Weaning your Child Away from the Bottle

 As your baby starts to eat solid foods, it’s time to start thinking about your plan to wean from the bottle to a cup. Why change to a cup now? Your child needs to eat a lot of different foods to grow. If he fills up on drinks from a bottle, he will not eat enough of the other good foods. He could have other problems from using a bottle too long: tooth decay, anemia, too much weight gain, or ear infections.
Help your child change to the cup by trying these steps:
• Start teaching your child to use a cup at around six months. Try a small plastic cup. A cup with a lid is not as messy. It should have a hard spout. Some children like cups with handles.
• Help your child learn to take sips of water, breastmilk or formula from the cup. Give her lots of practice. Learning take time! Try not to worry about spills.
• At around nine or 10 months, start cutting down on the number of bottles your child gets each day. Use the cup instead.
• Give your child healthy snacks between meals instead of a bottle. Give a little water, breastmilk or milk in a cup with snacks.
Some parents say that the bedtime bottle is the hardest one to give up. Try to offer your child a cup with water and a snack before bed instead of a bottle. Brush teeth after the snack. If you have to put him to bed with a bottle, put plain water in it. Try other ways to comfort your child instead of a bottle. Give your child a favorite blanket or toy to sleep with, offer a clean pacifier, read a story, sing or play music, rub his back, or hold or rock him.
You can help your child grow well, be healthy, and have strong teeth. Help your child change from the bottle to the cup!
Joy Ahrens is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for the WIC Nutrition Program. This program offers nutrition education, breastfeeding support, checks for healthy foods, and referrals to qualifying pregnant and postpartum women, infants and children under five years of age. To see if you qualify for the WIC Program, call 818-361-7541.