Trying to Get 18 Month Old off Bottle

Unfortunately you may have to just take it away entirely! When he asks for the bottle, tell him they are all gone because big boys don't need bottles. Make a big deal about the fact that he is such a big boy that he only can only use his cup! Show him how his sisters use only cups, and maybe they can help make the super big deal!
Then when he asks again, just tell him again. It may be tough for a couple days, but hopefully he will stop asking! Good luck, I know it will probably be harder for you than for him! :)

Hi T., Pack those bottles away! If he can go all day without one then he doesn't need one from you. Sure he will fuss a bit for a day or even two...but he will forget about them if he doesn't see them and isn't given one. Don't cave in! Best wishes.

I know it's hard, but you just have to go cold turkey. He will scream the first day and whine the second day, but by the third day he won't even remember it. Just make sure to get rid of all of them so he doesn't have them in his sight. It may help you better to not give in if you pack them all up and throw them away or give them to a friend to throw away. Then you won't be tempted to give him one. This is how I got my daughter off the bottle and the pacifier.

What I did was eliminate all bottles except for the before bed O. (snack). Then I just gave him warmed milk in a sippy cup after I told him that the bottles were GONE. This is the way big boys have their "bubby." Don't look back!

At 18 months old, and is off the bottle all day while you're gone? Time to go cold turkey! Just do not give it to him again. Throw them all away. Sure, you'll have a day or two of whining, but that's a control issue. Stand you're ground. You're the parent. You're in charge. No more bottles, period. No comforting, no nothing. If you act like it's not a big deal, the adjustment will go faster. If you coddle the child and have sympathy for him, then it will take even longer. When he's thirsty, and I'm sure he drinks plenty during the day so he won't dehydrate, he'll drink.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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i broke my son from the bottle cold turkey, when he was 14 months so it may have been a little easier. It was 2 night of pure HELL... it was like he was a new born again as far as the type of sleep i got... but he hasn't had one since i stood my ground! :) the next big adventure will be the BINKI!! i can't wait... i do put him to bed with a cup of water tho... which at first he didn't want any part of, but now he kind of needs it and i don't mind because a lot of people like to have their water at bed time.

good luck... such a fun age isn't it!!

Cold turkey is the way to go! If you keep offering it, he will keep taking it! Put them all away, or throw them away altogether. Tell him no more bottles, he is a big boy now! Good luck!

We did this several months ago with my now 17 month old when the dr. said we needed to get rid of the bottle. We went cold turkey since my son could drink from a real but just didn't want to. he fussed foor a few days but drank b/c he was thirsty. the Dr. said don't worry if he doesn't take much in - it won't hurt him nutritionally. So we stopped it on a tues. We had tried sippy cups before but wasn't really into them even though he could drink from them too. On friday night of that week, we had friends come over with their daughter and as soon as he saw her with a sippy cup he went for her sippy cup. At that moment I gave him his (the nuby kind) and since then we have ahad no problems with sippy cups. In fact a few weeks ago after I went out and bought a bunch more of the sippy cups he finally learned how to use a straw cup - go figure. SO that's how we got him off the bottle. Hope this helps you. good luck. feel free to email with any other questions.