What age to stop milk?

[tgm1974]

My son will turn 2 in November and he still has milk in the morning when he wakes and before bed.

Has anyone stopped giving milk to their child around this age as he still drinks it out of a bottle, he does drink water/juice from a regular cup so I dont want him starting to get overly attached to the bottle ... if possible. I tried a few months back putting his milk in another cup holder but he wouldnt touch it.

Should I still give him milk but semi skimmed now or keep with the full fat for a little longer?

[redcrx]

i think full fat is advised up to the age of 5, my 4 year old still drinks it. He also had it in a bottle until he was over 2, then suddenly decided himself to chage to a cup for milk (all water and juice was in cups by then)

[annie0000]

My kids are 9 and 8 now ad they still get milk when they get up and for supper before bed. I think what you are saying is that you want him of the bottle rather than the milk? If so, try him with a cup and get a twisty straw so that he enjoys the novelty - then never go back!!!

As for full fat versus semi skimmed - depends on your child and their diet otherwise. My first was a poor eater until about 4 so he had full fat and sometimes even still follow on milk until that age. My younger son was a very good eater so we moved to semi skimmed earlier as he didn't need the extra fat. nutritionally the milk is the same, but a lot of toddlers and young children need the extra calories that the full fat milk gives them. My son used to eat a full adult size bowl of porridge, together with a banana and a slice of toast for breakfast from the age of about 9 months and kept going with food all day from then - he didn't need full fat milk!

[pericat]

My youngest is now 12 and only drinks milk and water, her diet is good and she is a skinny little thing so she drinks full fat

[caththecrazy]

My 2 year old still has milk in the morning and at night and sometimes during the day as does my 4 year old, but again like pericat they only drink water or milk.

Deoending on what they've eaten during the day or if they aren't too well, depends on how much milk they drink.
Don't know about bottle I put both of mine from breast to a cup so they've never had a bottle and when they were small had water from a spoon or one of those small feeder tube things(sorry I don't know the name)

[upsydaisy]

Hi - I recently stopped my son having his milk from a bottle (he's 34 months - terrible I know , lol) he used to drink LOADS of milk but now barely has any at all. He was suprisingly ok about stopping the bottle (maybe because he understood and I oculd reason with him) but he just will not drink it out of a cup. He's not really eating much more than before so its a bit of a battle to get the calcium in him. I tend to give him full fat milk on his cereal for the calories but semi skimmed (apparently) has higher calcium levels (so my health visitor says) x

[sherrardk]

As long as he is happy you should let him do things at his own pace. All children are different but I think that drinking milk from a bottle at 2 years old is not a problem. My oldest three children all had milk until they decided that they wanted to stop and have juice instead and they all went from bottles to beakers at different ages. My youngest two (18 month old twins) will have a tiny amount of milk from a bottle at bed time yet they will drink milk from a beaker during the day. I think it would be a problem if he was drinking juice out of a bottle as it affects their teeth. Hope this helps.

[tgm1974]

Thanks everyone - I think its just one of those silly questions with being a first time Mum. He eats great with the childminder and picks when he is with me - God knows why - but I was more worried about him still being on a bottle to be honest. I will see what novelty drinking things are out there and see if we can change him over ....

Many thanks

[B00]

I really wouldn't worry about him still having milk from a bottle.

My daughter was well into the age of 3 before she stopped taking a bottle of milk to bed. I think it was more of a comfort thing than actually wanting the milk itself. But I reasoned that as long as she was actually drinking it, and getting the obvious goodness from it that i honestly didn't care what she drank it from.

I think you'll find that your son, like my daughter, will eventually wean himself from bottles and start asking for his nightime drink to be in a cup.

[aims1202]

By 2yrs he is probably already well attached to his bottle. If you want to get rid of the bottle then just keep giving him the milk in a cup, if he wants it he will eventually drink it, if he cries for the bottle you need to stay firm, best to throw bottle away so you cant be tempted to give in. explain to him that the bottles are for the little babies and he is a big boy now. It won;t really matter if he does not drink the milk, just give him dairy products to eat in the day, milk on cereal and he will be fine. I think at this age i just gave my son milk to drink in the evening.I think full fat milk until he is two if he is eating well.

[aims1202]

just read one answer that only juice in a bottle affects teeth but milk does as well, especially if given in a bottle at night