One More Way to Get a Child off a Bottle

For quite some time, my wife and I have been introducing new weaning concepts to see if one or two of them would hold. We also did not want to cause a fight when a better option might be available. Our daughter is two years old, and if we could avoid a four-hour scream fest, we would try. Up to this point, even if our daughter ran out of milk in the middle of the night, she would wake up. Not good.

One of the innovative techniques we tried was telling her that when she bites through the last four bottle nipples, she would not get any more. She went four months without breaking through one. Ha-ha! Neither my wife nor I want to be the parents to respond after the last bottle nipple had been bitten through, “Oh, we can’t get you any more because you are old enough not to need any more.” That brings in a correlation that is confusing — breaking something = not needing something. That is item-specific.

We also did not want to say, “Oh, you broke your last bottle nipple, so you can’t get anymore.” As if that was a rule. Rules for kids are meant to be things they have heard, been taught, and can remember. Not dropping in spontaneously, like an airstrike, and flying off, leaving only confusion in its wake. We believe in teaching long-lasting principles.

I have learned that with my little girl, giving her time to process, maybe understand, and to make a choice when it comes to pass is the best option. Even at the supper table, I will note an ending time for supper. She will then begin to eat a little more. I am not someone to leave emotional scars when I can teach decision-making. Not only will she no longer eat, but why would I teach that if she does not eat, dad will turn into the Hulk? That teaches kids to shut down and not talk to their parents. We will not bribe kids either.

We teach obedience. I believe that on-command obedience is a developed skill. I was in the Army Military Police, and I understand the value of listening even before the punctuation is insinuated. A lot of adults cannot even do that today. Plus, we see thousands of videos of children not even being able to stop their .05 MPH ride-in jeep thirty feet before hitting the curb. That level of awareness is present in two-year-olds.

So, how could I use our standards to get our little girl to get off the night bottle?

Dentist

Even when my little girl had some dental work done last week, I used that time to continue thinking about ways to cut that tie between her and the bottle. For the first two nights, we taught her that she needed to heal before she could get her bottles back. She loves pretending to be a doctor, so we would use the optometrist as a doctor for her to listen to. We would tell her that the doctor said it would be a couple more days.

Meanwhile, I got some sippy cups ready with some characters that she likes, like Barbie, Minnie, and mermaids, to give her some fun sippy options. Before bed, I will bring her over to the kitchen and she will pick out two sippy cup lids. This way, I am giving her a warning well in advance that she will not be getting bottles again, without telling her she will not be getting bottles today.

And that is where we are today.

Each time she asks for a bottle, we have her pick out a sippy cup. At first, she had some frustration, don’t get me wrong. But she is the one who settles back down with a book, and will, without being told to, put her sippy on the nightstand. Each time she wants a drink, she will either get it herself or ask, then put it back.

It is looking as though this will be her natural choice now. She cannot see the baby bottles anymore. I put them away. She will periodically ask for them out of muscle memory. But she will bounce into the sippy conversation naturally now.

We have faded the “the doctor said this” phrase now, too. Our little girl is adapting to this new reality very well and better than expected. Who knew that having dental work done would be a time to transition to bottle weaning? I sure didn’t.

What are your bottle-weaning stories? We woud love to read them!

Thank you for reading today! We will see you next time! Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts

© Jessica and Joshua Lyon 2025. All Rights Reserved.
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