• Your child needs to stop drinking from a bottle at 12 months of age.
  • If they don’t, they may get tooth decay, ear infections and have low iron.

At 6 months

  1. Let them get used to holding their new cup by playing with it. They can use it as a ‘shaker’ by filling with ice-cubes or as a ‘bucket’ in the bath.
  2. Let them drink from the training cup when they want to.

At 8-9 months

  1. Swap one bottle with the cup (start with a lunch- time feed, as the morning & night time feeds are usually harder to give up).
  2. Start to gradually swap more bottle feeds with a cup.

Over 12 months

Children older than 12 months should have no more than 2 to 3 cups of milk a day.

Ideas to help calm your baby

  • Play soothing music and give extra cuddles.
  • Be a positive role model and drink from your own cup with your child.
  • Heat the water if your child is used to warm drinks.

What about bed-time with a bottle of water?

Water won’t hurt your baby’s teeth.

However, your baby may not learn to sleep without a bottle and they may wake more often with a wet nappy or because they have run out of water. ​

Contact page owner: Centre for Oral Health Strategy