Tips for getting a toddler off the bottle

Some babies' attachment to the bottle is so strong,  weaning will take longer. Why? The comfort milk combined with the comfort action of sucking has become addictive.

Try this:

• Tell your toddler that another baby needs his bottles because this new baby has no teeth to eat food like he does.
• Give a week's warning, and then pack up the bottles, where he can see or help you, and put them in the car (to be taken to the "post office" to be mailed or given to a real baby). 
• Be fair and be firm. "Bottles are for babies. You're not a baby anymore. You can use a cup." If you'd like, tell your toddler that The Bottle Fairy will be picking  up his bottles to give to little babies on a certain date. Pack up the bottles. The Bottle Fairy may leave a thank-you present in place of the bottles.

Adapted from Nurturing with Nutrition by Dr. Melanie Bezarte and Lucille Beseler, RDN