Shouldn't a 17 Month Old Be Able to......

[Jenniferdawn]

I have three issues with this...

First, yes, this child should be more than capable of handling his own bottle.

Second, this child shouldn't be using a bottle at this age. I transition all my kids to a cup by 12 months.

Thirdly, I wish people would stop giving kids juice. They don't need it - give kids fruits and veggie! It has way too much sugar - and yes, even 100% pure fruit juice is packed with natural sugars. Milk also contains a fair bit of sugar. And I'm not much of a milk fan either. Most nurtients a child needs can come from FOOD sources... I'd rather a child eat an apple than drink apple juice.

I TOTALLY agree with you on everything!

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

Im just curious how does he eat meals? Do you need to feed him or does he self feed?

He can feed himself perfectly fine.

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

I gave him a cup just to see what he would do, and he cant even open his hands by himself to grasp the darn thing, I had to uncurl his fingers and wrap his hands around it.

Not sure what is going on? He seems fine otherwise.

[Angelwings36]

At least hold his own bottle? Should he even be drinking from a baby bottle anymore?

He just cant do this and it's driving me insane. I dont have the time to sit with him and try to get him to drink from these dang bottles.
They must have a low flow nipple cause it takes hours for him to drink from this bottle.

Am I wrong?

I have tried giving him a sippy cup but he wont even touch it. He just doesnt know how.

Im pretty sure mom just plunks him down on her lap and happily feeds him from a bottle for hours.

NO a 17 month old child should not be on a bottle anymore. I do not allow bottles in my daycare past 12 months of age. Honestly, I would fill a sippy cup and sit it within arms reach of him, when he gets thirsty enough he will drink it.

[renodeb]

Yes, a 17 m/o should be off the bottle totally and holding his own cup. He is probably just used to mom holding it for him. He has probably gotten a bit "soft" from not holding his own cup. Tough situation. Have you talked to mom about the issue?
Deb

[Live and Learn]

I have three issues with this...

First, yes, this child should be more than capable of handling his own bottle.

Second, this child shouldn't be using a bottle at this age. I transition all my kids to a cup by 12 months.

Thirdly, I wish people would stop giving kids juice. They don't need it - give kids fruits and veggie! It has way too much sugar - and yes, even 100% pure fruit juice is packed with natural sugars. Milk also contains a fair bit of sugar. And I'm not much of a milk fan either. Most nurtients a child needs can come from FOOD sources... I'd rather a child eat an apple than drink apple juice.

EXACTLY!

Since he is already drinking juice daily I would put water only in the bottle and the juice and milk in a sippy cup. Once he starts regularly using the sippy with juice I would start watering down the juice until its just straight water. Be prepared for him to be pretty mad for the first few days. Take the bottle away completely after a couple of days.

[saved4always]

He should definitely be able to hold a bottle or cup and drink from them himself. Most children I have watched, including my own 3 kids, stopped getting a bottle when they turned a year old. They had been using sippy cups at meals to "practice" a few months before that.

[itlw8]

I had a child with special needs that refused a sippy cup it was a sensory issue. We found one with a soft top and one day I laid him on my lap and made it drip into his mouth. after that he would drink from it so then we just kept changing moving up to a regular cup.

First thing I would do is make the hole bigger or get a new nipple. then move forward.

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

DCM came to pick him up and he wanted her to to hold his bottle.

She told him NO Im not holding it, you do it. And he did.

But I still agree that he should not be drinking out of a bottle anymore.

I do have a question about the milk and juice though...... do I just dump it?

[Heidi]

DCM came to pick him up and he wanted her to to hold his bottle.

She told him NO Im not holding it, you do it. And he did.

But I still agree that he should not be drinking out of a bottle anymore.

I do have a question about the milk and juice though...... do I just dump it?

You mean if he comes in the door with it?

If it's fresh, you could sit him at the table with some of it in a cup, and dump the rest.

If there is any doubt, I'd dump it.

[queenbee]

I had a child with special needs that refused a sippy cup it was a sensory issue. We found one with a soft top and one day I laid him on my lap and made it drip into his mouth. after that he would drink from it so then we just kept changing moving up to a regular cup.

First thing I would do is make the hole bigger or get a new nipple. then move forward.

I currently have a child with sensory and other medical issues. She is 3 years old next week and she is on a toddler formula in a bottle. She takes a bottle twice a day, once in the morning at 9am and another at 12pm.

I have gotten some crazy looks from parents when they see her drinking from a bottle.

"Isn't she a little too old for a bottle?" is my favorite

I smile and rush them out the door. It is absolutely none of their business.

[littlemissmuffet]

Why does this child come with filled bottles anyways?

I don't allow food, drinks or drink holders from outside the daycare, at all. This pretty much ends any discussion about bottle vs sippy cups (I only have sippy cups here) AND eliminates kids coming in with juice or other drinks.

[littlemommy]

I once had an 18 month old that came with a bottle of warmed milk with rice cereal. I talked to my food program rep about it because he wouldn't eat anything here. She said to make it easy on myself and blame them for not allowing it. She said part of the food program is to teach proper eating techniques, and that drinking from a cup is part of that. I told this to the mom one day and she got upset, but followed direction and didn't bring it. The next day the father thanked me and said he'd been trying to get rid of the bottle for a while.

[countrymom]

ha, I have a mom who can't figure out why her ds won't drink out of a sippy (milk) but then she told me that she puts ice tea (he's 15 months old and I think he is a behind) well, duh lady why do you he would want to drink milk when you put ice tea in the sippy cup.