The longer you wait to start weaning your child from a bottle to a sippy cup, the more attached your child will be, making it harder to break the habit, according to KidsHealth. You can incorporate the change from bottle to sippy cup into your transition from formula to cow's milk. Knowing how to wean your child will help you eliminate the stress involved in the transition.
Step 1
Increase your child's interest in using a cup by allowing her to play with a sippy cup without any liquid in it.
Step 2
Replace one bottle of whole milk with one sippy cup of whole milk when you want to start weaning your child. Start with a feeding when your child wants only a little milk, according to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in San Francisco. Keep replacing this one bottle for one week.
Step 3
Introduce a sippy cup of whole milk at a new feeding each week until you replace all bottles of whole milk. Replace the nighttime bottle last, because some children require something to suck on to relax. Once your child is old enough to drink whole milk, he does not need a bottle or cup of milk as he falls asleep, according to HealthyChildren.org.
Tips and Warnings
- Start offering drinks from a sippy cup once your child reaches about 6 months of age. Your child will be ready to drink from a sippy cup when he can sit up without support, can eat from a spoon, shows interest in eating solid foods and has an established routine for mealtime, according to UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco. Praise your child each time she drinks form a sippy cup. Emphasizing that "big kids" drink from sippy cups can also help encourage the transition. Put bottles in a place where your child cannot see them to reduce the temptation for wanting a bottle. Wean your child from the bottle by the age of 1 year, while your child wants to please you and has a shorter memory. If your child refuses to drink from a cup, KidsHealth recommends you begin diluting the milk in his bottle. Start with half whole milk, half water. After a few days, gradually increase the amount of water in the bottle and decrease the amount of milk until the bottle holds only water. Usually the child will ask for the sippy cup of milk rather than the bottle of water.
- Do not give a child under 12 months of age cow's milk. Prolonged bottle drinking may damage your baby's teeth and lead to nutrient deficiencies. A baby who totes a cup around the house drinks more, causing cavities to form and decreasing your baby's want for solid foods, according to the Michigan State University College of Nursing.
