When to wean Komarovsky from the bottle. Weaning a two-year-old from a bottle

29.07.2019

In the life of new parents, there comes a time when it is necessary to wean the baby from the bottle. After all, a grown child no longer has enough of those nutrients that are contained in the mixture. This means that more saturated, vitamin-enriched food is required that will satisfy the needs of the baby.

It is necessary to teach the child to eat from a spoon and drink from a cup. But it's hard to do it right away. The baby will begin to act up, cry, demand her bottle. It is important for a mother to know when to start weaning a child from her favorite accessory and how to do it so as not to harm the psyche and health of the child.

There is no specific age at which to start weaning a child from a bottle and teach him to hold a spoon or a cup in his hand. Doctors recommend doing this depending on the individual psychological and physiological abilities of the baby.

For each child, the period of weaning from a favorite accessory comes at a certain time. Mom only needs to identify the moment her baby is ready for a new vital step.

If the baby sits freely, is able to hold a spoon or a mug in his hand, then this is a signal to his mother that he is ready for changes. According to physiology, a child can behave this way by 10-12 months. It is from this age that you should try to select your favorite accessory of infancy.
There is a psychological moment when the baby does not breastfeed, but constantly requires a bottle or dummy. So he calms down, which makes him vulnerable. In this case, it is necessary to select a favorite accessory gradually, offering the child an alternative solution for calming. This most often occurs by 1.5-2 years. However, this does not mean that up to one and a half or two years the baby should eat only a mixture from a bottle. By the age of two, only nighttime sucklings remain.
There are force majeure circumstances when you need to urgently wean from the bottle, without waiting for the baby to be ready. This may be a trip where there is no way to take care of the cleanliness, sterility of the baby's favorite accessory, and there are also no conditions for diluting the mixture.
Some mothers do not consider it necessary to take away the favorite accessory from the baby: the moment will come, the child himself will refuse. This is the simplest solution, but the wrong one. Here the role of public pressure is great. A two-year-old with a bottle in his mouth will not win approval or encouragement from others.

Important!
Parents take away the bottle from the baby, not paying attention to screams, cries, demands. After 2-3 days, the child begins to calm down and gradually forgets about the favorite subject of infancy.

If the parent cannot stand the crying and whims of the baby and immediately returns the bottle, then the child uses this. Weaning such a baby will already be much more difficult and the process can drag on for a long time.

You can not abruptly take away his favorite infant accessory from the baby. The child should calmly, without screaming and crying, endure this important moment in his life. It is forbidden to threaten, shout at the baby, defiantly throw away the bottle or hide and not give it away.
You can not take away the bottle during periods of great family change. The process of parting with an infant accessory should proceed in a calm environment. It is not recommended to do this if the parents divorce, the family moves, or a second child is born.
Do not give your baby a bottle at lunch time. Let him eat from a bowl and drink from a mug. The last to go sucking at night.
You should use a special mug - a non-spill drinker. It is shaped like a bottle. According to the principle of extracting the contents, it resembles a cup. There are many different options for such drinkers on sale: with and without handles, with a “nose” made of plastic or rubber. The effect of the drinker also lies in its bright coloring, which attracts the attention of the baby.
They create all the conditions for the baby to understand that it is necessary to eat from a spoon and drink from a mug. To this end, the mother places the necessary items in the most visible place. You need to choose the dishes for the crumbs carefully. She must attract attention. The main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise the feeding process will turn into a game.
With every desire to drink, the child should be given his mug. After a few days, he himself will recognize his cup and reach for it.
Often, mothers go to the trick. A more pleasant-tasting liquid is poured into a mug, and a tasteless liquid is poured into a bottle so that the baby understands the difference and refuses his favorite accessory himself. Experts are sure that this is not the best option. It is good if the baby consciously refuses the old way of drinking without deception.
When a child himself wants to eat from a plate and drink from a cup, the mother needs to perform a certain ritual. It should be based on the positive and fixing the desire of the baby. The essence of the action should be a calm dialogue with the child.

