Dr. Robert Needlman
Specialist in pediatric behavior and development.
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 Ask Dr. Needlman
Weaning Infant from Bottle and Pacifier at the Same Time | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Needlman,
I have a 12-month-old daughter. She is still on the bottle, as well as the pacifier. Everyone tells me that she is too old for such behavior. I give her a cup when she will take one, and that isn't often. She can' t fall asleep without her pacifier. What is an appropriate age to stop cold turkey? What steps should I take if I am not supposed to stop her cold turkey?— First-Time Mom in Jackson, MS | | | ANSWER |
April 10, 2001 | | | Dear First-Time Mom,
It's probably best to make one change at a time. If your daughter is able to drink from a cup some of the time, she is able to do so all of the time. She holds out for the bottle because she likes it better. In my experience, stopping a bottle "cold turkey" is no big deal. A reasonable time to stop would be sometime in the next three months. If you simply get rid of all of the bottles from your home, there will be no more bottles. Almost always, a child is upset for a day or two, then gets over it and moves on. Here's a pitfall to avoid: saying you're taking away the bottles, then giving in because your child cries. If you mean it, do it and don't waver.
The pacifier is a different story. Pacifiers at night are much less of a problem than bottles, because they don't lead to dental cavities as milk bottles do. There is very little harm from a nighttime pacifier, and if you take it away there's a reasonably good chance that your daughter will turn to her thumb. Thumbsucking is not a disaster, either, but it may be more likely to lead to orthodontic problems in the long run (thumbs being bigger than pacifier nipples), and it may be a harder habit to stop. So, I'd leave the pacifier alone. When your daughter is ready to give it up, she will.— by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
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