kids have bottles until a ridiculous age are the same parents that I see buying size 7 (SEVEN!!!) diapers for their Kindergartner!!!
Eh, whatever, it’s their own thing what they do with their kid. But personally, if they can walk, talk, and tell you clearly that they are thirsty, stick a cup in their hands.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
who the cares when these celeb babies go off the bottle. besides at 6 months wouldn’t they still, if they were at all, be breast feed. at 6 months they are still a baby.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
As a child-care worker, one of the things I love about my job is when the infant rooms (this comprises three rooms, ages 6wks to 1 1/2) give the older kids paper cups to sip out of. It’s always water or milk, so it’s easy to clean up, and 99% of the kids LOVE trying out the cups. I fully understand that every kid works at their own pace, but I think trying things out maybe once or twice a day instead of a bottle is a great way of starting! The way I look at is, bottles are for babies – Suri and Alabama are not babies.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Ok, this is getting ugly and hurtful! I can’t believe they haven’t shut this down yet. I’m all for debate and discussion but this is just meanness.
And No one wears diapers to kindergarten. Most schools won’t even allow diapers at preschool anymore!
I really do love, though, that the people who think bottles after 12 months is so awful seem to think that that means the parents who allow it are doing so many other “bad” things (diaper wearing to age 5, kids with no rules, drugging their kids?!?). How can you possibly know what kind of a parent someone is just from seeing a toddler with a bottle?? Way too judgemental. I’ve never drugged my child, my son was out of diapers at age 2, and my son is well disciplined. And i let him have a bottle on trips and at night until he was almost 3. I must be a horrible mother. Come arrest me now.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I was watching GMA a few weeks ago and it was a subject on co-breastfeeding or something where “would you breastfeed your friends child?” and the expert on there said that after 12 months children do not get any kind of nutritional value from breastmilk like they do before they turn one therefore after 12 months it’s only a choice on whether you want to do it. Therefore those children dont’ really “need” it just like they don’t really “need” the bottles and pacifiers after a certain age. In my opinion I think both are just not that necessary after two. At the same time to each their own. I won’t be breastfeeding my child past a year nor will I let them walk around with bottles or binky’s at 2. It’s just a choice that I will certainly follow through on despite that I may have a whiny child or a sleepless night. And I may not be a parent yet but I’ve helped to raise many children in my years of childcare work and the one’s who have the most trouble weaning are the one’s whose children are over 18 months. At this time the kids are attached and the process just becomes extremely difficult. The best time to do it is before one when they really don’t have much concept of what’s going to happen. They may fuss but that’s what children do. It’s just about being patient and working through what is really a small hurdle in your childs growth.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
my 4 year old stopped the bottle at 2 1/2 and my son who is 2 is still on the bottle. they only take a bottle at night or early in the morning when they wake up. and also at nap time.my son loves his bottle. he eats regular good,and drinks from a cup. but I guess the bottle just adds that added comfort,or something. I don’t know. my opinion is…what ever works for the parent. I don’t bash anyone for breastfeeding their baby untill age 5 so I don’t feel anyone should be bashed for bottle feeding their baby untill 2 or what ever age they feel like stopping. I don’t care what celebrities or anyone else feeds their child. as long as the child is malnurished,bruised,or dirty all the time.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Sheena – A 1-year-old is perfectly capable of drinking out of a regular cup. I started my son at 6 months, sitting on my lap, drinking water out of my glass. He thought it was great! Everything got very wet because it’s a different mechanism than a bottle. By the time he was 12 months he drank out of a regular cup or from a cup we got at the Disney Store that has a straw.
It’s disturbing that so many comments on here are bashing other parents, and on the other hand parents who are very, very offended by those comments. This blog would be much more helpful if you would just give your tips to help other parents with this issue, or if you’re on the other side of the issue (with an older kid on the bottle) you could explain some of the reasons why your child still uses a bottle.
No matter how “perfect” a parent we think we are, we all mess up … daily.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I had plans to get rid of the bottle at 1 but things happen. The boy was 2 and the girl, 3 when they finally gave them up. Their teeth are fine. The boy wanted his “plug” longer. On his third birthday he asked for his plug and I told him 3 year olds don’t suck plugs. He said oh ok and that was that. The girl never took a plug but she wanted her ba-ba forever. I say worry about your own kid. You don’t see Katie Holmes fussing over everything you do.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
PS – As for the “only say what you would actually say to someone’s face” rule, I’d love to see any of those of you judging so harshly walk up to Katie Holmes and tell her that she’s a lazy, bad mother who probably lets Suri run wild with no discipline!
August 18th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I wonder how many of the infants listed here were given real cups versus the no spill toddler cups. You are fooling yourself if you think that you are not trading in one bottle for another.
And why do we as women continue to bad mouth each other? We get it, wean early-good mother. Wean later- lazy mother. Jeez, way to support each other!
My kid was a year old and decided to give up her bottle. It wasn’t Happy Birthday, no more bottle. She wanted to drink out of a cup with a straw, so we switched. No big deal. As for her binky, she was 3 before she gave that up. But for the record, binky users don’t usually bite other kids.
I wonder how many of these “super moms” are sitting at the computer either smoking, snacking or chewing gum. You get your comforts, Jr. doesn’t. Who are we trying to impress?
August 18th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
I know how hard it is to wean a child off a bottle. My son was 2 and ahalf before we successfully got him off the bottle, my daughter it took untill she was 1 just to get her on a bottle, so its taking just as long to get her off it. Though I do agree that they should be off by 2 and ahalf. My daughter only gets bottle at bedtime and no other time of the day, that way the bottle doesnt interupt her feeding habits, and she still gets her required nutritional intake from other sources of food, I think that more then the weaning of the bottle is the more important part
August 18th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
I have an 18 month old he can drink out of sippy cups and regular cups. He still uses a bottle for milk but usually only twice a day. We have different pediatricians at his doc’s office and they have said different things about the bottles. One of them said that because he hasn’t used a pacifier since he was 7 months (he gave them up on his own) that his twice daily bottle use is okay as long as we brush his teeth. I don’t give him cups with no lids because even though he can drink out of them he can never resist pouring them out and playing in the liquid.
Also, I may have missed something but I don’t understand why you can breastfeed as long as you want but bottle feeding should be prohibited at a certain age, is that because of the chemical make-up of breast milk or does that type of sucking not cause dental problems? It just seemed odd to me that there isn’t the same pressure to wean.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
I was very strict and both of my children stopped using bottles at 12months. I only gave them milk in a bottle and all water or juice in a sipper cup. I think sometimes there are too many rules and regulations on child rearing and every child is different. We just try to do the best job that we can. Hopefully we raise wonderful adults.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I think that this question is just headed for trouble. Basically, CBB is asking others to “criticize” others parenting choices. Do I think that Suri is too old for a bottle? Yes, I do. Do I care? No. Katie and Tom do what they need to do for their daughter. I think it looks tacky when a toddler is holding a bottle and drinking from it, but whatever.
I have three kids, my first two were breastfed and went straight to a cup at 4 months old. I never introduced a bottle, there was no need to. My third is 10 months old and is bottlefed. He drinks his milk from his bottle and I hold the bottle, he doesn’t. He will take a bit of juice from a cup at dinner time and I have no idea when he will be taken off the bottle. Probably on his birthday..he doesn’t really like his bottle anyways..so I shouldn’t think it will be a big change for him.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
JM- I can remember being you. I was also a childcare worker who had it all figured out. I knew that the real issue was lazy parents. I knew that when I had my own kids I would do things right, no binky, no bottle past a year, no co-sleeping and they would be potty trained by 18 months. Oh, I also wouldn’t have that kid that acted up in public…
Then something strange happened, I actually had a kid and had to parent her 24 hours a day. Not just from 9-5. Her taking a bottle, a binky and sleeping with me did not make me lazy. Her getting potty trained at 2 did not make me lazy. Children are not dogs that get trained and conform to your lifestyle. You have to deal with a little person. Somethings work as planned, others don’t. But you know what the interesting thing is, it all works out in the end.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I think around 12-18months, but that’s from a non-parent. Though I do have something to report, my sister didn’t stop sucking her thumb until she was around 4-6 years of age, and she NEVER has had cavities, braces or anything. I just thought it was curious because everyone seems to be so against children doing that as well, but my other sister and I who were not thumb-suckers have had the WORST luck over teeth. I personally don’t think keeping a child on a bottle is life-threatening. Sure the kid might apparently have future problemms with oral stuff, but it’s common in even non-bottle children, so I see no problem with it
August 18th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I wonder if some of the opposition to bottles is the assumption that bottles at naptime and bedtime means the kid is sleeping with the bottle? They shouldn’t sleep with it but some do. If that is the case than a bottle full of water is the best choice.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Oh yeah, you guys who keep bashing each-other, and don’t fool me with this OPINION stuff seem to be even more immature than myself, a reasonably immature college sophmore who just wants to read about stuff like Gwen Stefani’s birth annoucement.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Amen Kristen! The majority of the people commenting don’t have children–when you have one, then your opinion is valid! I used a bottle until I was 2 yrs old and my teeth are perfect, no cavities to this day and I teach at the college level (language is not a problem!). I breast fed my son until 12 mos. and now I let my son have a bottle in the morning and at night (I brush his teeth afterwards) and he sleeps with a pacifier. My son (16 mos.) has great teeth and a good vocabulary. I’m not worried, genetics are powerful! Allowing him to drink out of a bottle and use a pacifier enables my husband and I to get more sleep! If that’s lazy, so be it.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
JM– your comments are a bit disturbing. You have no idea what kind of child you will have and what kind of parent you will be. Taking care of others children in a “child care” setting is VERY different from having your own real life baby and child 25 hours a day (and I say 25 b/c you are ALWAYS on duty).
August 18th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I usually don’t comment specifically on other’s posts but KUDOS Kristen, I couldn’t agree more! My mom owns a daycare that my Grandma owned before her so I inevitably spent some summers working there and was very determined on how my kid would be raised based on what I saw as an Employee. However, when I had my own child I had to let go of some of those ideals. I don’t think anything can prepare you for what it is to be the parent. I am a lot less judgemental after having my own child. I personally feel no one knows the child like the parent and while it’s good to have a guideline with recommendations and standards there HAS to be some flexibility in the rules:)
August 18th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I am astounded at how berating, insulting and really downright mean some of these commments are!….and the shocking thing is is that most of you are probably Moms yourselves!! Parenting is hard enough as it is without someone else’s opinion shoved at you as to how it is “supposed” to be done. It is not hurting you, it is certainly not putting the child in any danger…live and let live for crying out loud.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Here is another issue that we could be dealing with, could the AAP please make recommendations to resturants? I would love to find a place to eat that does not assume that my kid is only interested in corn dogs and chicken nuggets??
August 18th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
At the end of the day, do you think that Katie, Leah, or Travis are wondering how or why we parent the way we do?