Mom needs to explain to the little one that he has already grown up, you need to forget about the bottle. You can even give or give it to a smaller child. At the same time, the baby must be praised for agreeing. After such friendly conversations, the baby will feel confident and will soon forget about the bottle.

Important!
In the process of weaning the baby from the favorite subject of infancy, parents should be flexible and keep the reference point in the direction of the baby. If the child does not want to part with his favorite accessory, it is better to leave him alone. You can try picking up a bottle in a couple of weeks.

In fact, young children grow and change very quickly. Perhaps, after a short period of time, the baby will voluntarily refuse.

Solving the bottle problem during the day is much easier than at night. At the age of two, the child's menu is more varied. He sees adults eating from plates and drinking from cups. He himself wants to be like adults, try to hold a mug in his hand, try to eat from a bowl on his own. Therefore, it is easier for the mother to guide the baby, to explain what to eat with a spoon correctly.

More problems arise with feeding at night, when the baby wakes up and requires his bottle. After all, the child is used to the fact that before going to bed he falls asleep with her. In this situation, experts recommend that parents change the way they go to bed.

Let dinner be hearty, then at night you won’t have to feed. All you need is water. Getting used to the new baby takes a few days.
If you give the baby only water at night for a week, then he himself will wean himself from the habit of eating and drinking through a bottle. Subsequently, he will sleep a calm sound sleep.
At night with the baby, it is better to leave some toy that she likes best. With each night awakening, the child will see a favorite object nearby. This will help him calm down and fall asleep faster.
If the baby does not give the bottle before bed, then you need to act differently. You can read fairy tales to the baby, sing lullabies in an undertone, rocking in your arms.

The parent must feel for himself when and how to wean his child from his favorite accessory. After all, each baby is individual, with its own character, sensations.

Video: when and how to wean a baby from a bottle

Babies grow and develop from the first day of life. There comes a time when mommy is determined to wean her baby off the bottle. For some, this comes very easily and quickly, and some puzzle over this issue. Most often, this process is more difficult in children fed with artificial mixtures, and not with breast milk.

When is the best time to start weaning your baby off the bottle?

There is no consensus on when to wean a baby off the bottle. This process is individual and only the mother can determine it. If your child sits confidently, holds a spoon firmly and can drink from a mug on his own, then this is exactly the moment. These factors concern only physiology. Do not forget about the mental state of the baby. When a baby sucks on a pacifier, breast or bottle, he calms down. No need to deprive him of a kind of antidepressant. If the child has found ways to calm down without these attributes, then it is time to wean him off the bottle. And sometimes it happens that weaning becomes urgently necessary, for example, on long trips, when parents cannot ensure the safety of the cleanliness of the bottle, as well as the freshness of the mixture.

Do not wean the child in one day. He needs to be mentally prepared for parting with such a beloved subject. It is best to start doing this during the day. And gradually stop daily use. Instead of a bottle, offer to drink from a cup or drinker. Lure him with a new object of use.
Choose the right moment. The child should be in a good mood, and also something should not bother him.
Cunning. To do this, it is necessary to fairly dilute milk in a bottle with water, after salting it, and pour good milk into a cup.
Move from bottle to sippy. It is easier for a child to give up a bottle in favor of a drinker than in favor of a cup. The bowl functions like a cup.
Get your child interested in adult dishes. Show how and with what mom, dad, grandparents eat and drink. Children really want to grow up faster.
Move your baby's attention away from the bottle and onto something else, such as a soft toy that they can sleep with.
The final stage is a demonstrative farewell to the bottle. It can be given to a small child or given to your favorite animals.

How to wean a child from a bottle - we bring it to the end

If you've made the decision to wean your baby off the bottle, don't give up at the beginning of the journey. The first days will be the hardest. The child will demand to receive his own. The most important thing after a few days is not to succumb to the demands of your baby. If this happens, it will aggravate the situation. Children from an early age understand what manipulation is. Each subsequent time will be more difficult. The main thing in this difficult matter is to act together with all family members.

