Many parents will find a problem after their child is two years old: the baby's upper and lower teeth are not bitten, which looks a little deformed, and some even look a little protruding from the side. This is most likely due to the fact that the bottle quit too late.
There has been a lot of controversy over the issue of quitting bottles, some people think that it will go with the flow, and some people think that the sooner the better, is there a standard?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children stop using bottles when they are 1 year old and stop using bottles altogether by 18 months of age. Many doctors in China also recommend that children try to quit the bottle at about one year old, because there will be many harms if they continue to use the bottle for a long time after the age of 1.
1. What are the dangers of quitting bottles at night?
1. Dental and appearance problems
Long-term use of feeding bottles can lead to tooth decay in baby baby teeth, which in turn affects the growth of permanent teeth in the later stage. What's more serious is that long-term sucking on the bottle may make the upper teeth protrude and form buckteeth, which directly affects the baby's appearance.
As babies grow up, if they want to look good, they may need to have orthodontics through some methods, which not only adds an additional financial burden, but also brings unnecessary pain and disruption to the baby.
2. Risk of malnutrition
Long-term use of bottles may make your baby resistant to complementary foods and lead to malnutrition. As the baby ages, his or her body's need for nutrients increases and requires additional essential nutrients through complementary foods. If you can't add complementary food in time, it will affect the baby's growth and development, such as our common iron deficiency anemia.
3. Obesity hidden dangers
In addition to malnutrition, long-term dependence on feeding bottles can also lead to obesity. Because it is possible that the baby is sucking on the bottle not because of hunger, but to meet the psychological need to suck, in this case it is enough to use a pacifier. If parents don't know how to tell the difference, it is likely that overfeeding will cause the baby to become obese.
4. Language barrier
Bottle dependence will affect the baby's normal eating, which is not conducive to the development of chewing and swallowing functions, resulting in the lack of effective exercise of oral muscles, and then affecting the baby's later language development. This can lead to problems such as difficulty pronouncing and slurred speech.
Therefore, parents should pay attention to the baby's bottle use and take timely measures to help the baby quit the bottle.
2. What are the signals for babies to quit feeding bottles?
Many parents may wonder how to know when their baby should wean off the bottle and whether it must be 1 year old?
There was a mother who consulted in the background before, and she said that the baby used to drink milk very well, but recently she was always biting the bottle and unwilling to suck, and she was absent-minded when she drank milk. Because of the poor milk, the baby has also lost weight.
After learning more about the situation, we suggest that the mother can try feeding her baby with a cup instead of a bottle and see how she reacts. Happily, after a period of trying, the baby not only drank milk normally, but also successfully quit the bottle.
Therefore, we have summarized the following 3 tips on when to give your child from the bottle:
When these signals appear, your baby may be ready to wean themselves off the bottle. At this point, parents can try to let the baby use a drinking glass or other drinking utensils. However, it is important to note that each baby's situation may be different. Therefore, parents need to make decisions based on the baby's own situation in actual operation.
3. How to help your baby quit the bottle smoothly
In the process of helping babies wean themselves from bottles, parents need to be patient and persistent. Children may cry because they are not comfortable, but as long as it is not excessive crying, parents must not be soft-hearted.
The first step is to choose the right cup.
The child can try to use the cup from the age of 6 months, because it takes about 6 months for the child to drink various liquids from the cup, so that after 1 year of age, he can quit the bottle.
So after your child starts to add complementary foods, parents can provide a training cup or cup with a straw. The cup is designed to prevent water from leaking when the child tries to hold the cup in various ways or plays with the cup.
The second step is to adjust your diet Xi habits.
To help your baby wean herself off the bottle, you can start by using the bottle less often during the day, then in the evening and early in the morning, and finally at night. If your baby is reluctant to drink a bottle with only plain water at first, you can try to dilute the milk powder and slowly transition until there is only plain water in the bottle after 1-2 weeks.
The adjustment of dietary habits Xi needs to be gradual and avoid one-size-fits-all to avoid adverse psychological effects on the baby.
The third step is to set a good example for parents.
Most babies under the age of 3 are learning Xi by imitation, so parents should set a good example, you can often use the cup in front of the baby to drink, and use language to tell the baby how to use the cup, step by step to teach him.
Through the subtle influence, when the baby is familiar with the water cup, he will naturally learn to use the water cup correctly to drink.
Fourth, establish a bedtime ritual.
Bedtime milk is more difficult to quit, especially some babies are Xi to sleeping. At this time, parents can appropriately advance the time of drinking milk and increase bedtime rituals, such as reading picture books, replacing bedtime milk with water before bedtime, and separating sleep and milk.
Of course, helping your baby wean off the bottle in time is not only good for health, but it also exercises your baby's hand-mouth coordination and prepares them for weaning in advance.
Therefore, parents must remember that when the child is willing to drink water from a cup, you can quit the bottle, when the child quits the bottle, never let them use the bottle, after all, it is not easy to quit a Xi.
Helping children to wean themselves from feeding bottles seems simple, but it is not easy to operate, especially for some children who are extremely dependent on feeding bottles, and parents need to be more patient to help their children transition until they completely quit feeding bottles.