20 Month Old Won't Drink Milk from Cup

I had the same problem with my son. What I ended up doing was waiting a little bit, think about it I drank out of a bottle until I was around 2 1/2 -3. They didn't have sippy cups back then. When he was just over 2 I started by picking the bottle I wanted to eliminate or cut down - the night time one. I started giving him milk in a straw cup (munchin ones are really good) Then I started with his "snack" milk bottle. Once he got good a drinking it out of a straw cup (both water & milk) I did it one bottle at a time. It took 1 month, but now he drinks ALL of this drinks out of a straw cup with no crying over loss of the bottle since I did it gradually. For us the last one to go was the morning bottle. He now happily drinks his milk out of a straw. I recommend starting him with his least important bottle first. Remember to them the bottle is a comfort, so when he used to have his bottles & now has his cup with milk I cuddle him still while he drinks it.

I would try giving him milk with meals at the table in a regular cup, no sippy top. Just at meal or snack times. Also, don't give up on anything new for at least a week. He will test you to see if you mean what you say.

Try different types of cups like soft spout, straw, hard spout etc. Sometimes it takes a while for them to drink. You can also skip the cup altogether and try a regular plastic cup with a straw. My son loved this and I got him sesame street cups with lids and straws to help with spills!

Obviously he enjoys his bottle. What the heck, he won't
go to school with it. Keep offering the sippy cup and
one day he will decide to use it. I say let him have his
bottle. He is still a baby. Just relax and enjoy him.

One idea - hope it works. If you can find some of the cups that are not leak-proof and give it to him when he is sitting down, that might work. My kids wouldn't drink milk from the leak-proof sippy cups because it is thicker and therefore came out very slowly. Once I gave them the cups that had a slit in the top that didn't slow down the liquid, they drank them. Eventually I was able to use the sippy cups that had straws in them but I waited a while for those and tried out a few before we found ones that worked for them.

I hope that helps!

Hi A.,

Sounds like you're doing the right thing. Children can be very strong willed and giving in at this point will certainly send the wrong message. One that will leave a lasting impression. There are many other sources of calcium and milk is not as important as you may think. If he likes it, he'll come around to your way of thinking soon enough. Continue to offer the milk in a cup with a smile and lack of guilt, knowing you're doing him a favor and it's his choice now to take it or leave it. Good luck.

Try a straw in a cup of milk.

try throught a straw

Drinking through a standard straw may do the trick, or flavoring the milk, but only if it's in a cup, not a bottle.

I find that making it a game, like follow the leader, helps. I would say - look at mommy drink! And drink from a cup, or sometimes pretend like I am drinking from his cup. He then tries to do what I am doing.

Drinking in front of a mirror may help. He might get a thrill out of watching himself while he does it.

Try cutting the hole in the nipple a little larger so it won't be as comfortable to suck from it.

A.,

I have much the same problem and have tried all sorts of cups. Have you tried putting a little milk in a regular plastic cup and help him drink from it? I would suggest to keep doing what you are doing but also add other calcium rich foods to his diet like cheeses, yogurt, green leafy vegatables and I think tofu also has a high amount. This way what he is not drinking in the form of milk, he will get in other sources.

If the cold turkey method makes you too nervous, keep the morning bottle and night time bottle only. The rest of the day offer only milk in the cup (sippy or straw sippy) during meals and add in more calcium rich foods to his diet. It's not necessarily the milk he needs but the calcium and vitamin d. I would also suggest, weather permitting, taking him outside in the sunlight for at least 20 minutes a day to get a good daily dose of vitamin d.

The same thing happened with my daughter. Some people may shoot me for saying this, but I added a little nesquik strawberry to the milk and she would drink it out of the sippy no problem.
Good Luck

ahh, I ran into this same problem with my oldest, since I let him use the bottle until probably 18 months.
When I removed the bottle completely from his routine, he refused milk in any drinking cup.... sippy cup, straw cup, regular cup... nothing worked.
Note that he was drinking milk from all of these other cup types up until I took away his last bottle.
A couple of weeks later, I asked him to try the pink milk.. which I lightly flavored with strawberry syrup.
and then I poured it into a cup.
He was fascinated by the color!!!
He drank it and loved it.
He's 2 1/2 now and that is still how he will take his milk... I don't even use that much flavoring, but just enough to sell it to him.
During the transition, I just served a lot of yogurt.

I would try a regular cup, too, if sippy cups aren't working. He is probably coordinated enough to handle it, and since many children nurse until his age and then transition to normal cups, you can consider it skipping a step. :) Has your pediatrician had any suggestions? You could also try only offering him milk with meals, not right when he wakes up. Does he eat enough regular food (including dairy) during the day, or is he drinking too much milk because he is using bottles? Good luck... :)

Dear A., Some children need their bottle longer than others. Who said 20months is too old? There are cultures that nurse their babies until 5years old. If your son still wants a bootle so be it. Keep offering the cup and the day will come when he will accept it. Grandma Mary (mom of 5)

Get the calcium into him in other ways for now, cheese, yogurt,etc. He will get back into milk (cups) when he is ready.

Try a straw cup (but one without a non spill valve, toss and go's are good)
my son was the same but the straw worked as long as it wasn't one will a valve as he found those too slow and frustrating.

A.,
Cow is not the end-all be-all for a baby. pediatricians will tell you it is.

Try water. Avoid juice if you can (if you haven't started the sugar cycle).

Your baby wanted the bottle, not the milk, I'm guessing; a sort of pacifier. Could be wrong, but I don't think so.

Anyway, the bottle becomes an issue when he is 3ish, as does the pacifier.

We are still using bottles, we just intersperse them with cups. My son wanted to be like us and drink from a cup (and never fill the cup with more than you want to clean up :)

Mostly wanted to say: it is not the end of the world if he doesn't have his milk. There are so many hormones in it, it simply is not worth it to drink in the first place unless it is organic.

Any questions, please email, I'm here. We have been learning by the seat of our pants for the past 2+ years. It has not been an entirely happy process, either. Our son is the light and joy of our life, and a happier baby I've not seen. But the information out there is not just enlightening, it's scary.

Good luck,
M.