When Should My Child Stop Having A Bottle? (including Tips For ...

During the first 12 months of life, the bottle for some babies provides comfort and positive associations. Looking to stop the use of bottles and moving to a cup can often make parents feel sad and question if it is fair on the child to make them give it up because they seem to love it so much. While it can be hard and there can be an attachment, there are good reasons to look at stopping it once your child is over 12 months.

*It is important to note here that there is no need to wean off breastfeeding by 12 months.

When do they need to stop using a bottle?

The NHSrecommends that over the age of 12 months your baby should be having their drinks from an open or free flow cup without a valve. When you start the weaning process it is advised that at all mealtimes you offer a cup with the meal rather than a bottle.

Why does my child need to stop having a bottle?

There are several reasons that it is advised that a bottle is not used after the age of one, these are:

• It may cause delays in your child’s speech development. Prolonged bottle use can mean that the muscles in the mouth don’t develop in the same way that they do when sipping from a cup which may cause delays with speech development.

• It can be bad for their teeth - Fluids flow slowly through a teat and this can mean that the fluid stays in contact with the teeth for longer. It is advised that only milk (breast or formula) or water is put in bottles as anything else can cause tooth decay in children. However, there are also natural sugars in milk which can stay around the teeth for longer when drunk from a bottle and these can start to cause dental caries if prolonged bottle use continues post 12 months. Please note that over the age of 12 months you should only offer drinks of water in the night in order to protect the teeth.

Open cups or cups without a valve make so much mess, why can’t I use valved or anti-spill cups?

Valved or anti-spill cups are designed primarily to avoid liquids leaking from a cup. Having a cup which has valve can mean that the child has to suck harder using a different positioning of their mouth, meaning that the sip and swallow action is different to how this develops when using an open cup. Valved or anti-spill cups also encourage longer drinking times, which can mean greater effort for more limited hydration.

An open cup is the ideal cup to offer at mealtimes from 6 months (*See some options for these at the end of the blog). The way that a baby will drink from an open cup encourages the baby to sip rather than suck, which is the normal and natural way that we all drink. Another other option is a free flow straw cup, without a valve, which will help your child to develop the correct swallow.

In the early days of using an open cup you may find that your baby will spill water down them, but it is only water and the learning process is one which is going to benefit your little one for years to come - it will be worth the practice sessions now! Remain patient, offer small and age-appropriate cups with a small amount of water in it to start with. The more they have the opportunity to practice, the quicker they will learn how to manage the cup.