Stopping the Bottle
It's very common for young toddlers to get attached to their bottles. They tend to have bottles with them much of the time, so a bottle means more than just nourishment - it becomes a source of comfort and security.
But it's important for parents to start weaning babies from bottles around the end of the first year and start getting them comfortable drinking from cups. The longer parents wait to start the transition, the more attached kids become to their bottles and the more difficult it can become to break the bottle habit.
Switching from bottle to cup can be challenging, but there are some simple ways to make this change easier for parents and kids.
Timing the Transition
Most doctors recommend introducing a cup around the time a baby is 6 months old. In the beginning, much of what you serve in a cup will end up on the floor or on your baby. But by 12 months of age, most infants have developed the coordination and manual dexterity to hold a cup and drink from it well.
Age 1 is also when doctors recommend switching from formula to cow's milk, so it can be a natural transition to offer milk in a cup rather than a bottle. If you are still breastfeeding, you may want to continue, but avoid the bottle habit altogether by offering milk, diluted juice, or water in a cup.
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Categories: Babies,
Toddlers,
Children,
Tags:
breastfeeding,
toddlers,
weaning,
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