August 18th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Ok so i will join in on this convo. I think that letting your child getting attached to things like a bottle or pacifer are good because you can always ween them off even if it is hard in the end you can always just take it away. Rather if your child gets attached to things like their fingers that is a lot worse because you cannot take those away so really if a bottle or soother soothes your child even after they are two but you are prepared to have difficulty in weening them off, good for you because it is a lot easier than there fingers
August 18th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
This has been an interesting debate. It is a common issue in most families- especially one with lots of children. I breast fed both of mine(now 10&3) with a little bottle supplementing up to about 11mos then to sippy cups to about 3. I offered sippy’s well before 1 yr and regular cups and straw devices after. There was never a binky issue because of the breast- but my 3yr old found her thumb some time before birth and still inserts it at sleepy times and when she has sinus issues.
Ann- I think the “graduation” from bottle to cup on the first birthday eve is a great idea. I did something similar w my daughters potty training on her 3rd b’day (we’re still working on that one after 3 mos)
As for Suri and other older babies that still use bottles- noone can pass judgement on another parent especially not knowing their situation- given the media attention a likely high stress life style that these celebrity babies live I can definitely see how they could develop attachments to comfort items.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I’ll start this off saying I am not a parent (ooh, I can already see people rolling their eyes!). My GOAL when I’m a parent is to have my child off their bottle/binky at the age of 1 year. That’s a goal but, after reading many of your comments, I know that it is something that may not happen. Every single child is different and develops at different rates. I may have a child weaned at 6 months, while another at 16 months. I don’t know yet.
I did work in childcare for a while and all the babies had to be off bottles at 1 year and off pacifiers at 18 months. I don’t know how fair this is to the child but all of the children I had were able to do that. The pacifier was actually a teacher’s preference. Her words, “I don’t do pacifiers.” The teacher in the 12 mos-18 mos would give them their paci’s whenever they let out a little whimper (NOT GOOD!!!). Yes, they would scream and cry and yell but all we had to do was lie there, rub their back, and speak softly to them and they would go to sleep (after a long battle for some of them). While I’m not saying parents are lazy, I know how easy it is to give up after just a few minutes of crying (who wants to listen to your beloved baby crying for something you can easy give him and soothe him?) but I think kids need to know you mean business sometimes. I’m not saying you mom’s are like this and you know your baby best! I’m just saying many mom’s, especially if they have their binky past 3 yrs, give up too easily.
But mom’s know best. Obviously, these kids won’t be 16 years old and need a pacifier to go to sleep. They will be fine.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
It all depends on the child. there is no right or wrong time. I was 5 when i got off the bottle, thats when I decided I was ready to give it up. It funny now that I look back, it was the day before i started kindergarten. i never had problems with my teeth. My niece was 3 when she was off, my nephew was 18 months, now my youngest nephew is almost ready to give it up and hes only 7 months, so it just depends. I am sad to read that people are chastising these celebrities for the kids still being on the bottle. Who is anyone to judge, there is no perfect time.
August 18th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
I only gave my daughters milk (breast or supplemental) in a bottle, everything else came in a cup. So, right around 1 year, when they had a stomach bug, and were off milk for a few days, I took the opportunity and put the bottles away. Once they were off the Pedialite, they were perfectly happy to take milk from a cup. Re binkies, one daughter never took them – if there was no food coming out, she wasn’t interested; the other daughter tossed hers all away on vacation when she was 9 months old, so I guess I was really lucky!
August 18th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
I dont think the “issue” is whether it makes someone a bad or lazy parent… I just think some parents nurture their children TOO much.
Kids need to get out of their comfort zone and develop new skills. I know this because I had to get my 4.5 year old boy out of my bed and into his own. Even though I had to accept he wasnt my little baby boy any more, it was the most healthiest and neccessary transition for him. It was hard not giving into his cries at 3 am in the morning, but 1 week later he happily sleeps in his big boy bed with no problems.
Parents + Tough Love = Happily Developed Child.
August 18th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Sheena… wow. It’s amazing that you can take a completely harmless coment and turn it all around. Number one, I didn’t mean that the AAPD recommends going straight to a cup… I meant that the sippy cup is meant as only a transition to the real cup. I they recommend NOT allowing a child to cart a sippy cup of juice or milk around the house.
and here’s the link that says so…
http://www.aapd.org/media/pressreleases.asp?NEWS_ID=640
Secondly… I never said that we didn’t use sippy cups or make any suggestion or criticize anyone for doing so. We do in fact use sippy cups, but like I said, only at mealtime and Connor, who will be four next month hasn’t used one in over a year except for when he’s getting water in the car. I just think it’s kind of funny to watch parents point the finger about bottle feeding when in reality the sippy cup is just as bad.
Thirdly, it is VERY possible for a child to drink out of a regular cup by the age of 1 1/2 or 2 and if you don’t believe me you are more than welcome to stop by MY house, or the child development center where I work and watch how the children in the toddler room (12-24 months) drink out of regular cups everyday outside and though they sometimes spill that is okay (they’re learning!) and in the 2 year old room they do not use sippy cups at all. If you never give a child a cup simply because they’ll make a mess then the child will never learn not to make a mess.
Yes… it can be done.
August 18th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
seriously, some of these comments are just out of control. it makes me sick to my stomach that we live in such a hateful and judgemental world. bad parenting and laziness? i mean wow. i can’t even begin to comment. there is a difference in having your own opinion and just being flat out rude. i agree with the person who said that we should just mind our own business, because i’m sure we each do what we feel is best for our children. personally, i don’t care what anybody thinks about how i choose to wean my 10 month old off her bottle. i plan on giving it a try when she’s 12 months because it’s recommended. if she’s not ready, i’ll be damned if i let a bunch of judgemental women make me feel bad about keeping her on it for a little while longer. yes, she has been drinking from a sippy cup for a few months and i’m doing the best i can to get her ready. sorry if it offends anyone or they find it unattractive for a child over one to be seen with a bottle…..
August 18th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I want to address the question about why breastfeeding is different from bottle feeding in terms of weaning age. Research is clear that bottle feeding is associated with distortion of the roof of the mouth (narrowing) and doubles the need for orthodontia. The breast is large and soft, and helps spread the palate, unless the baby has a tongue-tie, then the palate (roof of the mouth) may stay narrow. You can find good information about this on Dr. Brian Palmer’s website http://www.brianpalmerdds.com .
Also, breastfeeding does not cause milk to pool in the mouth, because breastfeeding is active. So if the baby falls asleep with the breast in his mouth, milk stops coming out, and any milk is delivered to the back of the mouth not the front near the baby teeth.
The final issue is that human milk does not cause cavities IF it is the only food in the baby’s mouth. Baby’s teeth should be brushed twice a day to remove other foods. Human milk also has substances in it that work against cavity germs, including lactoferrin. This is not true of formula or cow milk, which contain sugars which can and do provide food for the bacteria that cause cavities. Once a baby has teeth, it is recommended that his teeth be brushed twice a day and that any bed or naptime bottles contain only water.
Baby teeth are very important, if they are damaged the permanent teeth that are growing under them will be affected. Recent research also suggests that the inflammation from gum disease (caused by cavity germs too) can contribute to heart disease later in life.
I hope this information makes it easier to make informed decisions. As mothers, we all make the best decisions we can within the limits of our knowledge and resources. Please be kind to each other and realize that life is rarely as simple as it looks from the outside!
August 18th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
My four kids were breastfed, but I started giving them cups at around 8 months. My last baby never took a bottle at all, and transitioned directly to the cup. In fact, she took drinks from a regular cup with no lid at the age of 5 months, and has never even used a sippy cup except at someone else’s house! My nephew on the other hand, is 5.5 and still using a sippy cup.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I don’t see why there’s a problem getting the kid off the bottle and switched to a sippy cup. I am of the opinion that by 10 to 12 months when the kid is not breastfeeding the sippy cup should be introduced, but that depends on the kid’s grasping skills. Don’t the bottle and sippy cup both need sucking to get the liquid out? Well, in any case it depends on what the research shows. Whether the bottle beyond 12 months contribute to dental problems such as overbites and narrow upper bridge. What are the effects of sippy cups? Also got to compare both the bottle and sippy cups longitudinally like from 12 to 36 months to see how the dental health of the kid shapes up per the teeth, jaw, and bite.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
*** No one wears diapers to kindergarten.****
Not true. I’m a Special Education teacher in a public school district, and there are indeed lots of Special Needs children who come to Kindergarten (and other elementary school grades) in diapers. Some are physically unable to toilet train, due to low muscle tone affecting their ability to hold their bladder or bowels; while some others are not cognitively at an age where they can understand toileting themselves.
FWIW, there have been some pretty heated discussions on other message boards about Suri Cruise showing a lot of the early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder, and kids with autism often have sensory issues around using bottles & pacifiers, and strong attachments to comfort objects like blankies and bottles.
Likewise, a lot of kids with autism in our special education classrooms do have items that they “mouth” or chew on, which are designed to be more socially acceptable than using a pacifier. For some of them, their need to soothe themselves by chewing or sucking, is extremely strong, even into adulthood
I’m not saying she is or is not autistic, it’s just rumours & speculation at this point. I don’t know her or her family. But, since none of us know her or her family, it’s really not our place to say that her parents are lazy, or bad, when we just don’t know their story.
Jenny McCarthy and a lot of moms & dads of autistic kids have said that they’re constantly being criticized as “bad” or “lazy” parents by others because people in the general public just don’t know what issues their autistic children struggle with.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
I have been babysitting two families since their eldest children were newborns.
The first family has a 1 month old, 26 month old, 5 year old, 8 year old and 11 year old. this family started weaning their eldest children off of the bottle at around three years old. They realized that he had big spaces in his teeth and quickly decided that because it might have been the bottle they weaned the now eight year old and seven months. Eldest has been the only one to need braces so far and both the doctors and parents believe it had something to do with the bottle.
The second family has a 9 month old, 3 (almost 4 year old) and 6 year old. This family actually goes straight from the bottle to a cup starting from around 7 months (even before the mother is done breast feeding). They don’t even use a sippy cup. The now nine month old is very mature for his age and I realize he understands the concept of drinking from a plastic cup.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
My mom always told me, that she didn’t follow what the doctor said about bottles. She always told me, that when it comes to kids and bottles, that when a kid is tired with a bottle. They will drop the bottle when they are ready to.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
I have two children. An almost 3 year old daughter that was weaned from the bottle the day after her first birthday. It was not a big deal for her. She cried for maybe five minutes, and I just threw away her bottles and gave her sippy cups. She did not take a binky, does not have a blanket, or a lovey.
My son is 12 months, and about a week after his first birthday, he was shaking and squirting his milk all over the house. Then he would throw his bottle, and it would hit the floor so hard the nipple would collapse into the bottle and leak all over. After that, I got fed up, and I threw his bottles away. He cried off and on for about a week. I had to grow a backbone, and just insist that he drink out of the sippy cup if he was thirsty. He has a stuffed bear he carries around and sleeps with, but he never took a binky, and he does not have a blanket.
