Mothers know that after the age of 1, despite the addition of complementary foods, babies still need to consume a certain amount of breast milk or powdered formula every day in order to develop better. But the vast majority of formula fed babies around Douma still maintain the habit of drinking from a bottle after the age of 1. However, you may not know that this is a parenting misconception! The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Dental Association recommend that you start to stop using bottles when your child is 1 week old, and by 18 months of age, you must stop using bottles altogether. Moms must be wondering why their babies have to quit the bottle before they turn 1 year old? No one else’s babies have quit, and I don’t see anything happening to them! It’s true that there are no obvious disadvantages in the short term if your baby is still using a bottle after the age of 1. But long-term reliance on the bottle will bring many disadvantages to the baby’s growth and psychological development: a. Still using the bottle after one year old will increase the risk of dental caries When drinking milk with a bottle, the teat is exactly in the middle of the baby’s upper and lower incisors and the nipple is on the palate. In this way, the baby is drinking milk at the same time, the oral bacteria are also multiplying rapidly, which will lead to the formation of “bottle caries” in the baby over time. The baby’s incisors will be squeezed when sucking on the pacifier for a long time, which will easily cause deformation of the lips, uneven teeth, asymmetrical face, and the formation of a high palate arch “bottle mouth” and other phenomena. Three, may cause obesity in young children long-term use of bottles, babies will unconsciously increase the amount of milk to drink, resulting in overfeeding. American Albert Einstein College of Medicine research shows that 24 months old still use the bottle of the child, the probability of obesity is 22.9% at the age of 5.5 years, while the incidence of obesity in children who do not use the bottle is only 16.1%. More than half of the babies who are used to drinking milk from a bottle like to sleep with the bottle in their mouths before bedtime, so that the milk flows into their ears along the side of their mouths, which is very likely to induce otitis media. Five, is not conducive to the baby’s psychological growth Sucking is a newborn’s instinct, the invention of the bottle, exactly matching the baby’s natural sucking ability. It can be said that the bottle is the symbol of the baby. If a baby still uses a bottle after the age of one, he or she will still be a little baby in his or her consciousness, which is undoubtedly not conducive to the baby’s psychological growth and independence. After understanding the disadvantages of “overdue” bottle use, it is estimated that most mothers will have this question in their mind: 6. Mothers should not underestimate their babies! As soon as your baby gives the following signals, you can start to gradually let him give up the bottle: the ability to sit alone. Usually after 6 months, your baby will slowly develop the ability to sit alone, so gradually start giving him milk from a cup so he doesn’t “fall over”. Start adding complementary foods. With the gradual addition of complementary foods, the baby’s ability to chew food becomes stronger and stronger, and the cooperation between the lips, teeth and tongue becomes better and better, so the baby is ready to drink milk from a cup. Grasping ability is well developed. When your baby is able to pick up the toys around him/her, pass the toys or food from one hand to the other, and even start to grab the bottle, it means that your baby’s grasping ability is well developed and you can try to give up the bottle. Seven, how to let the baby gradually quit the bottle? What I said before is the theory, mothers must be more interested in knowing how they can help their babies quit the bottle. 1.Find a suitable substitute To make your baby forget about the bottle, the cup must be attractive enough to be the new love. The first cup you choose for your baby must be easy to grip, unbreakable, with a tight-fitting lid, and the color pattern should meet your baby’s “aesthetic needs” so that your baby can be interested in the cup. 2, remember the principle of “noon → morning → evening” In the day, the baby’s dependence on the bottle at night is the largest, followed by the morning, when the bottle for the baby, has been more than a tool to drink milk, but also a soothing object. Therefore, it seems best to give up the bottle to your baby from the noon milk, after a period of time, the morning milk can also try to drink with a cup, and then finally give up the baby’s habit of using the bottle at night. 3, more demonstration, more temptation, not forced Some mothers know that you can not give your baby a bottle for a long time, and then rush in a month or even a week to let your baby develop the habit of drinking milk from a cup, which is a little too eager! Usually, it takes months, or even a year or more, for a baby to completely quit the bottle. In the process of helping your baby to quit the bottle, you must pay attention to the “roundabout tactic” of gradual progress and not to have a positive conflict with your baby. You can be more careful by drinking from a cup in front of your baby and playing the “feed the rag doll with a cup” game with your baby. As long as the mother is determined to give her baby the bottle, slowly guide her baby and give her baby enough time to overdo it, most babies can successfully quit the bottle!