My 2.5y/o niece still drinks from her bottle about 3times a day, i this normal??

Question

her parents give the bottle to her when she is tired and upset (like a teddy or blanket to most children this age) she does know how to drink from a normal cup now and does, but she still uses a bottle about 3times a day, is this normal? should she be taken off it now? they arent even thinking about taking it off her yet. also she has been accepted into a nursery, but one of the conditions is that she must be potty trained, they havent even started yet really, how long does this process take, she starts nursery in october? thanx

Answer 1

A child should be weaned from the bottle by his/her 1st birthday. Allowing a child to drink from a bottle after that time can result in tooth decay and other problems.  A child should never have a bottle or a sippy cup in bed.  When parents use the bottle to comfort a child instead of only a source of nourishment, the child will become dependent on the bottle. Sometimes a replacement comfort item such as a teddy can help the child through the bottle-weaning phase. Not to mention a lot of extra cuddling and understanding. Most child care centers will not allow a child to have a bottle or a pacifier after they are a year old.  There is no set time limit on potty training or an age to start. Because each child is different, parents need to be able to recognize the signs of toilet training readiness such as: having an interest in the potty, waking up from naps with a dry diaper, and so forth.  My daughter was toilet trained shortly after her 2nd birthday and it took about a week, but some children are not ready until they are closer to 3.  A book I recommend is "American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Toilet Training."  I hope all goes well.

Answer 2

i think they should take her slowly of the bottle 2 a cup

Answer 3

she should not be on a bottle it is not good for her and her teeth will get rotted my daughter was off the bottle about two wks after she turned one and as for potty training good luck to them i mean it is up to the child but if she doesn't even know what a potty is for yet and she is supposed to be trained by Oct i doubt it will happen

Answer 4

2.5 is a little old to have a bottle, and i agree with the other answer it will cause problems with her teeth. they need to just take it and not give in, as for potty training my kids was potty trained at 15 months old and 22 months old, but if they are not interested in going to the potty then it is a hard go.  when the mommy goes she needs to ask if the little girl wants to go to the potty like a big girl, if she is interested don't stop no matter what.  it takes a while to potty train, but if she is interested you can have it done by oct. no problem, just remember when she does go to potty make a big deal out of it and give her lots of praise, this way she will love the attention and want to keep it up.

Answer 5

well my son is 11 months old and i have him off the bottle everything he drinks goes in a sippy cup weather its juice formula or water there are no more bottles. as for potty training i would say 3 is a good age to start

Answer 6

I wouldn't worry about it, since she isn't your child there isn't much you can do.

Answer 7

Every child is different but from what I know she's a little behind the curve thanks to her parents. Pediatricians usually recommend going off of bottles around the first birthday. At 2 1/2 she shouldn't be using a bottle anymore.

Potty training can also take a while and they need to get serious about it now. If she isn't trained by October it'll be tough for the parents trying to scramble at the last minute to figure out what to do.

They need to get it together and stop treating their daughter like a baby. She's growing up and they aren't doing her any favors by giving her bottles and keeping her in diapers.

Answer 8

every parent is different, they seem to think it's fine for her to still have the bottle, i would have had her off by now, way long ago. i just got my son off the bottle completely though just recently so i am controdicting myself i guess. he is 2 yrs and yes he did use sippy cups bottles for bed only though

My daughter was not potty trained until 3 1/2 .  each child is different, my son is interested in the potty but right now it is just a novelty, he may not potty train fully until a year from now. it just depends on the child and they readiness.

you can voice your concerns about the bottle but she is not your child so you really can't demand they take her off. sorry.

Answer 9

No, its time wean her.

Answer 10

a lot of answers are gonna come on here saying its a horrible things, but really, its not the end of the world. Sure, she should be off the bottle by now, but a lot of kids have a hard time letting go. 2 1/2 is pretty young to be potty trained, the average age is 3-4 for most kids.

Answer 11

not normally, they say to break the child of the bottle at one...but, i think all parents shuold move at their kid's pace, not what everyone else says...the worst it could do is give her a cavity.don't sweat it.

and potty training you need to wait until the child is ready and can understand what a potty is and can hold it to get to the potty. (control her urine) people try to make me feel bad because my daughter is 2.5 and not potty trained yet,(granted she's in the process.)it can take months to potty train a child.never listen to granny smith who says" well back in my day children were potty trained by 9 months old!"