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Bottle Battles

Q: What should do when your toddler prefers to drink from a bottle than eat from a plate?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt’s a tricky question, and one that I talk about a lot in The Food Sense Program, but here’s a quick explanation of WHY some kids prefer a liquid diet… and what you can do about it!

Whenever parents tell me their toddler doesn’t seem to be eating enough, the first thing I ask is how much fluid the child consumes in a 24-hour period. More often than not, liquids are the culprit when it comes to stubborn kids who don’t seem to want to eat.

Toddlers are usually being introduced to new foods on a fairly regular basis, and while some might instantly take to the homemade spaghetti or chicken curry you’ve prepared, picky eaters will be more hesitant.

And for those kinds of children, drinking familiar favorites like milk and juice just feels more comfortable. I know, it’s hard to say no when your child begs for milk… especially if you’re worried she isn’t getting enough calories in a day. But a bottle of milk can make that little tummy feel pretty full, so there’s not much chance she’s going to dive into the spaghetti when she’s done.

One really important thing to remember with picky eaters is that they usually do manage to get everything they need in terms of nutrition, even if it’s not balanced on a daily basis.

For instance, they might ask for cucumbers all day one day and toast and yogurt all day the next.

However, I know it’s easy to panic when your child won’t eat meals, and favoring the bottle is a legitimate problem. Sadly, offering an endless supply of liquids is just making the problem worse. Here’s why:

  1. It’s not helping your child develop healthy eating habits, which are critical to learning good nutrition and developing a love of food
  2. While milk has lots of good nutrients, drinking too much can actually cause deficiencies of other important vitamins and minerals your child would be getting from other food
  3. Too much juice, or even milk, from bottles can cause tooth decay in your child’s developing teeth, especially if they’re taking bottles to bed
  4. Although 100% fruit juice is much healthier that sugary beverages like punch and juice cocktails, it’s actually much healthier to just serve fresh fruit to your child. Even pure, unsweetened juice is still very high in natural sugars.

So what’s a parent to do? Well, it’s actually pretty simply:

Start weaning her off the bottle. A bottle of milk at night can be replaced with a sippy cup of milk at story time. It might take a while for your child to accept that she can’t use a bottle to fall asleep, but within about five days she’ll get used to it. If she does wake at night wanting a bottle you can offer her a sippy cup with water instead.

The same rule applies during the day. If she asks for milk or juice, offer her water. You can give her a small cup of juice or milk after she eats her meals, but not when she’s hungry.

It’s a transition, and it might take a bit of time for your child to get used to, but — like most parenting jobs – the key is to stick with it and be consistent!

Of course, some children are a LOT fussier than others. If you already feel like you’ve “tried everything” to get your child eating a healthy diet, don’t give up! I created “The Food Sense Program” especially for the fussiest of fussy eaters. You can check it out by going to www.kidsfoodcenter.com.

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Dana’s Sleep Blog

Straight talk about sleep, parenting,
babies, toddlers, relationships… and
just about anything else!
My blog is a great place to find opinions, advice, the occasional rant, and some great videos about sleep.

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