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Social Story for Giving Up the Bottle
For many toddlers the bottle is not really about milk. It is about comfort, especially at bedtime, which is why letting it go can be harder than it looks. A social story helps by telling them what will change, that the bottle is going away and a cup is coming instead, and what will stay exactly the same: the cuddle, the story and the song.
The story below goes through the change in order. Read it a few times before the bottles go, and keep the rest of the bedtime routine the same, so the cup is the only new thing.
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What will happen, in order
- Bottles are for babies
- I am getting big
- I choose a special cup
- Milk in my cup at bedtime
- Cuddles stay the same
Read the steps together in the daytime, more than once. The free printable below has these steps at the top and the bedtime story underneath.
Mia’s Big Girl Cup
A free story to read aloud tonight
Mia had a bottle every night before bed. Warm milk, in her yellow bottle, while Daddy rocked her in the big chair. It was her favorite part of the day.
One morning, Daddy said, “Mia, you’re getting so big. You can walk and run and jump and say so many words. Bottles are for babies. I think it’s time for a big girl cup.”
They went to the store together, and Mia chose her cup herself. It was purple, with a rabbit on the side and a lid with a little spout. She held it all the way home in the car.
That night, the yellow bottle had gone away to help a baby who needed it. Daddy filled the purple rabbit cup with warm milk, and they sat in the big chair, the same as always. Mia sipped. The milk was warm. The chair rocked. Daddy sang the moon song.
Mia missed her bottle a little bit. She said so. “I know,” said Daddy. “It’s okay to miss it. But look, the milk is the same, the chair is the same, and the cuddle is the same. Only the cup is new.”
Mia finished her milk and put the purple cup on the table, right where she could see the rabbit. Then Daddy carried her to bed, and tucked her in, and kissed her forehead, the same as always. And Mia fell asleep, a big girl with a big girl cup.
Read it a few nights running rather than on the morning of. Familiarity is the part that works. The aim is that by the day itself, none of it is new.
When should a toddler stop using a bottle?
Many pediatricians suggest moving from bottles to cups around the first birthday or soon after, and the longer a bottle is used, especially at bedtime, the harder it can be to stop. Your pediatrician can give advice for your child.
How do I take away the bedtime bottle?
Many families start by dropping the daytime bottles first and the bedtime one last, offering milk in a cup during the same cuddle and routine. Letting your child choose a special cup can help. Expect a few unsettled nights, and keep everything else about bedtime the same.