When my children were under 12 months, I never allowed them to fall asleep with a bottle in their mouth. I always fed them water and juice in a sippy cup, and they only received milk and pedialyte (when a baby is sick, and every ounce of liquid counts, using the bottle for pedialyte is the least of your worries) in the bottle. My almost 3 year old uses a sippy cup for water, or other liquids if we are away from home, and uses a regular cup at the table during mealtimes. My 12 month old uses sippy cups exclusively.
I don’t fault a parent for allowing their kid to have a bottle past 18 months… although it seems a little weird to me. But, breastfeeding a child past 18 months, or allowing a 18 month old to have a binky is also a little weird to me. But… I never had the binky issue because neither of my kids took one. I tried though… they just didn’t like them.
I also only breastfed for about 2 months, and due to milk protein allergies my children were switched to hypoallergenic formula. To each their own. I personally don’t have a lot of money for braces and dentist bills… plus… I just don’t think it’s ok for MY child who can walk and talk to walk around with a binky, or a bottle, or be breastfeeding… but that is just me. As a parent you are responsible for the child’s health and outcome… and I don’t plan on taking that chance.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
So if I actually took what some people said on here seriously I would be a lazy, irresponsible, uncaring mother who just doesn’t want to deal with her children whinning. haha but if only I took them seriouisly. I know all 6 of my children better than anyone on here. Passing judgement on me for raising 6 idividuals who are different than the idividuals that you riased gets us all no where. Each one of my children gave up their bottles and “nappies” (paci’s) at different times.
When my first son was born I had planned on getting him off the bottle at around 1 years old. But plans change as parents we all know that. Right after I had him I got pregnant for the second time. So when he’s a year old how do I make him understand that he can’t have his bottle anymore but his new little brother who has already came into his house and taken away some of his attention and time from mommy and daddy gets to have one whenever he cries but you don’t because for some reason when you hit 1 years old everyone thinks your a big boy now? I couldn’t reasonably do that to him even if years down the road he wouldn’t remember. He would use a sippy cup when he felt like tolerating one or wanted juice or water, but mostly he still prefered the bottle with milk. I got so much slack from everyone because they just didn’t understand the situation at the time. To this day my son has no problems from having a bottle longer than recommended and he’s a happy, healthy 12 now. And that’s exactly this all is, a recommendation and each parent should take that into consideration and make their own choices for their own children.
My youngets son is 4 years old and he still has a nappie in his bedroom. That’s where it stays he knows that. I’ve never taken it away from him and I don’t plan to, he’ll get rid of it when he knows he’s ready. He rarely ever uses it, maybe once a month if that. Usually after a nightmare or if he’s sick. Same with my daughter she’s 2 and every night before she goes to bed she ask’s for her bottle. It’s the only time she gets a bottle all day. I give it to her full of water that we put in her bed with her. In the morning when I go and get it from her bed there usually isn’t any of it gone. It’s there for her comfort, she doesn’t need it but it’s her security she know’s that if by chance she does needs it that it’s going to be there for her. How can I take something away from her that makes her feel safe and secure when it’s not hurting her? I don’t think I should have to no matter what people think or tell me.
If someone thinks that this makes me a bad mother, that’s okay because I’m confident enough in my ability to be a mother that it doesn’t matter what people tell me or think. I KNOW I am a good mother. I’m sure Katie feels the same way with Suri. I have my own opinion on whether Suri should be having a bottle in her mouth at all times. But I’m not her mother and I don’t know whats best for her but Katie does and to me it seems like she’s been a great mother so far so I’m gunna trust her judgement to raise her own child, just like I’ll trust you all to raise yours to the best of your ability.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
I don’t normally comment. Well, I used to, but couldn’t stand the negative people commenting, so I quit reading the comments. But, when I saw this post, I couldn’t resist only because if one person reads my story and it prevents what I went through it will be worth it! My 2nd daughter was a bottle baby for a long time. It was her comfort, she was colicky, I was tired, it just went on and on. Was I lazy? Probably. Tired? Definitely. Sick of hearing the crying? Ohhhhhh, yes. Did I pay the price for letting her keep her bubba? I did. I paid a heavy price when my not quite 2-yr-old, precious baby screamed her little heart out at the dentist office for having to pull her two front teeth from bottle rot. It was heart wrenching as I had to hold her on my chest. I was angry at myself for letting this happen.
That screaming baby is 7 now. Has she grown her 2 front teeth adult teeth yet? No. Her gums have toughened from the years of not having any front teeth. They will come in soon, you can feel them under the gums. My point IS THIS: Give up the bottle at a year old. I don’t care what excuse you have!!!!! GIVE. IT. UP. Your baby will find another comfort. It’s not worth the real tears of having to be gassed and go through the pain of bleeding gums where teeth used to be. I lived it. Please if you have to endure 2 days or two weeks of crying for a bottle, which would you rather have: years of no teeth, embarrassment at being the only kid in school with no front teeth, being the only kid in 2nd grade with no adult teeth? This is my story. It can happen to you. Just give them a sippy cup.
My 4th daughter was cut off from her bottle shortly after her first birthday. Did she want her bubba? Yes! But they make sippy cups now with rubber tops. They are soft! They flex, they feel ‘comforting’! My little one loves her sippy!! She was sad for a day, maybe that. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice and have her endure the pain my 2nd daughter went through, NO WAY! She adjusted quickly, painlessly and we are BOTH happy for it.
Sorry, this is a novel, but seriously, I can not stress this enough. The sooner babies are off a bottle, the BETTER. They will survive, they will find another comfort. They won’t turn into serial killers, I promise!!!!!
August 19th, 2008 at 12:13 am
I Really Think they should be off of it ASAP!!! After 12 months old!!!
With My First Born it was VERY VERY easy to get him off the bottle.. we did it Cold Turkey as they say , we ended up giving it to him one day for a nap because he wasn’t feeling well, He Literally threw it back at us, and from then on he wouldn’t use a bottle.. He used a Sippy cup, OR a Regular cup during lunch and dinner…
Now With My Daughter YES, It took me 13 months to get her off the bottle(Her Ped Said She HAD TO Be Off Of One Before She Was 15 Months old So ).. But with her we started and we had a little fall back She ended up with Cellulites, and a staph infection, her {ed said she was LUCKY enough to live !!!
My Only tip really is to put Their Favorite Drink in a sippy cup or something, and Start off small or do it all at once, .. we tried it different was with both of our kids, and they were successful… So that’s about all i can say.. Neither one of mine will take a bottle now so Im very proud!
August 19th, 2008 at 12:26 am
When my youngest son had to give up his bottle (and later his pacifier) he had a much harder time dealing with it than my older children. We stuck to our guns and got rid of them in the same way as our older children who had not had any problems save the first day or two of protesting (the whole thing was a gradual process with everything gone, day or night, by 2). But our son would sometimes talk about them, especially his pacifier, as he got older and one day he found an old stash we had in the attic that we had never opened (the result of too many gifts). I found him asleep with around ten pacifiers all around him. We took them to the garbage together and threw them away, no outward problems, and just chalked it up to a funny story. He had always been a more intense child and as the years went by we began to realize that in general he was having some issues with concentration and anxiety. To make a long story short, we discovered that our son had some issues with ADHD and anxiety. Over the last year we have started to address both problems and have learned as a family ways to give him the extra security and support he needs. He has made unbelievable strides and is now a happy 10 year old who simply has to work a bit harder to regulate some of his emotions and insecurities.
I tell this story not because I think there is anything wrong with him or what we did as parents, only because I believe my son was one of the cases where his extreme resistance to letting go of his “comfort” items was indicative of an underlying problem. I wouldn’t have let him keep either of them but had I known that pronounced and extended resistance could mean more than just a “stubborn” child I would have started learning how we could help him feel secure without those other things much earlier. I’m not saying that children who resist (or the celebrity babies in this post) have any problems. Contrary, I think that most children are like my older two and will be able to let go of them without a problem whenever they feel it’s no longer worth it to have them. But I know that had someone written something somewhere about their child who had similar behaviors as my son it would have led me to look into it and perhaps we would have been able to start earlier.
As a side note my son has not had any medication yet. Should he need it, I trust my doctor enough to say “if it will help, let’s try it” but because we started working with some of the emotional and behavioral tools early on, he has been able, up till now, to self-regulate and let us know when he needs extra encouragement and support. So this story is by no means saying that any child is sick and needs medication. Just that all children are different and parents need to react to them individually. Most kids fall into the middle and are able to handle adjustments well but a few don’t and when that happens sometimes we just need different tools to help them out.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Comments like the majority here make me sad. Wouldn’t you all be offended if another mom went up to you with your baby on a stroller, telling you that you’re doing something wrong?
There is no static way of raising a child, period. Every person will get off the bottle or learn to use the potty at their own time. If you believe in weaning at 12 months (more or less of course), then that’s wonderful. I’ve heard far worse horror stories than those who chose to give their child the bottle *dun-dun-dun* after the age of 18 months!
I think Katie and Tom are the ones that know what’s best for their daughter and that’s that.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:23 am
My son is almost 3 and still has a bottle. His is a weight gain issue, he gets pediasure 3 times a day, and WILL NOT drink it from a sippy or cup. He has to have it so I don’t even have seconds thoughts about allowing him a bottle. I am not a “lazy” parent. Nobody seems to be bothered with a 3-4 year old still attached at the boob–same concept!!
August 19th, 2008 at 1:45 am
My mother had a terrible time trying to get my older sister weaned off bottles (she used them well beyond 3 years old) so when i came along, mum decided there would be no bottles for me and i went straight to sippy cups.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:49 am
I think if you want to do it, you can! and I AM a parent of a 3 yr old, so i know what i’m talking about.
She doesn’t use diapers since she was 2, and never use a pacifier, and bottle just for a few months after i stop breastfeeding (11 months) Since she was 2 she drinks milk, water, juice with a plastic glass, and use sippycup just when we go out, well we don’t use it anymore, i always carry a normal bottle of water, and she knows perfect how to drink from it.
I’m not saying I’m perfect as a parent, I make a lot of mistakes….but i’m just saying that although it can be difficult at the begining, you just have to be patient and your baby will learn….When i decided to not breastfed her anymore, it was sooo difficult, she cried for two nights, and then stop, she began drinking milk in a bottle, same with the potty training, the first week was hard for everybody, but with a lot of patience and love, she understood and she learned.
I agree with some posters about lazy parenting, someone said “is what normal, non-lazy people do” and i totally agree.
If you want kids, you have to do what is better for them, not what is better for you.
Just my opinion.
August 19th, 2008 at 2:02 am
My Daughter is 2 and has her bottle and sippy cups. It is not anyone else’s business when a Child should or should not give up a bottle, it is the parents choice. Last time I checked it is still a free country I think all the comments are silly. When the Child is ready, she or he will give up the bottle.
