How to wean a child from a bottle, and why and when to do it

1. Children's world through the eyes of psychologists
2. Wean from the bottle: why?
3. Wean from the bottle: when?
4. Wean from the bottle: how?

Having weaned a child, almost every mother sighs with relief - after all, there are not only the months of the closest relationship with the baby who is so sorry to lose, but also the pain accompanying the feeding, cracks and mountains of clothes leaked from the milk. Breast again begins to be associated with femininity and pleasure.

Well, what about the baby? The sucking reflex, which for some time had identified with his most beloved and interesting occupation, now finds application only in nipples and bottles, fulfilling, in the adult's opinion, a purely utilitarian role. But the baby, remembering that eating brings peace and satisfaction, and the nipple gives you a deep sleep, more and more strengthens the importance of these items in your mind. It is not surprising that when the time comes to part with infantile habits, the child does not truly understand why he needs all these cups, cups and glasses. Yes, perhaps he would be interested to try to drink from them once or twice, but afterwards he will invariably return to the bottle. And at this moment adults grab their heads.

Children's world through the eyes of psychologists

At first glance, child psychologists recommend continuous unnecessary complexity. Well, for example, a child who grew up exclusively breastfed, according to their recommendations, it is advisable not to embarrass him at all with his acquaintance with a bottle. It is better to start training for a spill-thirst or, if it is too small, purchase a bowl with a straw. What does it mean?

Children quickly form affection, especially if its subject matter is associated with certain rituals that are enjoyable or simply often repeated. As soon as the baby remembers that he drinks from a bottle before bedtime, and drinks in such a way that it resembles breast sucking, such food intake will be fixed in the children's mind as a definite necessary action. Often, drinking from a bottle seems to parents a short stage between breastfeeding and the beginning of drinking from a mug, but sometimes they do not even realize how great the power of the habit is in babies. Almost every object, periodically acquired by them, becomes an important and integral part of life (after all, for the time being, there are not many such objects), so it is only natural that the little man does not want his world to collapse in any aspect.

It is also important to remember that, up to a certain age, sucking is just like the baby as a process. Mothers should be familiar with cases when a child wakes up not to drink or get a portion of the mixture, namely, to suck the bottle (that is why the problem of how to wean the child from the bottle at night is much more serious than simply not wanting to get acquainted with the circles). Oral dependence can appear not only from the bottle, but also from the nipple, as well as from any other object that the baby considers to be a suitable substitute, and it’s good if these are his own fingers.

This kind of stimulation is an important stage in the development of the child’s psyche, so if he is already mentally attached to the bottle, you should not drastically deprive him of this part of life - this may entail problems not only in the present, but also in the future.

Wean from the bottle: why?

There is an opinion that when a child grows up - he will feel when it is time to unlearn, stop being interested in a bottle, he is shy in the end. But the child may feel the desire to quit for years, for example, by the age of five. Why should he give up the convenient and familiar way of drinking for no apparent reason? And how pleasant it is to drink from a bottle in the middle of the night - no need to sit down or stand up, drink something, almost without waking up. Why is it necessary to wean the bottle?

• problems with teeth. Regarding the potential harm of bottle feeding for bite, discussions are constantly underway: someone asserts that sucking after one and a half years spoils the bite, and someone cites the example of a child with perfect teeth who weaned a bottle of six years. Someone barely grown teeth are damaged by caries, despite the fact that the child did not drink from the bottle at all, and someone says that the nipples simply should be sterilized more often. The same controversy is the effect of the bottle on the baby's speech. In any case, it makes sense to think - are there any possible problems with the teeth and the pronunciation of a couple of sleepless nights?
• problems with potty training and restless sleep. At night, the child often drinks a lot more than necessary, trying to satisfy not the thirst, but the need for sucking. As a result, it is often written at night, and parents, of course, are much more comfortable with changing diapers than putting the baby on the pot several times a night.

How to teach a child to go to the pot? Learn more from our article .

Wean from the bottle: when?

The age of weaning can be different, depending on the willingness to give up the bottle of the child. Pediatricians are advised to do this when the sucking reflex fades away - on average, by the age of two, if the baby does not attempt to quit himself (and if he quits earlier than expected - in no case force him to become old again). The fact is that after a certain age, sucking gives the child pleasure and calms only because the habit has been formed when it really was. If it is noticeable that the child has ceased to show zeal for sucking - this will be the very moment when it is time to begin to unlearn.

Wean from the bottle: how?

Some children refuse the bottle themselves, simply losing interest or being ashamed of their habits in the team. What do those parents whose children are stubborn? Show ingenuity!

• Some mothers come up with a whole fairy tale for a baby about a bottle, which is time to go somewhere on business (most often to another younger child), and this care may be accompanied by certain rituals: leaving the bottle in a certain place, sending it “by mail”, giving to someone or simply throwing away;
• if a child cannot accept the fact that he no longer needs a bottle, many parents hide it themselves or throw it away and put the child in front of a fait accompli - Babai took it away. Or a dog ate. Or just lost. Sometimes such a loss of a bottle is accompanied by the giving of a gift to a child, which serves both to compensate for the lost and a diversion;
• sometimes the bottle is lost or forgotten somewhere by the child. This is also a great reason not to acquire a new one, but to allow the baby to accept the loss and no longer return to sucking;
• Some methods are associated with deliberate spoilage of children's property: for example, some mothers replace the contents with something tasteless (salt the mixture), and then offer the child to drink the mixture (especially sweetened) from the drinker. This method does not always work, especially if the baby is capricious and demanding. Another option is to cut or ruin the nipple on the bottle to drink was uncomfortable, or wait for the child to chew on it himself, and when asked to change his wrist;
• Another weaning option is related to the case, not cunning: if the baby is sick and because of the cold, it is difficult for him to suck the bottle, you can just stop offering him this way of drinking. Likewise, you can do with a child who has painful teeth, or stomatitis;
• How to wean a child from the bottle in 2 years and older? Encourage his desire to emulate those who like it. You can buy a beautiful and comfortable baby with a spout and say that all princesses must drink from this. You can buy a boy, for example, a red drinker, and your dad a red mug and strongly emphasize their similarity.

It must be borne in mind that a compromise like permission to drink from a bottle only at night will also not affect the rate of weaning, it will only add difficulties.

In this process, which usually takes only a few days, the child is in a stressful situation, so you need to treat him more carefully and tenderly than usual. But parents in no case can not go on about, even if the tears of the baby are very touched. The main point of how to wean the child from the bottle, is that, once refused, you must hold your position. You can not give to feel that you can push and force thereby return the bottle. This age (2-3 years) is the same when the child checks how far adults will allow him to go. That is why in such an important matter it is necessary to show firmness of spirit, so that the baby feels that manipulation is not the best way to get what he wants.