Toddlers and Bottle Weaning

By Christina Madison

Bottle drinking weaning becomes more emotional the older your child gets. In fact, when they reach toddler stage, they experience a ton of different and challenging experiences. For instance, they are becoming more verbal, may be starting preschool (or playgroups) and may turn to a bottle as a way to comfort themselves. One key to successful weaning your toddler from her bottle is to replace it with another comfort item and make drinking from a big girl cup fun and exciting.

Toddlers are into the "me" stage and like to have things that belong to them. Create a fun cup that has their name on it in colorful letters. Serve their favorite juice in ONLY their cup, do not give it to them in their bottle anymore, no matter how vocal they are at requesting it that way.

Usually the most emotionally charged bottle time is bedtime. You need to create a special bedtime routine that is not centered on drinking. Start with a quiet game, then bath time, story time, maybe some talking time with favorite dolls, stuffed animals or toys in which you ask them how their day was and then make the toys respond to you. Involve your child in your routine. Tuck your child in bed and tell them (not read) tell them a story about your childhood, or a story about when you were a little girl/little boy. Tell them about your favorite toy, bike etc. Make the bedtime routine a time for sharing and not a time for drinking. Make sure you end up with them in bed, so that when they are sleepy, you can kiss them good night and do what you normally do, nightlight on, etc.

Take special care to involve your toddler in “big boy” or “big girl” activity during the day and night with other object besides the bottle. Use spoons, pretend grownup toys like lawnmowers, golf clubs, mommy toys etc. and make a point of telling them that they are big and it’s a good thing because now they can play with these “big boy” or “big girl” things. Include the cup in these special objects in a casual way. After repeating this process for a while, your toddler will get the idea that the cup is for “big boys and girls” and this is a very important desire in a toddler’s world.

If your toddler has playmates that are drinking from cups or sippy cups it would be a good idea to expose your child to the experience of watching them drink from their cups. Have a party or play date where snacks are served and make a big deal out of some special cups that you have provided for the event.

If you know someone who has a baby and your toddler has been using a cup for some of the snacks and meals have a special time for your toddler to spend some time in the company of the baby when the baby is using a bottle. Make sure your toddler has plenty of time to watch the baby drink from a bottle. When your toddler is at home and you are getting ready to prepare a snack or meal in which your toddler is using his/her cup. Ask your toddler is they remember how the baby drank from the bottle. Say, “bottles are for babies right?” Ask your toddler if they would like to put the bottles into a bag because the bottles are for babies and they are big now. Reach for a plastic bag and say, “why don’t we put all these bottles in this bag and put the bottles away. Have your toddler help you put away all the bottles. Then give them something special to drink in their cup. Praise them for how well they drink out of their cup.