trouble with the beaker

[kitten_uk2]

To follow on from my toddler trouble question, at the moment we are trying to get him off his bottle and onto a beaker, he is 3 in july, i have tried this before and left beakers of every sort around the place, but gave in every night when he would cry for hours before bedtime, so gave him a bottle to sleep on. as he wouldnt touch the beaker, we went back to the bottle, on tuesday i decided it was time to do it again, and i wasnt to give in at bedime, so the last time he had a proper drink would have been about midnight monday, tuesday night was a nightmare he cried for hours and we had little sleep, yestaday he went to his aunties(the one with the advanced child) and when they brought him back they said he had had a little drink from one of the beakers i gave them, but last night was worse than tuesday he cried all night till he fell asleep,, i couldnt comfort him,, he just wanted his bottle. got up this morning and hes not yet touched a beaker yet,,,,,,, so what do i do,,, his nappies arent dry yet but not very wet, i dont know how long to leave this????

[karenfward]

You have several choices, but choose one and stick with it, if you change the rules he will become confused and upset .

1. Persevere! Now you have managed this far you have to let him know that you wont give in. If you do give in, the message he is getting is that if i keep crying and refusing to drink, mummy will give in. You can get extra fluid into his diet by giving ice lollies, milk on cereal, gravy etc.

2.If you are really worried, then give in immediately, put away all the beakers and dont mention them again. Wait until his birthday and buy him a 'big boys' cup with his name on. Tell him that now he is three he isnt allowed to have a bottle anymore (Hide the bottles - or better still throw them away if you can). He will be that bit older and may accept this with no problem if you are really lucky!!

[meltoadhall]

no child will starve himself and he will drink when he is thirsty, try a normal cup instead of a beaker, at nearly 3 he should be able to manage one perfectly well.
throw away all the bottles and dont give in, he shouldnt really need another drink after the one with his evening meal.
our routine was evening meal around 5pm, bath, story and in bed by 6.30pm and that was it until breakfast at 7am.

beakers are not really necessary and if you use a normal cup then you may find he'll want one too.

[kitten_uk2]

so weve gone another day without him touching his beaker, endless crying today so must be getting to him, but did the cereal surgestion(thanx karen) and that calmed him down abit, as for the cup surgestion we tried plasic cups but that didnt help either. another sleepless night, how long will this go on.............. he is very stubborn and used to getting his own way as i give in too easy,, not this time!

[kitten_uk2]

another day gone and no beaker, last time he had a drink was monday night midnight, but had a tiny amount wednesday, has anyone else had problems like this, please help, i dont know what to do.

[B00]

Have you thought of using a cup with a straw? Something along these lines?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bob-Builder-Sipper-Cup -Straw/dp/B000H5V4VM

[kitten_uk2]

he wont use a straw boo, hes sleeping better though now, has a cry before bed but slept thru last night and the night before, he started puting the beaker to his lips and rubbing it against them, but wont suck on it, have been givng him yogarts and cereal to help with thurst. just didnt think it would last this long, health visitor said 3 days.

[kitten_uk2]

i know im babbling on about this, and i dont know if anyone actually reads this, but it will be a week tomorrow since my toddler son has had a drink,, should i give in or what? hes got so mardy,, we went out today as a family and he threw a tantrum because he wouldnt drink out his beaker. this is really taking its toll on me.

[B00]

Awww bless you kitten xxxx

Ok personally? In your position? I'd let him go back to his bottle then. (he has juice right? Not just milk all the time?). No doubt others might tell you to persevere but I don't see why you should when it's having this effect on the entire family.

He'll more than likely wean himself off the bottle when he wants to, especially when he sees other children drinking from cups.

[kitten_uk2]

thanx boo,, he has milk and water in his bottle, he wont drink nothing else. i know i should persever, but i jus cant see this ending. im in 2 minds at the moment, i think weve come this far,and if i give in, when we do this again he will kno mummy gives in. think ill ring the health visitor tomorrow.

[B00]

bless you kitten :-)

Let us know how you get on please?

Gawd love our little 'uns eh? Heh!