How to wean a child from a bottle - what inaction can lead to

Some mothers are neutral about this topic. They believe that the child will refuse to suckle the bottle when he sees fit. Such a move could result in:

improper bite and growth of teeth due to prolonged use of the nipple;
speech impairment due to incorrect pronunciation of sounds;
prolonged potty training due to frequent urination.

Weaning a baby off the bottle is a painstaking process. But every mother knows how to approach her baby. One can be presented with a beautiful cup with a cartoon character, and the other can be encouraged to give his thing to someone, the third - to show what an adult he is. Remember, your kid's personality!

Sooner or later, there comes a time when you need to wean your child off the bottle. If the baby was fed breast milk, then the bottle was most likely not used as often as it is done when feeding milk with replacement formulas.

When to wean a baby off the bottle?

The optimal age for weaning is when the baby is already more or less able to sit, eats from a spoon without whims, has learned to drink from a cup. Also, do not forget that bottle feeding can be bad for your baby's teeth. Experts believe that if a child is weaned off the bottle before the age of 2, then in the future he will not have problems with his teeth. Otherwise, the habit may adversely affect the shape of the bite.

And yet, parents should remember that the age for weaning from the bottle for each child is purely individual and you should not be nervous if the child of friends has already lost interest in it, but yours has not yet. Here an important role is played by the physical and psychological development of the baby, as well as the emotional readiness of parents for this unpleasant procedure. For many babies, this process is not easily accompanied by tears, and even tantrums, and not every mother can endure this.

If the child seems ready to refuse the bottle, then simply offer him a cup. When your baby strongly insists on his bottle, postpone the attempt for a few days. If in the future it is not possible to wean the child from the bottle, this means that the baby is simply not ready yet and you should wait.

Here are some tips to make the bottle weaning process easier:

You need to be prepared for the fact that this process will take some time and, of course, moral strength. Do everything step by step. Reduce your bottle usage first. Do not give it to the child as soon as he begins to demand it, try to explain in words why the bottle is no more and that the cup is better.
You can’t deceive a child that something happened to his bottle (thrown away, broken, given away, etc.). This can lead to a very strong tantrum, because for the baby his bottle is a symbol of reliability and tranquility. Deception can give rise to distrust not only in their parents, but also in the world around them.
Try this: food that is given in a bottle is specially made less tasty (salted, diluted with water), but in a cup it is different (more sugar is added). The child - with the help of his mother - will understand that there is no more tasty food in bottles, and everything is now in a cup. This method works in many cases.
Mom should always focus the child's attention on the fact that drinking from a cup is not only tastier, but also more interesting. The cup should not be just big, but also bright in order to attract the attention of the child. You can even put several different cups so that he has the opportunity to choose. From the very beginning, you can use non-spill cups, the modern market allows a huge selection of them.

Remember that the process of separating a baby from a bottle is not easy. Often accompanied by tears, screams and tantrums. And in order for this moment to be as painless as possible for both the child and the mother, you need to remember about an individual approach to each baby.

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If women who feed their babies with milk are thinking about how to wean the baby from the breast, then artificial mothers are looking for answers to the question of how to wean the baby from the bottle. The habits that are associated with the sucking reflex are not easy to overcome.

However, weaning from the bottle at a certain point is still necessary, since artificial mixtures or cereals cannot satisfy the needs of a growing man for vitamins and other useful elements.

Good nutrition, including the use of "adult" food, drinking from a mug and the use of cutlery. But this is in the future, now it is necessary to speed up the separation of the baby from the bottle, and this, let's say right away, is not the easiest process. But doable!

Natural and artificial feeding

Children who are breastfed from the first days of life practically do not become attached to a container with a nipple. Before the introduction of complementary foods, mother's milk for them is both food and drink, and the breast is the first means of calming.