I’m sure the next topic will be when should Suri give up her blanket, which is also nobody’s business.
Parenting is hard enough, do we really have to nit-pick each other!
August 19th, 2008 at 2:30 am
I’m really surprised by a lot of people on here …. Talk to your dentist, mine told me that what makes a bottle so bad for a child is to drink it when they are going to SLEEP (that’s what causes tooth decay, leaving milk on their teeth all night long) he also told me that I would know when it was right to take my daughter off the bottle and pacifier. I took my daughter of the bottle (or rather she threw down the bottle) right after her 2nd birthday. She took her paci at bedtime since I never started her on having to have a bottle to go to sleep.
I know everyones parenting skills are different so everyone should know what is right for their own child. I have a cousin that literally only gave her child a bottle while in the hospital. The day they came home she started putting her formula in a sippy cup and that was that and it worked for her. Now another one of my cousin’s gives her kids bottles now and their 2 (3 in November), 3 (4 in October), and 5 years old and she does it “because they have to have them in order to sleep” …. seriously they STILL wake up in the middle of the night whenever their bottle runs empty, and she get’s up and REFILLS them —- how ever many times needed during the night —– now in my personal opinion that’s ridiculous but once again their her children and not mine. My daughter slept through the night at 3 months AND she was a month premature – 5 weeks to be exact and I believe that’s because I didn’t give her a bottle to go to bed with.
I think Katie will take Suri off the bottle when she feels is right for Suri and I don’t think that makes her a “bad” or “lazy” parent as some on here as said.
August 19th, 2008 at 3:34 am
Sometimes you don’t have to be a parent to know if something is not best for a child in the future, us non-parents get plenty of experience with nieces and nephews.
I personally side with pediatricians, they say and have proof that giving a child a bottle or dummy over the age of one is bad for the child’s dental health and development, and so I know when I have a child I would try my best for this not to happen. There are plenty of tricks to wean a child off these things and I think parents should put in some effort in doing so, because its best for the child in the long run. As a child it was “cruel to be kind” for me, if I wasn’t to have something and cried for awhile because of it, that was just too bad, and a little crying never hurt anyone, its not child abuse. I know when my aunt got sick of her twins using a dummy one day while driving, she just threw the dummies out the window and that was the end of that!
August 19th, 2008 at 3:43 am
I saw a TV documentary on UK tv and there was a 5 year old still receiving breastfeed! She comes home from school and gets a feed. That was really disturbing.
August 19th, 2008 at 4:23 am
I have 4 kids, all of them were different. They all had things they were attached to, dolls, blankets, pacifiers one even sucked his finger for comfort. (Try taking that away) I didn’t put an age limit on when it had to go, we just played it by ear with each one. I will say however, I would limit use of said object. At first it would be an “only at home and in the car rule”, then it would progress to a “on the couch or in your bed” rule. After that it was “only in your bed”. Eventually we got to “can you try tonight not to do/use it, Just try” This took several months for some of them, but the adjustment was a normal progression for them and they are all well adjusted children now, ages 11,9,6 and 5.
I do hate to see these “big kids” with bottles and pacifiers, but I understand each childs needs are different. (it drove me crazy that my daughter needed a paci at 2 1/2, but she screamed so much I wouldn’t live without it. She did fine not taking it in the store when we were out, so we went from there, taking it away a few minutes at a time.) I see nothing wrong with a parent telling a child when it is appropriate to carry a bottle or to leave it in the car.
Being a parent is all about choosing your battles. Maybe there are other battles these parents are choosing to fight right now, and the bottle battle will come soon enough.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:14 am
wow ladies!so many claws out over the seemingly innocent bottle!i will be honest and admit (praying i don’t get scratched)that my lovely, verbally advanced daughter is two and still has a bottle before her nap and bedtime.it never really occurred to me that she was too “old” for her beloved “baba.” or at least not so old as to receive judgment.after all, there are other things higher on my list to tackle.currently we are potty learning after twice being brought solid “gifts” from her diapers.next i would like her to fall asleep on her own without me in her bed (do i hear gasps).each child is unique, each parent is unique, each household is unique. i feel, as women, we should be as quick to hold each other up as to judge each other.i feel very blessed by my group of friends who supports one another.each with our unique children.one who recently hits, one who throws tantrums,one who is shy, one who won’t take naps, one who is attached to his mom’s hip and one who still has her bottle.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:45 am
When I was a kid I used to drink from a cup before I was 1. But when I was 3 I still drank from a bottle when we were outside. Why? Because it was so much easier for my mom to bring a drink for me. Now, 19 years later I haven’t gotten any problems from it. I think people are making too much of a big deal of it.
August 19th, 2008 at 6:08 am
Well, my son went from breast to cup, so we didn’t use bottles at all. He’s now 2,5 and still uses his pacifier and I have no plans to take it away until he gives it up on his own.
As far as teeth go I believe it’s all genetics.
I had a pacifier till I was 5 (and started kindergarten) but never used a bottle, while my brother had a bottle till he was 4 (only one before bed and washed his teethe after it) and never used a pacifier. We have great teeth and only two cavities each in our late 20s.
August 19th, 2008 at 6:27 am
For all the people having a go a childcare workers, i think I put in my post ‘I personally feel’, And I think everyone is allowed to have an opinion (but i didn’t call anyone lazy).
I work as a nanny, not in a day care so it is far more personal, I do not work 9-5, I work 7 till 7, basically from when they wake up till when they go to bed. 5 days a week. But also weekends here and there, and yes overnights, so i know what it’s like to get up in the night when the pacifier falls out and they can’t find it, another reason we wanted baby off it. I’d say i know the children better than the parents, infact they come to me and ask my advice on subjects like weaning onto solids, weaning off the pacifier and bottle and potty training as I had done all these things before. (10 yrs experience). I didn’t get it just from a book before anyone says anything, yes I have read pretty much every childcare book just out of interest but also have spoken to lots of mums over the years and read lots of health articles.
So please mum’s don’t put down all childcarers.
August 19th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Our son was weaned from the bottle at 11 months, but mostly because we were out of formula and our doc said NO milk in a bottle. He did great – I was so worried, especially with that last night bottle, but he took it like a champ. The older they get, the harder is probably is to make that change.
I just want to know though, what is the difference between Suri having a bottle and nursing until a kid is 2 1/2 or three? So, if you have to give the bottle up at a certain age, shouldn’t the same hold true for nursing?
August 19th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Suri will not walk down the isle with a bottle in her mouth, her parents realise this. As far back as Nov last year, there are pictures of Tom holding a sippy cup. I guess they never succeeded in weaning her or it is more convinient and they realised it is not a worthwhile battle. She will feel ashamed and go off the bottle sooner or later. Never seen a 10 year old on a bottle.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Since, my son was a late teether (8 months for his first tooth) we had a hard time in the beginning making the transition to sippy cups until my girlfriend suggested we try the Nuby cups with the silicone top. Once, we introduced the Nuby cup it was smooth sailing from there and we were totally done with the bottle at 13 months.
I do think at the ages they are it’s is definetly time to give up the bottle.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:30 am
This is the last thing that I am going to say about this and it only concerns Suri. Can you imagine what she goes through just by leaving the house. Put your child in her shoes. She is constantly photographed. There is constant noise from other people and they ALL know her name. How comforting can her surroundings be? How does she handle stranger anxiety in a case like this? If the only thing she needs at this point is a bottle and a blanket then I say let her have it!
August 19th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Catherine IBCLC..thank you:)
August 19th, 2008 at 9:26 am
It is easier for the parent to let the child do what they want instead of taking the time to do what is correct. If professionals say a bottle should be taken away from 6-12 months, just do it. Yes, it may require some crying and fit-pitching but that is much more temporary than speech impediments, jacked-up teeth, etc. Same applies to pacifiers.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Suri will put the bottle down when she’s ready. There’s no solid evidence that sucking on a bottle or pacifier is going to scar her in any manner. When my daughter (now 12) continued to suck her thumb at 2 and 3, many folks gave me absolute grief about it. My response: “She will not walk down the aisle sucking her thumb, so please keep your opinion to yourself.” She sucked her thumb until about 5 or 6, and today, she’s a confident, free-spirited beautiful pre-teen. So, all that said, please leave Suri alone to develop and grow naturally.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:41 am
I don’t understand why people are getting so upset unless this topic hits a little too close to home?? We were asked to give our opinions on this topic and now that people have, everyone wants to start catching feelings. Let’s all be adults here, there is no reason for people to start getting upset because of someone else’s opinions. I personally like how people don’t want people calling them lazy parents or bad parents, but it is ok for people to chastise someone who gives their opinion, but laughs at it because they don’t have any children! This whole thing is funny to me, we should all be able to express our opinions and views without getting too childish.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:45 am
All my kids have been off a bottle at 12 months old and pacifers no later than 16 months old. At 2 years old they are no longer infants. They are toddlers.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:48 am
I took my daughter off a bottle when she finished with formula. Once she drank milk it went in a cup. I never gave her juice or water in a bottle, only in a cup.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:23 am
My son is 2.5 and still uses a bottle.
He has not tooth problems, his speech is ABOVE what a child his age should be.
I think it depends on the child and parent and what they are comfortable with.
My daughter gave up her bottle when she was ready. She has no problems from the bottle either.
When they are ready, they will give it up. I don’t believe in forcing them on things like this.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Rachel, I wasn’t attacking you. I was letting my frustration out on the AAPD. I thought I made that clear but I’m sorry you felt it was an attack against you. Ok, so some kids can drink out of a regular cup at age one but I KNOW my daughter couldnt. She still cant at almost three years of age. She has just now gotten the hang of the sippy cup which she has had since she was 14 months. And no, she is not behind, she is a perfectly normal child and her pediatrician said that some kids never get the hang of holding up a sippy. She doesn’t get a sippy at night time after her teeth are brushed so I’m just confused why the AAPD thinks sippys are so bad. She only gets them a few times a day for a few minutes at a time. I think its ridiculous for the AAPD to expect that all kids are capable of something at a specific age. Every child is different and follows their own timeline. I dont need some group of people who dont know my child to tell me what to do and make me feel like a bad parent for not forcing my child to do something she is incapable of.
On another note, I am shocked to hear that some people think Suri Cruise is autistic. And you people assume this because she has a blankie and a bottle? Seriously how judgmental can you get??
August 19th, 2008 at 11:40 am
I am a mother of 2. My son was on the bottle until he was 19 months. I didn’t know better. Our pediatrician told me he needed to get off the bottle because of a repeate ear infection. My daughter was 12 months. Our pediatrician told me to take her off of it then and it went just fine. I will say both my kids had pacifiers until they were about 3 or a little over. So if Suri doesn’t have a pacifier, than let her have a bottle.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Joy, your story is so sad! Thank you for sharing it with us. It sounds like most of the bottle fed kids on here were unharmed but its good to hear that bottle rot DOES happen and is not just some myth out there.
