15 Ways You Can Distract Toddlers from Their Bottle

By Kristi Patrice Carter

As your precious bundle of joy grows older, she will cross many milestones. Some of these will present unique challenges. Being weaned from a bottle is one such milestone that is very challenging to many children. Well, the good news is that it doesn’t have to be frustrating and stressful any longer. In this article, we’ll discuss 15 ways you can distract toddlers from the bottle.

1. You could purchase the Nubie cups. These are sippy cups that have a soft nipple on them similar to a bottle, so you are not just ripping it away from your child expecting her to give it up cold turkey. When using these cups, demonstrate that she will be one step closer to being a big girl when she masters the sippy cup.
2. Be enthusiastic about his drinking from a cup. Give your toddler his new cup and then be overjoyed when he drinks from it. Many children love when they make their parents happy, as their parents are the main figures in their life. After all, they love pleasing you. So, if you’re happy with something your little one is doing then, more likely than not, he will be extremely happy, also, and will want to continue this behavior.
3. Give rewards like hugs, kisses, stickers, etc. This is a great trick for the really stubborn toddler, too. However, when your child knows she is getting something of it, she will more than likely to want to cooperate.
4. Reduce the amount of feedings with the bottle each week until the bottle is completely out of the picture. This is the process of slowly weaning that will allow your child to cope better.
5. Take the bottle away completely, keep it out of sight, and just start giving the sippy cup. As the saying goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.”
6. Get your toddler sippy cups that are theme specific. Many times a child has a favorite cartoon character that they like, and they want everything with that character on it. Finding sippy cups with certain characters on them is not hard to do. If your toddler has something with his favorite character on it, he will be more inclined to want it and forget about the bottle.
   
   
   
   
7. Hold and cuddle your child a lot. This should be done each time your little one requests a bottle. A measure of love is a great distraction and will help keep her mind off of the bottle. Eventually, she will become so absorbed in the affections that she may even forget about the bottle.
8. Give your child a pacifier as a substitute for the bottle. Some children have a strong desire to suck, so, rather than allowing them to have the bottle, use the pacifier. Many children need comfort items, and having them suck on a pacifier helps them deal with the stress of getting rid of the bottle.
9. Give your child milk from other sources such as a cup before the weaning process is even started. Doing this will allow your toddler to wean more smoothly as they will already be familiar with the other source from which to drink.
10. Engage your child in fun activities during the time he’d usually want the bottle. Knowing when to do this would involve your close attention on the child’s behaviors and patterns. When he is doing something fun, he is more likely to want to continue and his interest will be slowly diverted from the bottle to other things.
11. Change your daily routine so that you and your child are doing something else during the times she’d typically want a bottle. If she typically needs a bottle at naptime, rock her to sleep instead.
12. Only allow the bottle at mealtimes. This is to help break the companionship the toddler has with the bottle. Doing this will slowly help them reduce the desire for their bottle. But, if your child associates the bottle with being a toy or comfort object, weaning will be harder. When the child needs comforting, rather than offering the bottle, give them extra attention instead as a substitute for the comfort they need.
13. Gently separate the bottle from his sleeping routine. Let him have one more drink before brushing his teeth, and then tuck him into bed. If he fusses, comfort him in other ways, such as from rocking and singing.
14. Give her other objects to explore, such as some healthy snacks on a plate. This will distract her attention from the bottle.
15. Introduce a “home only” rule. If your child realizes that his bottle does not leave the house, he will get used to not having it.

If you institute at least one of these practices, weaning your child from her bottle can be easy and fun. Remember that each child is an individual and not all of these strategies will work for every child. As the parent, you’ll need to experiment with these suggestions to see which works for your child. However, with a bit of patience and love, your little one will graduate from bottle to cup in no time.