So that the baby does not get used to the bottle, you need to drink it with water or dill water from colic from a spoon, using a syringe without a needle or an infant drinker. Closer to 6 - 8 months, you can already move on to getting to know the cup.

However, for various reasons (for example, lack of breast milk, a serious illness of the mother or her departure), the child still has to be given a bottle with a substitute for a natural product. Also, the use of a container with a pacifier is relevant on the street or during long trips.

Thus, artificial babies are forced from birth to be fed with a bottle. However, suckling itself in infancy is not limited solely to satiation. For children, this is also a special ritual associated with calming, relaxing before falling asleep.

Many babies develop the habit of going to bed with a bottle. Naturally, in such a case, it is not easy for them to get rid of a kind of ritual, since this threatens to leave the formed zone of psychological comfort.

You can often hear the opinion that the child himself will decide when to give up the bottle.

Like, he will grow up, mature, begin to be shy, for example, of his more independent peers. A sound idea, if not for one but.

The desire to refuse a container with a pacifier may occur in a child, for example, only at 3 or 5 years old. And what should parents do, wait for a favorable moment?

In adult children, sucking is no longer a reflex, but a habit, and it is quite convenient. Judge for yourself: at night you can drink water from a bottle, almost without waking up. Why change something?

Thus, if a grown child does not want to part with his “friend” on his own, parents need to intervene in this process. Why is it worth weaning the baby from the bottle? Several arguments:

From the point of view of psychological science, the children's habit of drinking milk or other drinks from a bottle before falling asleep is harmful because it slows down the pace of psychophysical development. That is, babies retain infant skills that hinder the formation of more adult skills.

In addition, not all mothers are psychologically resistant to sympathetic looks, gossip or direct accusations of parental incompetence from people who see a 3-4 year old baby with a bottle. In addition, the baby himself will feel a kind of pressure, which may negatively affect his self-esteem in the future.

When should you wean your baby off the bottle?

It is extremely difficult to name any exact age limits, since each child develops at his own pace, and is attached to the bottle in a special way.

That is why parents should monitor, first of all, the physical readiness of the crumbs to say goodbye to this infantile attribute. It includes several parameters, according to which the baby:

Usually these skills are fully formed by 12 months. The extinction of the sucking reflex should also be taken into account, since in the absence of this adaptive mechanism, the weaning process will go faster. Closer to 2 years, the physiological need for bottle sucking completely disappears.

There are situations when it is necessary to wean a baby from a bottle urgently, without waiting for physical and physiological readiness. For example, if you soon need to go on a trip, during which it will not be possible to sterilize the container and nipple and dilute the mixture.

So, if the child does not want to give up the bottle, you still have to wean him. It is only important to follow certain rules in order to avoid stressful situations and not harm the child's psyche. To do this, choose the right time.

It is best to start weaning from the pacifier container at a time when the baby's life is stable and calm. Stop kicking the habit if:

During these emotional experiences, the bottle allows the baby to calm down. And the rejection of such a “sedative” is fraught with an increase in a stressful situation.

It is believed that summer is the best period for weaning from the bottle. Perhaps such a belief is due to the fact that in the autumn-winter period, immunity decreases, and the refusal of a bottle and, accordingly, stress can provoke a deterioration in the state of the body's defense system.

If the child not only drinks from a bottle, but additionally sucks on a pacifier, the refusal of both devices should be consistent in order to reduce the likely inconvenience and number of children's whims.

First of all, you need to remove the bottle and switch to eating from a plate and mug. At this time, the nipple will be used only for falling asleep quickly, and somewhere after 3-4 weeks, when the baby forgets about the bottle, you can also get rid of the pacifier.

At first, try to go without a bottle during the daytime. Be sure to purchase cutlery for your child, light plastic dishes with bright patterns. Kids really like images of characters from their favorite cartoons or fairy tales.

Offer your child to drink milk, water or juice from a mug or a special drinker (it all depends on age). The last device is a container with a sealed lid and two holders. At the top there is a spout made of silicone, which allows the baby to drink, not suck, and at the same time not pour over.