August 19th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
“…I dont need some group of people who dont know my child to tell me what to do and make me feel like a bad parent for not forcing my child to do something she is incapable of…”
I don’t think the group is “forcing” anyone to do anything. They’re providing GUIDELINES – sort of like a “handbook”…I think the job of a parent is to use these guidelines as well as their instincts for each of their individual children and apply them BOTH, and find a happy medium that works for them and their family.
August 19th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
We stopped using bottles when my son (now 4) was a year old. The same time I introduced milk rather than formula. We started out half and half — to get him used to the taste of milk — and gradually put more milk into the sippy cup. And I’m so proud to say he still loves milk!
Pacifiers were a different story. He’d given his up by about 18 months then a worker at his daycare gave him one like his most favorite, which we’d thrown away months earlier. By 2 1/2, he was clinging to the shredded remains of a pacifier. One day it too disappeared.
He loves Beanie Babies and other stuffed animals for comfort.
August 19th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I have a 19 month old daughter, and she was able to give up the bottle before she was a year old. I think that a toddler who is still is using a bottle, will affect them in the future. I have two older stepdaughters who their mother didn’t get them off the bottles until they were 3 yrs old. They have some delayed speech impairments. It’s hard to get them to understand that they are big girls now. I think that whatever you introduce to them and keep a routine, they will eventually adapt to it. Toddlers are like sponges, they are very smart.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I commented yesterday and I am so intrigued by this post. It is interesting to see EVERYONES point of view, moms and non-parents. I will say that I am thankful that I never had a thumb sucker…my sister was 6yrs old before she stopped. My mom had to go to the extreme of sewing socks on to long sleeve shirt and she would either figure out how to get a finger out OR she would just suck her thumb right through the sock, my mom was so disheartened and one day, it just stopped, no one understood why or how, but it was never questioned. I have two girls and my little one is a wreck without her paci and she starts preschool with a naptime at school in 3 weeks…they won’t let her have a “tsumi” so she is going to have to deal, I am going to try to cut the tips off starting now….and see if I can get a jump on it. I think that as parents we want what is best for our child but bashing another parent isn’t fair, parenting is hard enough as it is and we should help each other, lord knows that we could all use a little guidance, no one is perfect.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Sheena — apology accepted and I apologize in return. I personally hate this topic and shouldn’t have even gotten involved! But alas… I did. And reading my first post I can understand where it sounded like I was saying the AAPD meant to switch from the bottle to regular cup… they do not.
I just don’t want anyone to feel that I’m attacking mothers who use sippy cups or bottles, but I also think it’s important that people understand that when they’re out there bashing other mothers for using bottles when they allow their children to walk around with sippy cups, the accusing finger their waving around is really hypocritical.
I personally drank out of a bottle until well after the age of one, I’ve had very few cavities in my life and they occured much later in life than to be caused by a bottle. My god-daughter had a bottle once a day up until she was 19 months old… her teeth are just fine.
I think as long as healthy habits are practiced and moderation is used bottles and sippy cups are just fine.
And I totally agree… the autism comments (because she carries a bottle and likes soothing toys??)… I can’t even begin to imagine the number of kids we’d be diagnosing as autistic if we went by those standards. Does everything in life qualify a child on the spectrum now?
Again, I apologize for being so defensive and you’re right, some children physically cannot drink out of a sippy cup. Some can… but some can’t.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
someone commented on the difference between breast til age 3 (or so) VS bottle feeding, but what i want to know is how all of you think sippy cups are just fine to see in a 2 year olds hand, but a bottle isn’t? what is the difference?? they are both bottles with a sucky type top! we have no idea what suri drinks out of at home. my son drank out of cups at home or if seated at a restaurant when he was suri’s age, but for walking around town he brought a bottle (most of you would bring a sippy cup! and i still say what’s the difference) just because you see suri OUT and about with a bottle doesn’t mean she doesn’t use a real cup at home. and as so many have pointed out, bottle rot comes from milk etc pooling in the mouth while a child sleeps. we don’t know if katie lets suri sleep with a bottle. and it would STILL be none of our business. i always thought becoming a mom would bond me to other women, but since having kids, i’ve sadly come to know that so many women are very judgmental and hurtful toward other mothers, like it’s some big competition of “who is the better mom”. SAD. As i said earlier, how YOU treat people affects how your children will treat people. If you are this rude and judegmental your kids will pick up on it and become rude and judgmental too. Let’s set better examples by HELPING eachother, being kind and understanding and realizing that ALL kids are different and ALL mothers are different. YAY! How boring the world would be otherwise!
August 19th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
I agree that it is bad parenting not to get your children off the bottle by at least one.
Bottles are for babies and at 2 or even 1 1/2 years old the children are considered toddlers.
I was weened off the bottle by 1 and a pacifier by 15 months– My parents took us on vacation and I threw it out the window, and a car ran over it, my dad went and picked it up (washed it before he showed it to me) and that pretty much broke that BAD habit. LOL
August 19th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
SH, I wish that was how it worked. It may just be a guideline in some cases, but unfortunately I’ve heard too many stories (and read them on here) about how parents are literally being scolded by doctors and dentists for letting their kids use a bottle or sippy past a year of age. Of course this makes parents feel guilty and although I have not experienced this personally, I know it would make me feel like I had to obey them, otherwise I’d be considered a “bad mom.”
August 19th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
To the people talking about five year olds still being in diapers…in some cases it may be bad parenting but not in all. I know someone who is literally the perfect mom. Her smart and beautiful five year old daughter is still not completely pottytrained. I dont know if she wears diapers but I do know she has accidents all the time. Her mother has tried EVERYTHING and has talked to the doctor about it, all to no avail. Sometimes kids are just not capable at 2 or 3 years of age. 30 years ago parents resorted to spanking their kids to finally get them to use the potty. Obviously we can’t do that now, so what do we do when all else fails? Yes, for most kids pottytraining can be done by three years of age but not for all and you must not judge someone who has a five year old in diapers until you know the whole story.
August 19th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Well I have to admit my daughter used her bottle until she was a little over 2 years old and is still using her binky and will be 3 in Oct. It really is to the point that it’s embarrassing, but she LOVES her binky. I am slowly working on her getting used to not having it, but just like the bottle, when she’s sick of it, she’ll give it up! Just my 2 cents worth…thanks for listening.
August 19th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I got lucky. My daughter had an ear infection at 10.5 months and stopped the bottle. We didnt take any chances and tossed them all right away. She has been using a cup ever since. And straws worked the best.
As for the Pacifier!! GEEZ that was a struggle. But at 25 months on christmas day she was so consumed in all of her toys we decided to get rid of them. Every time she asked we said we gave them to Blake, a baby she knew. She asked a few times but only for a few days.
I think that it just takes a bit of work, but there is no excuse for a child to be on a bottle or pacifier after 2.5 years.
August 19th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
The transition from bottle to sippy for us happened around age 2. Seems reasonable as this is the developmentally correct age for a reduction in the child’s sucking need.
I nursed my daughter until she was 19 mos old, and could not give her sippies during that time because it messed up her latch and made it very painful for me to nurse her. Obviously continuing to nurse her was far more important than worrying about keeping the bottle past a year, in terms of health benefits/detriments.
I also do not see the difference between a sippy and a bottle. Both involve sucking and similar distribution of liquid in the mouth. I just don’t see how a sippy is superior to a bottle.
Now my daughter is 2 1/2 and for months has not had a bottle. At home, she usually drinks from cups, though occasionally we use a sippy to prevent a mess. No cavities or other problems. I really think it’s best to follow the child’s cues and developmental needs and take good basic care of the child by doing things like brushing teeth and not giving unhealthy drinks like juice.
August 19th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Sheena,
I’ve come to learn that Dr.’s and “experts” can give their advice but they’re NOT god, they’re people like the rest of us, they don’t have all the RIGHT answers every single time, and they’re NOT the parents to MY children. I’ve also come to learn that we all have something called a “gut instinct” that is a lot of times just as good as any Dr.’s advice, especially when it comes to my own body and my kids bodies. That said, I’ve been blessed with a good pediatrician and a good OBGYN that will actually listen to me and not take their “I’m a Dr., and you’re dumb” high horse that unfortunately a lot of Dr.’s have (not all). Parents need to give themselves credit where credit is due. If you have a Dr. or Dentist that’s telling you you’re a “bad parent” for giving your kids a bottle past 1 year old, that’s ridiculous. I’d be willing to bet that a LARGE percentage of their own 1 year olds are getting bottles and sipee cups past 1 year of age. A LARGE percentage…
The thing with Dr.’s is that they have to cover their butts with these guidelines and “rules”. If they say, Oh, Yes, Sheena, You can give your 2 1/2 year old a bottle at bedtime, no problem”, then your kid gets bottle rot and has to have their teeth pulled…guess who’s fault it is. If your Dr. told you that it was ok then you can go back and say it’s their fault and in this day in age with sue happy people…well, you can figure out the rest. My sister who’s 13 months younger than me is an Internal Medicine Dr. and this kind of stuff happens all the time. It’s sad, but true. Dr.’s have to stick to their “textbook” rules. They’re guidelines for us to take and we have the responsibility to do what we want with them. Weather we choose to follow them, or ignore them and do what we want, it’s our problem, not theirs. If you feel the guidelines are not quite for you, then sometimes it’s ok to take the guidelines with a grain of salt, within reason. If it says 12 months and your baby is 18 months and happy and healthy – don’t get bent out of shape! It WILL be fine because we’re all here and living, and we were brought up in a lot of the same ways. And honestly, in the grand sceme of things with a 6 or 9 month give-or-take difference in weening from a bottle…does it really matter in any way shape or form in the long run? Will anyone be able to tell in kindergarten that this child was weaned at 1, this one at 2, and this one at 3? I say probably not…JMO Just keep doing the best you can do.
August 19th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
i just want to clear something up – i DID NOT say there is anything wrong with being in diapers at the age of 5. I was RESPONDING to a poster who said:
” I bet the parents that let their kids have bottles until a ridiculous age are the same parents that I see buying size 7 (SEVEN!!!) diapers for their Kindergartner!!!”
I found this comment rude and ridiculous so I pointed out that most schools (I’m not talking about special needs etc) don’t allow diapers at kindergarten or even preschool nowadays. I don’t think there is anything wrong with a child who (for WHATEVER reason) needs to wear diapers until an older age. I also said that just because someone allows bottles until an older age doesn’t mean they allow other (what this poster would consider “bad”) behaviors. You can’t tell what kind of a parent someone is by seieng a toddler with a bottle!
August 19th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
..” I bet the parents that let their kids have bottles until a ridiculous age are the same parents that I see buying size 7 (SEVEN!!!) diapers for their Kindergartner!!!”…
amandamay – I agree with you. This comment was VERY rude. My 4 year old daughter will start her first year of preschool in a couple weeks and they said NO pullups or diapers. They even have that rule for the 3 year old room. The point that I wanted to add is that there are probably TONS of kids in kindergarten that wear diapers still through the night. It’s not uncommon for kids to wet the bed til 6,7,8 years old. Some kids can’t control it because their bladder muscles aren’t fully developed yet. Doesn’t sound like bad parenting to me! What if that person was buying size 7 diapers for a special needs child? People are so judgemental and ignorant when they make comments like this.
