Q&A for How to Stop Bottle Feeding Toddlers

Your first option is to simply throw away all the bottles. Then she will just have to put up with the cup if she wants milk. Your second option is to add something unpleasant tasting to the milk in the bottle, then give her a cup and explain that milk always tastes better in a cup. You will have to put up with some tantrums either way, but if you keep letting her have her way, things will never change.

If the milk smells from the cup, but not from the bottle, consider having her watch you pour it from the bottle into the cup. Some other options are allowing her to choose 2 of her very own cups from perhaps the dollar store or Walmart, so that they will take ownership of the cup situation. Another option would be to try a different brand of milk.

Start by denying some of the requests and offering a sippycup instead. Then when she is not using the bottles as much, dispose of them. Remember to be patient and take small steps at a time.

Give him a blanket and keep it in his bed so he'll never lose it, and hide the tea bottle somewhere he'll never find it.

Substitute the bottle with something else. Maybe he is hungry and just wants to eat some applesauce or mashed potatoes using a spoon. You could try a baby bottle pop, which is candy shaped like the top of a bottle they suck on. Or they can have juices with straws they can suck through, such as Kool-Aid.