In the store you can buy a cup of any shape, color and size. These non-spill mugs are also suitable for going outside. You just need to choose a device with a protective cap that protects the spout from dirt and dust. If your child is thirsty and no spill bottle is available, give him a juice bag with a straw.

If the baby is naughty, requires drinking in a bottle, it is worth switching his attention to new cups and plates and offering to repeat after his mother. Pour the milk into mugs or bowls and have breakfast together. Children love to imitate their parents and repeat certain actions after them.

A child at 2 years old can be offered to play a little, pouring juice into mugs and arranging a competition “Who will drink faster”. Naturally, an adult needs to succumb so that the baby comes out as a winner and experiences positive emotions from his winnings.

However, playing tricks should not be overly carried away. Tomorrow, lunch or dinner is not a game, but still a certain procedure, a ritual. Let the child get used to take food seriously from childhood.

Sometimes mothers are a little tricky, pouring diluted or salted milk into a bottle, and tasty milk into an acquired mug. Children, having tried the contents of both containers, prefer the one in which a delicious drink is poured.

How do you wean your baby off the bottle at night?

During the day, kids actively explore the world, so they are ready for new emotions and experiments, including replacing a bottle with a mug or drinking bowl. Another thing is the night period, because the nipple becomes an important part of the ritual of falling asleep and gives the child a sense of security and relaxation.

How to wean a small child to drink at night, if the deprivation of the bottle leads to tears, tantrums and sleep disturbance? It is necessary to choose such techniques that would allow the baby to calm down and relax without the usual pacifier and bottle.

For a one-year-old child, bodily contact is very important, so the mother should sit next to the baby before falling asleep, hold the handle, stroke the tummy, etc. It is also worth changing the ritual of going to bed, eliminating the bottle and introducing reading a fairy tale, singing a lullaby.

If the baby is already two years old, what is it worth trying to negotiate with him. Explain in plain language that grown children should not sleep with a bottle like newborn babies. Just do not shame the baby by calling him a baby doll, etc.

Soft toys also help to wean off the bottle. Buy your child a new teddy bear that will be comfortable and pleasant to hug. You should also walk more before bed, play active games during the day and take relaxing baths in the evening.

What can be expected?

Many moms who have weaned their baby off the bottle have had to deal with tears, whims, demands to return the container of milk or formula, and even tantrums. It is quite possible that everything will go smoothly for you, but you should be mentally prepared for some unpleasant situations.

Do not give up, even if the baby is very sorry. Usually, after a few days, the child gets used to eating and drinking almost like an adult, and does not even remember the bottle. If the parent returns the bottle at the first cry, the baby will understand that tears and tantrums are the right way to achieve what you want.

However, it is worth distinguishing manipulative behavior from real problems. If the child begins to refuse food, cries all the time, it is worth taking him to the doctor. Maybe he just got sick. In this case, the bottle can be returned for several weeks, and then the weaning process can be started again.

Parents will also need imagination. Even the most capricious baby can voluntarily refuse a bottle if this event is correctly presented. For example, offer to give a container with a pacifier to a familiar cat or dog that feeds its offspring. It really works!

The question of how to wean a child from his favorite bottle needs to be addressed individually. Buying a drinker helps someone, buying a teddy bear helps others. Someone weaned from the bottle in a year, and the other in two constantly drags it with him. That is why it is important to focus only on your child and catch the right moment.

Many mothers of infants are wondering how to wean them off the bottle. After all, for babies, the sucking reflex is innate and therefore it can be quite difficult for them to give it up for a long time.

When should a baby be weaned from the bottle?

First of all, it is worth understanding whether the child himself is ready to refuse to drink from a bottle of his favorite mixture, cereal or even water. After all, this ritual, for a child, means not only a way to saturate or quench thirst, but also gives them some calm and satisfaction of a natural reflex. Especially if the baby is bottle-fed and deprived of the mother's breast. Then he, thus, makes up for breastfeeding by sucking on a bottle of formula. Which replaces his delicious mother's milk.