August 19th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Crooked teeth and overbites are genetic, but I agree that a baby should be weaned off a bottle at about 12 months, two of my three children were weaned at about 11 months, but my middle daughter wanted it till about 2, I could not get it off her without her screaming her lungs out.
She finally grew out of it, it did nothing to her teeth.
I think each to their own, kids eventually end up throwing the bottle away, its not the end of the world.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
If its okay for a two year old to breastfeed then it should be okay to have a bottle at that age..
August 19th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Call me crazy, but why do people come into a thread entitled Sound Off! and asking for people’s opinions and get mad when people do just that? Obviously this thread was started to inspire debate on the matter, why are you coming in and complaining that it does just that? Pass it over if it angers you that much.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Terri, the post said “Tell us your thoughts and tips on making the transition from bottle to cup in the comments.” It did not say “tell us what you think of parents who let their kids drink from a bottle at two years of age” People are resorting to name calling and that is NOT what this was supposed to be about. I’m surprised that CBB is allowing these hurtful comments to be up. Just how mean do you have to be to get your post deleted? They say they dont allow inflammatory remarks that may cause a fight. I guess being called a bad and lazy parent is just dandy then. Hmmm
August 19th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
terri – i have no problem with civilized discussion and debate. Telling someone they are a bad and lazy parent (very rude and super judgmental) is different than saying “it’s not what i’d do for my kid” or “i don’t think someone should do that” in this “debate” many people are using the guise of “debate” to just be rude and mean. yes, people are entitled to their opinions – but this is past the point of opinion.
and yet again i will point out that i doubt any of these people would really tell katie holmes TO HER FACE that she’s a bad and lazy parent.
August 19th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
One reason that some doctors recommend switching over to a sippy cup or even just a regular cup. Is because for most children, especially bottle fed babies. The bottle symbolizes eating a full meal until you are full. And at about the 1 year mark is the time when children need alot more and different kinds nurishment in their diets other than just what milk can provide. So to stop them from over eating and not wanting to eat solid food after filling up. It is suggested to take away that symbol to help them as a child to not over indulge in something that they need less of and get more of the stuff that they will need. But as you have read from some mothers stories on here there are children who are just poor eaters and still need the nurishment of what the milk is providing. Anything is better than nothing in their case. It all just goes back to each parent knows their own child and their special needs. Just because your a good parent doesn’t mean you know how to parent my child. Advice and help is welcome, because as parents we can all use a little help sometimes, but my children aren’t yours so please don’t expect me to raise them like you do, and we can both still be good mothers.
August 19th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Celebrities should be held up to a higher standard anyway-unlike me and you, they usually have nannies and a ton of people helping them, so they should set the standard. Shame on Katie for giving Suri the bottle at this late age.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
isnt it the parents choice and their choice only??????
August 19th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Last time I checked we lived in a free world where we could raise our kids however we deemed appropriate. Who cares if Suri or Alabama or Jane Doe drinks a bottle until she is 5 years old? In the big picture is this really something that we need to worry about? Most of the time, mothers just want to brag that THEIR child does not need to take a bottle or a pacifier or that THEIR child went straight to a cup at 6 months old and is a child prodigy, come on, give me a break! The child will give up the bottle when they are ready, and life will go on, end of story…
August 19th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I think everyone should just mind their own business….I hear mothers all the time saying “you should this, you shouldn’t that etc….”, as a mother of two I try not to judge other parent’s, just because they may do something different from me….unless it’s something dangerous or abusive to the child then I keep my opinions and comments to myself.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I was skimming through the comments, and I saw someone saying they don’t understand the difference. I don’t either. I’m not a mother but I babysit my nieces who are 18 months old. We give them bottles and sippies, I’ve noticed that one of them likes to chew on her sippies. She even leaves teeth marks. I don’t like giving her the sippy because of that. Seems like that would be more dangerous. But whatever I’m a bad aunt.
I say leave them alone, Suri always look to be drinking those prepackaged formula drop in things. Shouldn’t Kate gets props for that at least?
August 19th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Everyone that judges these people should be ashamed. No one knows what goes on inside a family… my son is 19 months old and has a swallowing problem that only allows him to drink from a bottle and apparently it is more common than you think. It is terrible to know I am being judged for taking care of my childs developmental delay.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Yes, but if someone does feel that it’s lazy parenting then they can feel that way and express it. If I know that I’m not being a lazy parent and doing what I feel is best for my child I would think that doesn’t apply to me and move on. I don’t have a right to never be offended by people’s opinions or words.
August 19th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
So, I have a question… I really don’t mean to start the BF/FF debate, but what makes it okay to breastfeed for comfort after a certain point vs. giving a bottle with water? I am not a parent so I really haven’t researched this but isn’t it really the same thing, just different sources? At 2.5 – 3, shouldn’t both be able to be offered a cup?
I don’t really care or have strong feelings as to whether these kids are still on the bottle, nor do I think it is bad parenting just for the record. I just assume parents do what works for them and their children and at the end of the day, you only have to answer to yourself.
August 19th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
GG I asked the same question! Why, if it is so critical for a baby to be off a bottle by a year, is still ok for a kid to nurse – even until they are old enough to ask for it? I don’t understand the difference at.all.
Bottom line is – I don’t really care what other people do with their kids, but I do find it interesting that the bottle is such a point of contention but 2-3 year olds still nursing is a-okay.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Thank you Catherine IBCLC, for being the voice of reason amongst the craziness. You are the true expert here. I checked out your bio on lactspeak.com (If anyone else wants to check it out: http://lactspeak.com/speakers/CatherineWatson%20Genna/)
Amazing. Thank you for doing what you do.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
It really does depend on the child, but most will be able to give it up around the first year… introducing a sippy cup with water in it for practice and then with water or formula (depending on if breastfeeding) during meals can help…
then, if breastfeeding, try breastmilk in a cup while mom is out… but if mom strictly nurses, there is not the rush.
if formula feeding, try phasing out the bottles with formula in a cup.
my oldest took to 18mo with bottles because he would not drink formula or milk from a cup (he weaned himself at a year from the breast)
my middle one was off all but the night bottle at 11mo and I let him have 2 full months to drop that last bottle on his own… but when it was clear he wouldn’t, I took it away… we had one night of some tears, but I snuggled next to him, read him an extra book, and gave him his lovey (a koala bear he’s had since 9mo old) and that was the only time he cried.
my daughter was 6 mo old when I first offered her formula in a cup (my milk never came in with my 2nd… with my daughter, I was on medication that prevented breastfeeding)… she, like both boys, had been offered a sippy with some water since she could sit supported in an exersaucer/boppy/etc…. she took to it, but then regressed, even though she was acting bored with her bottle. So I followed her cues and, when she showed boredom again at 8mo, we tried again… this time was success… and she was done with bottles at 9mo old.
I think some key points with getting off the bottle aren’t always realized by newer moms… you don’t have to stop cuddling or make the child hold the cup himself/herself when you would normally hold the bottle.
you can keep everything the same, the snuggling up and holding it for them, and just change the item you’re using to deliver the liquid… that’s going to involve a lot less change and be easier for a baby to adjust to.
So, by doing those things, I don’t see why a child shouldn’t be off the bottle by 2yrs old (especially the daytime) unless the motor skills are behind or they are still not taking liquid well enough from a cup to drop the bottle.
That said, I do think there are worse things than a bottle, so if a 3yr old (I have a friend whose daughter is 3 and is like this) is just truly not ready, then I think you have to go by your child’s cues.
Her 2nd child, also a girl, was this way, but she also dropped it when she went to preschool and was told there are no bottles at school.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
just an observation: the only 2-3 yr old children i know who have had to have teeth removed due to decay were breastfed back to sleep when they woke at night. Human milk causes just as much damage as formula to teeth. No real distinction from a dental perspective.
As for jaw development the important thing is that the child is chewing solid food in the second year and onwards – sucking a bottle is not going to be a problem provided it isn’t replacing proper meals.
both my children were weaned off the bottle during the day by 12 months…. we retained the evening bottle until 2yrs simply because they enjoyed it so much. I used to laugh that they looked just like my husband with his post-work red wine as they sat on the couch drinking their end-of-the-day bottle. we always had bath and teeth brushing after bottle so it wasn’t a sleep aid or tooth problem. worked for us.
Personally, i think the focus on infant/child nutrition at the moment is astounding. yet despite this every second child seems food-phobic, allergic or obese. makes me think we are all over-compensating for something…. i know in my case it is partly guilt for having to leave them in daycare 3 days a week while i work…. means i try to do everything else “perfectly”.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
GG, you’re correct. I personally wouldn’t give my child a bottle over the age of 1, but I did nurse her until she was almost 2. Just my choice. I highly doubt little Suri will have her bottle in high school so we can all leave the parents alone. To each her own and if Katie doesn’t mind her daughter having a bottle we shouldn’t mind.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Seriously, 6-12 months should sum up the whole bottle/sippy cup deal. Whenever I see a kid that is walking around, drinking out of a bottle, I cringe. I see visions of these kids in the future with rotten teeth, overbites, and speech impediments.
It’s one thing to let a kid drink out of a bottle here and there – but every night and every waking moment in public? It’s an oral fixation that parents are cultivating in their own children. It’s just like your kid being dependent on sucking their thumb, biting their nails or smoking on a cigarette.
Honestly, I think a lot of it is lazy parenting, I know I know, passing judgement blah blah blah but it seems that a lot of the time it’s just easier to give the screaming kid a freakin’ sippy cup and be done with it. Of course it’s easier to cave in! Anything worth doing isn’t easy and it takes perseverance…something tired mommies are sometimes running low on…
August 20th, 2008 at 12:01 am
My husband and I took our son off the bottle the day after his first birthday.
I really think taking the bottle from the child is harder for the parent then the child. I think it should be taken sooner rather then later.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:10 am
I forgot to mention we never used a pacifier with our son. He wouldn’t use one.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Life is way to short to worry about other peoples parenting choices. I think we all do what we feel is best for our children and that it is going to be different for every single family. For the amount of pain and sadness we have in this world, if your main trouble is that your 2 year old still has a bottle, consider yourself blessed. Whats right for some people can be completely wrong for others. To each his own, I say. Life is to short to judge one another! Peace, love, and acceptance!
August 20th, 2008 at 7:05 am
to the people saying that they aren’t judging ALL parents that let their kids have bottles after 12 months – just those who really are “lazy”….that makes no sense. how can you possibly know by LOOKING at some child you don’t know (suri, little susie at the park, little bobby at the mall…) what the reason is for them still having a bottle. you don’t know which ones have “lazy” parents, which ones have parents making an informed personal choice, or which ones have toddlers with developmental problems and still need a bottle – just from seeing a toddler with a bottle. so you ARE in fact judging them all.
the comment that said “if you know you aren’t a lazy parent and still give your child a bottle as a toddler, then this doesn’t apply to you and move on” the point is that when YOU are looking at people in public (mall, park, photos etc) you are judging them without knowing ANYTHING about them other than that their toddler has a bottle. that’s ridiculous. i’m sure that if your life were on display 24/7 there would be many many things that could be ripped apart by the (judgmental) general public. how would you feel if people were saying nasty things like that about you and your kids in a public forum? can you really say you wouldn’t care? i can’t believe how mean and judgmental so many women are. we really are cruel to each other.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I think a lot of it is more a question of what is in the bottle. Common one being juice and worst but you do still see it, is fizzy drinks. That is what is making childrens teeth rot. One bottle of milk before bed isn’t going to hurt. Or a bottle of water. I personally wouldn’t let my child walk around with a bottle as a comforter though. Also if for argument’s sake Suri is drinking all that milk (which it is you can see from the pics) then she can’t be very hungry for other food as milk is a food. Then she isn’t getting a very balanced diet. (maybe why she looks so pale)
This isn’t just a problem with Suri though I see it with a few children, they have a huge bottle of milk in the morning then parents wonder why they don’t eat breakfast, then before lunch their hungry so parents give them snacks or possibly more milk, so then they don’t eat their lunch and so it goes on.
At 2 the little boy I nanny for was sitting on a booster seat at the table with a normal cup and a knife and fork and ate what we ate as it should be.
August 20th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Bad parenting is hitting your kids, neglecting your kids, going out every night and leaving your kid with sitters, teaching your kids to swear. I could go on an on. Having your 2 year old toddler still use a bottle is not bad parenting. Sorry people, I think that is a bit harsh. I think good sane parents always do what is best for their children. Most after reading books and asking doctors. Obviously what Katie is doing works for her and Suri.
My daughter never had a bottle as she was exclusively breastfed. She did have a pacifer until she was 3 and gave it up when she was ready and not a minute before. She has perfect teeth now and is a normal happy well adjusted 8 year old. My son had a bottle until he was 3. Mind you after probably 20 months he only had one a day and that was at bed time. My MIL loved to tell me constantly what I was doing was wrong and would wreck his teeth but you know what it worked for me and his teeth are fine (and MIL is now out of the picture lol).
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and you can most certainly think it is not okay for Suri to have a bottle still but calling Katie lazy and a bad parent? I think that is crossing the line a tad. You don’t have to agree with how others parent their children but I think it should be respected that people do things differently. In most cases with rational parents everything they do regarding their children are solely in their best interest.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Yes, people make judgements without knowing everything about the situation. That’s not ridiculous, that’s life. I think I’ve already answered that I move past criticism that doesn’t apply to me. I imagine that every mother, celebrity or otherwise, has had to decide what criticism to take to heart and what to discard.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Terri,
Why wouldn’t you just STOP judging if you don’t know the whole situation, instead of judging anyway and saying “that’s just life” and it doesn’t apply to ME so I don’t care.
that’s some pretty strange logic…
August 20th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
…”you are judging them without knowing ANYTHING about them other than that their toddler has a bottle. that’s ridiculous.”…
I agree, that IS ridiculous! It’s even MORE ridiculous when someone WHO DOESN’T EVEN HAVE KIDS would be the one who’s judging you!!
You need to walk a mile in others shoes before you judge and make comments like “oh, it doesn’t apply to ME so it’s ok.”
August 20th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
sheesh, people, get off your high-horse! i’m sure you never form opinions when you see other moms at the playground. i’m sure you have never commented or stereotyped the moms you see at the mall. we ALL form opinions about people daily. in the words of poster terri–”that’s life”. this thread wasn’t formed to bash katie holmes or any celebrity in particular. it’s an open forum for moms to discuss their opinions. i’ve formed mine and i’m sure you’re forming yours about me as well. i’ll get over it.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:32 am
No, erinbeth, I don’t form opinions of mothers and kids that I don’t know in the mall and park. That’s not being on a high horse, that’s called being a nice person. The case of Suri for instance – If I saw her and Katie at the park and Suri the toddler is doing something out of the norm like drinking a bottle my reaction would be, well, there must be a good reason as to why she’s giving her a bottle. There must be a good reason why she lets her wear 80 dollar dresses to the park… Not, oh my god, she’s a horrible lazy mother who lets her toddler suck on bottles and look at what she’s WEARING! We all need to be a little more empathetic and a lot LESS judgemental. We need to be a little nicer instead of saying, “get over it, it doesn’t apply to me, that’s life.”
August 21st, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Both my girls were weaned off bottles by the age of 12 months. It was really a non-issue since they still got the milk and juice, just in a sippy cup instead. By 3, they were both out of sippy cups and drinking from a regular open-topped cup. I think a lot of celebrity parents are too busy and don’t take enought time to research these things since they have so much help with their children. If they took time to care more about their welfare, they would take the time out of their busy lives and wean their children off the bottles. FOr them it’s too convenient in their life to just shut the child up with a bottle. Us real moms know better!
August 21st, 2008 at 6:13 pm
SH,
I’m sorry, but when did I ever once say that I judge people? I think accusing me of doing things that I never said I do is a pretty strange logic, actually. And speaking of making judgements without knowing the situation, well there you go.
I’m way too liberal and laid-back to care that much about how others live their life or what others think of how I live my life, if you must know. Curious, interested, even nosey (hence my being here), but not enough to get worked up about it like some.
What I said was that this happens everyday and that it’s life. Obviously this is a sensitive subject for some people. It’s not for me. Yes, if criticism doesn’t apply to me I get over it. I’m not about to apologize for that to anybody. And taking my own advice, I’ll move on from this subject. Have a blessed day.
I’m right there with you on that, erinbeth.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I agree with Kelley, bad parenting is abusing your children, not going on about whether the kids are having a bottle too long.
There are monsters out there that do terrible things, i do not think these children are going to be scarred for life because of this.
And yes everyone is entitled to their opinion, but their lives are none of our business.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Go Erin Beth!
I completely agree. As much as our 2 yr old LOVED his paci, we had to slowly wean him off. It’s just innapropriate. Children are attending preschool earlier and earlier these days. Children are expected to be able to drink from cups at school.
Sometimes these “weaning” issues lie more with the moms, than the children.
And yes, this TN mama to 4 boys has successfully ferberized, weaned and potty trained 3 boys, by the age of 2 and a half.*
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:01 am
Terri,
The reason you’re not getting worked up about it is that it doesn’t apply to you.
Talk to me when your liberal laid back self is in the park or the mall some day with your future child who had something wrong with their tongue at birth and can’t drink out of a sipee cup or a cup, only a bottle…Or what if you have an autistic child that has developmental delays and won’t be able to drink from a cup until they’re 5 or 6. I’m sure when there’s some nosey interested people there making comments about you and your child, making assumptions that are wrong (and who don’t even have children) you’re not going to be saying “oh, well, that’s life…happens every day” You probably wouldn’t be so flippant if it IS your life and it DOES happen EVERY DAY. Walk the walk before you talk the talk.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:36 am
Amen, erinbeath. Whether people realize/are mature enough to admit it or not, we all form opinions and judgments about the people we see and meet on a daily basis; to pretend otherwise is being completely disingenuous. What’s most ironic is that the same people who walk saying they love everyone and their choices and everyone else should do the same is being just as judgmental as those they believe to be wrong. Oftentimes, they are worse.
Four more comments:
1) After a certain point, having an “opinion” on this issue is moot. Bottles and pacifiers past a certain age have been proven to hinder childrens’ dental health and speech development. Just as breastmilk is definitively the best nutritional choice for babies barring a medical reason, bottles and pacifiers have proven to be detrimental to childrens’ health. I can talk all I want about how I was only nursed for six weeks and have been healthy as a horse my whole life; true as it is, it doesn’t negate the fact that breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition.
2) Reading several of these extroadinarily defensive comments from mothers of toddlers with bottles, it is very obvious that the weaning of the children has little to nothing to do with the toddlers and everything to do with the mothers who admittedly can’t/don’t want to deal with weaning their children and dealing with the unpleasantries that come with it. In cases like these, you really have to wonder who wears the pants. If you can’t stand up to a knee-high child and do what’s best for them instead of what’s most enjoyable, how do you expect to stand up to those children once they grow into strong-willed teenagers who want to drive, drink, and experiment with all that they do?
3) The argument that the opinions of those who are childless are worthless in conversations such as these never ceases to amuse me. Let’s take that logic a step further. Have any of you saying childless peoples’ opinions are irrelevant ever had an abortion? No? How dare you have an opinion on abortion. Have any of you saying childless peoples’ opinions are irrelevant ever fought in Iraq? No? How dare you have an opinion on the war in Iraq. Are any of you gay? No? How dare you have an opinion on gay rights. How’s that logic working for ya now?
4) On the same note, if people would examine the statement “parents know what’s best for their children before anyone else” before proclaiming it, they would realize how dishonest it can be. Clearly, parents do NOT always know what’s best for their children. Whether they abuse them or overindulge them, every parent screws up at some point. What’s important is acknowledging this fact and working to fix each mistake. Not doing so will only produce more of the same-frustrated parents who refuse to acknowledge they’re doing anything wrong and say “Screw you” to anyone who questions them and their choices. And who’s going to suffer most from that?
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 pm
“What’s most ironic is that the same people who walk saying they love everyone and their choices and everyone else should do the same is being just as judgmental as those they believe to be wrong. Oftentimes, they are worse.”
Lauren, I agree.
SH, I try not to get worked up about criticism, period. Whether it applies to me or not, and most certainly if it doesn’t. And if I am blessed enough to have children you have no idea how I will respond to criticism. There are mothers that have responded on both sides.
I see that you take this issue very seriously. I don’t know if someone has caused you much pain on this issue or another, but I’m sure that if they knew that they did, they would be sorry. You have a good day.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
@Lauren – well said.
May I add that there are many things that we must do as parents that may be difficult for our children at the time. What is safe and acceptable at 6 months may not be alright past the age of 2. Continuing on the bottle past a certain age is bad for teeth and mouth formation. As hard as it is to soothe a crying toddler that misses his bottle, think about soothing a 10 yr old with buckteeth that is getting teased at school. The bottle thing will be forgetten by the child, but the teasing will not. Of course developmental delays are the exception. It’s about doing what’s best for the child in the long run. And if people feel somehow disparaged by these facts being told by strangers, that is usually an indication that they are feeling convicted. It is not about personal parenting choices, but about what has been demonstrated to happen if this habit is permitted.