Do not rely on the advice or personal experience of others and acquaintances. All children are individuals and have different needs.

Some of the babies already at 8-9 months of age easily refuse both the bottle and the nipple, while others are ready to give them up only closer to 2 years.

But still, it is not worth delaying over this age with the rejection of the bottle, as well as with separation from the breast. At 1.5-2 years old, any child is already quite capable of doing without bottle feeding. Because at this age, as a rule, children are already accustomed to such adult appliances as a spoon and a plate. And many with great pleasure and curiosity get acquainted with the "adult" food and new dishes.

In addition to age, there are several other signs that indicate the readiness of the crumbs:

the baby already knows or learns with great interest to hold a mug and a spoon in his hand,
the child does not ask for night feedings.

But, regardless of the age of the baby and the signs of growing up, you should not start weaning at the wrong time. Father-in-law, if there is some event related to stress in the child, then it is worthwhile to wait a while with the rejection of the bottle so as not to aggravate the situation. For example, admission to kindergarten, moving, or recent illnesses.

Weaning methods

Be patient, do not wean the child abruptly and at one moment. To begin with, it is worth weaning the child from night feedings and from drinking formula or water at night from a bottle. It sometimes takes 3 to 5 days. On the first night, the baby will certainly be nervous, and demand to provide him with legal bottle food. But, it is worth distracting him with something at this moment. For example, shake your arms and sing a lullaby.

If the child is strongly attached to the ritual of night feeding and is naughty, try to walk more in the evening so that he sleeps better at night. Give your baby a relaxing bath before going to bed, and when you go to bed, give him a soft toy that will be nice to hug at night. This will distract him from thinking about food and allow him to sleep soundly throughout the night.

Be sure to maintain tactile contact to help him calm down and feel secure. Thus, in subsequent nights, he will remember less and less about food at a later time. Pediatricians advise to stop such feedings from 1 year.

Try to replace and alternate bottle feeding with drinking from a cup or sippy cup. Let the baby get used to his new dishes. To interest the baby, give preference to bright colors of mugs. And the drinker should be comfortable, with two handles and a non-spillable lid.
Encourage your baby's interest in mom's dishes. Let's hold the spoon in our hands, even if it's not quite right yet. So the baby will quickly get used to new devices and lose interest in drinking from a bottle.
Let the baby solemnly present his bottle to one of the younger children of his acquaintances. This gift will serve as a symbol of growing up. Be sure to praise your child for their generosity and offer a small gift as a consolation.
Pour diluted or lightly salted milk into a bottle, and normal milk into a mug or cup. So the child will get used to the fact that milk drunk from a mug is much tastier and will refuse a bottle.
A 2-year-old is old enough to need to be explained that big babies don't drink from a bottle like babies do. Children at this age usually like to imitate their parents and older children, so they quickly get used to new devices for drinking and eating.
Get a non-spill mug with a straw inside. Now on sale there are many models of various colors and shapes, with drawings of your favorite cartoon characters or animals. Surely there is something suitable for your child. Drinking from a straw is similar to drinking from a bottle. So it will be easier for the baby to survive parting with the bottle and he will already feel more adult.

Regardless of the method chosen, the main thing is that weaning occurs calmly and, if possible, gradually, so as not to disturb the delicate psyche of the child. Each mother chooses an individual method for weaning and saying goodbye to the bottle for her baby. Sooner or later, the child will still wean from drinking through the nipple. But it’s better not to delay the process after the child’s two years of age. Otherwise, this habit passes into the period of growing up of the child, up to 4-5 years. Similarly, a long-term habit of sucking from a bottle harms the child:

Thus, at the age of two years, the child is already completely ready for weaning from such baby attributes as a nipple and a bottle. At the same time, parents only need to properly prepare and help their daughter or son a little to switch to a new way of drinking and eating from adult dishes.

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