August 28th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I don’t buy the argument that because there are photogs always around etc., that Suri needs the bottle for comfort. They’ve been there since the day she was born and she is used to it. It’s actually normal for her. There are no devastating mental side effects to taking away a bottle. They get over it in a matter of a day or two…when they get thirty enough they’ll drink from whatever you give them! I took away my kids’ bottles on their first birthdays cold turkey and have no regrets now, ten years later. Tom and Katie need to buy a clue. They can afford it.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I find this all so amusing. Having 2 children, a son that’s 16 years old and a daughter that’s 9 years old. My son was bottle fed, my daughter was breast fed. I find all the comments with regard to gender, bottle, breast, pacifier, no pacifier (I had one of each), what no one seems to acknowledge is that ALL CHILDREN ARE DIFFERENT. That is the only thing that is consistant, their inconsistancy. Lazy parents-yep, poor parenting-possibly, spoiled kids-uh huh, big dental bills-I’m sure the Cruises can afford it. But I find the postings from parents who give a specific time for “weaning” sad. Would you dress your son in your daughter’s dresses or make your “tom-boy” daughter take ballet b/c her sister did. Wow! My son, bottle, til he was 14 months, paci til he was 3, my daughter, nursed til she was 9 months then switched to sippy cup, an occasional bottle of expressed breat milk, gave up paci @ 1 year. BOTH required orthodontics. Let them be different.
August 29th, 2008 at 8:34 am
“with your future child who had something wrong with their tongue at birth and can’t drink out of a sipee cup or a cup, only a bottle…Or what if you have an autistic child that has developmental delays and won’t be able to drink from a cup until they’re 5 or 6.”
My best friends son was born “tongue tied” and he was off a bottle by the age of 18 months – 24 months, he had to have surgery (have the skin clipped underneath his tongue – not sure what it’s called) within the 1st 2 weeks of his life in order to be able to drink from a bottle. I also have 2 cousin’s (their sister’s) that have autistic children (between the 2 of them they have 3 children with autism) and all 3 of them were drinking from a cup at 3 or 4 years old ….. they range from mild, moderate and severe austistic. Now the one that has the severe autism is still drinking from a bottle at night time (as I have stated in a earlier post) but that’s for his comfort – and you can call it lazy parenting if you wish but with autistic children it’s the familiarity to an item not so much the comfort. But they are very much capable of drinking from a cup …. also my best friends niece has Retts syndrom and was drinking from a sippy cup by the age of 2. I’m not claiming to know everything I’m just stating from my personal experience things I know to have happened.
I don’t understand how someone can make the assumption that Suri has autism just by looking at her or the fact that she’s still drinking out of a bottle or carrying around a “blanky”, that doesn’t prove a thing. She could have it but it doesn’t mean that she does.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
My son was off his bottle before his first birthday. I think toddlers toting bottles around look ridiculous, and it really is a parental issue. Attempting to justify wanting to keep your child an infant by allowing them to continue with a bottle (which has been statistically proven to cause various issues, some of which mentioned in original post) is selfish and detrimental to your child’s development. My paraphrase? It’s not about what YOU want, it’s about what’s best for your child…
August 29th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Babies should be breastfed if possible. We all know the wonderful health benefits of it. Bottles shouldn’t be used unless necessary and if used they should be gone by 1 year, but it’s really up to the parents. I breastfed my son for just over a year. He never used a bottle or pacifier at all.
August 30th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
We weaned my oldest off the bottle at 12 months. Cold turkey. We hid the bottles and she did great. Had no problems at all.
August 30th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I have 4 daughters who are grown now and my eldest is now a mother and none of my girls were still on the bottle for more than 11 months. Yes, it does take some planning and work, but no one said motherhood would be easy. These mothers who let their children do as they please are not doing their children any favors. Who is in charge ladies? Do the work for your child and stop being lazy or one of the ridiculous fools who actually state “oh but I want him/her to stay my baby”
August 30th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
bravo Lola, exactly how I feel too.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:27 am
As much as I agree that every child is different, does things at different times, etc, this subject isn’t really about what a parent feels is best for a child, because it is widely agreed that a child being on the bottle or dummy after a certain age is bad for them, and not just a parental practice that some choose and some don’t.
Personally, my daughter was off the bottle before 12 months. I won’t pretend it was easy, but I stuck to my guns with her because I knew I would essentially be doing her a big injustice if I gave in and let her have a bottle, simply for a quiet life, and I do believe that a lot of parents who allow their kids to go on with bottles longer than they should, do so only because they know they’d catch hell from the kids if they took it away. Oh, and my girl never had a dummy either. I actually did purchase some during my pregnancy, but having done research, I knew it was best to keep her away from them!
Sometimes I think the kids who are kept with bottles for a long time are pretty much just the casualties of parents who don’t read up on the things they should. And in the case of Suri and Alabama, I think the parents probably know it’s gone on long enough, but they know they’ll be in for the mother of all tantrums when the day comes to take the bottles away!
August 31st, 2008 at 12:55 pm
RE:Phoebe
Very well stated!
“catch hell from the kids” How insightful. It’s true maybe the new moms actually don’t know any better and that they are truely doing their children an injustice by allowing them to rule the nest. Moms always ask info from other moms about different subjects, sometimes it’s even from a mom we don’t know who just happens to be sitting next to us at the park, dance class, Dr’s office etc.. Maybe Katie Holmes, while living this so called glamorous life is missing out on these types of mom encounters.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:58 pm
when Mom and Dad says it’s time.
September 1st, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Ok I am a registered dental assistant and live in a very diverse community, rich and poor, every race, but you will find a VERY high instance of cavity’s in the hispanic community, due directly to baby bottle tooth decay. If you see children under the age of 6 missing teeth it is NOT normal most likely the teeth have been removed due to baby’s being given milk or anything other then water and put to sleep. Or if you see children with silver teeth it is due to baby bottle tooth decay, the longer your child has a bottle the more likely you will have high dental bills in the future
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:09 am
I believe in taking kids off bottles by 12 months or sooner. I have five kids and all were completely weaned from their bottle by then. I just makes me sick to think some of the celebrities have kept letting their toodlers run around with bottles at this age. Come on Mom’s break that tie!!
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:23 am
My son is 21 months and still takes the bottle, I don’t see him giving it up in the near future. He’s never used a binky but he loves his bottle and I’m fine with it. I’m not worried about it in the least and people who do worry about other’s letting their children take a bottle or a binky really need worry about something a bit more important.
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:10 am
Both my boys went off the bottle when they turned a year old. Neither one wanted to drink whole milk from the bottle, only from a sippy cup. However my oldest had his pacifier until he turned 4. Needless to say I won’t make the same mistake with my little one on that.
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:21 am
My son gave up his bottle @ 12 months old. He just put the bottle down and started drinking from a sippy cup all on his own so I say 12 months is a good time to toss the bottle as thats the same age I took my now 8 year old daughter off the bottle as well.
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:18 am
My pediatrician reccomends weaning off the bottle at around 15-18 months and no more pacifier after the age of 2. My 13 month old daughter is down to two bottles a day (drinks from straw or sippy cups otherwise)and still likes her “paci” at nap and bedtime. I was told that cutting slits in the pacifier is a good way to get them uninterested in sucking on them so I plan to do that close to her second birthday. As parents, lets be honest, giving them a bottle is much easier, as is feeding them babyfood, but at a point they have to self-feed and drink from a big kid cup despite how much mess or the occasional tears it brings. They grow up so fast!
December 5th, 2008 at 1:58 am
During pregnancy, birth and beyond, if not interfered with, nature locks the mother and baby’s biorhythms, heart frequencies, hormonal balances, sleep patterns and a thousand other living systems into reciprocal bonded patterns. The baby provides the precise stimulus for mother to open and develop new capacities, and mother does the same for her baby. Their language is non-verbal; sensation and feeling. Nature assumes this bond will develop and places baby close to the mother’s body and breast for just this reason, and for an extended period of time. Interfering with this close, intimate, skin-to-skin contact prevents a vital exchange of sensory experiences, nutrients and information required for normal and healthy brain development.
The absence of what we call bonding is neglect and abuse. Recently researchers at the McLean Hospital identified four types of permanent brain abnormalities caused by early childhood abuse and neglect. These and many other studies confirm what James W. Prescott, Ph.D., and associates discovered in the 1960’s and 1970’s; that lack of affectionate, intimate contact between mothers and infants during the most sensitive periods of brain growth may result in permanent brain abnormalities associated with juvenal and adult patterns of depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, aggression and violence.
http://ttfuture.org/services/bonding/main.htm
Very, very important information for parents out there!
December 5th, 2008 at 2:02 am
The unlawful abandonment by the NICHD/NIH of its agency responsibility in the late 1970s to:
a) lawfully continue to support basic research on child abuse and neglect that violated specific directives from former DHEW Secretary Caspar Weinberger to the NICHD to accelerate its support of research on the causes and consequences of violence against children;
b) lawfully inform the Congress and the Public of the scientific breakthroughs made in the 1960s and 1970s that failed bonding in the mother-infant/child relationship leads to developmental brain disorders that mediate depression, impulse dyscontrol, drug abuse/addiction, suicide, sexual violence and homicidal violence;
c) lawfully recommend to the DHEW/DHHS, the Congress and The White House the establishment of national health policies and programs that are known to be effective in the prevention of depression, impulse dyscontrol, drug abuse/addiction, suicide, sexual violence and homicidal violence in this nation; and
d) unlawfully continue its suppression of the NICHD/NIH history of significant scientific breakthroughs in the 1960s and 1970s from the Congress and the Public and failure to act upon this acknowledge has led to the epidemics of depression, drug abuse and addiction, sexual violence and suicidal deaths of our young that is now being experienced a generation later. Suicides have doubled in the 5-14 year age group over this past generation and more children and youth (5-24 year age group) have committed suicide over these past ten years than have all American combat deaths in the ten year Vietnam War.
The NICHD/NIH/DHHS have betrayed the children and families of America by withholding vital scientific information from America’s parents of the vital necessity of developing strong affectional somatic bonds between mother and infant/child. This strong somatic intimate affectional bond between mother-infant/child is necessary for normal brain development of their infant/child and is essential for the normal development of emotional-social-sexual behaviors and the prevention of depression, impulse dyscontrol, drug abuse/addiction, massive psychiatric medications of our children and youth, sexual violence, suicidal and homicidal violence.
The most recent appeal to DHHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson (21 June 2001) to correct this historical national tragedy and to implement the necessary national health policies and programs to support mothers being nurturing mothers for the prevention of these national epidemics of depression, substance abuse and violence has been ignored, as has the Clinton-Shalala Administration and prior Administrations before it have ignored. The consequence of the continuation of these failures by the NIH/DHHS to take corrective actions will be the continuation of the epidemics of depression, drug abuse/addictions; massive psychiatric medications of our children and youth, impulse dyscontrol, sexual violence and the violence of suicidal and homicidal deaths that have become so much a part of America. This letter can be seen at: http://www.ttfuture/thompson/lt.html. A more detailed history can be found at: http://www.violence.de/prescott/report/part1.html