Bottle to Bed?

[lunademiel]

How many of you let your DCK's go to bed with a bottle? I have it in my policies that I don't allow. All parents get a hand out "how to prepare your child for daycare". It asks to wean children from the bottle before starting and it states the health and safety concerns of why I don't allow it.

I have a new parent who is unwilling to wean the child from the bottle in bed before they start with me. Should I let it go and just allow it? It almost feels like a power struggle more then the actual issue.

Thanks in advance!

[mamaof4]

can you do a bottle of water? there are less dental issues with that.

[Momof4]

I don't mind putting children to bed for their nap with their bottle. I find whether they fall asleep with it still in their mouths or roll over and go to sleep and toss it aside done or not there isn't a problem. Can I ask why you think it is a safety concern please? Because I honestly can't think of a reason it should be a worry. I always want to improve and learn.

[jec]

I've had 2 children in my care that had a bottle of formula going to nap. I don't have a problem with it as the parents requested me to give it to them. I always took it out once they were done so if there was any left over then it wouldn't get all over the place.
Juice I would be concerned about due to being bad for their teeth

[Momof4]

I was thinking along the same lines as jec, because I'm always close by and know when the child is finished the bottle. I agree about the tooth decay concern.

[lunademiel]

Bottle-feeding in bed is not recommended for the following reasons:

• Choking risks: babies who fall asleep while drinking a bottle of breastmilk or formula milk can draw liquid into their lungs. They might then choke on it or inhale it. This is like what happens to grown-ups when they have something ‘go down the wrong way’. It’s more dangerous for your baby than it is for you, because your baby isn’t as good at waking up if something interferes with breathing. Although it’s more likely that your baby will cough and be uncomfortable, you might want to avoid the risk altogether.

• Sleep associations: if babies get used to having a bottle-feed every time they fall asleep, they might develop an association between the bottle and sleep. They might then find it hard to fall asleep without a bottle.

• Risk of tooth decay: milk is quite high in sugar. Soaking your baby’s teeth in it overnight or during naps can cause tooth decay.

• Risk of ear infections: when a baby drinks lying down, milk can flow through to the ear cavity, which can cause ear infections.

Actually most centers do not allow it

[lilac]

Bacteria in the mouth metobolizes foods left on the teeth (not only juice but also formula) and produces acids as a bi-product which is what causes the decay

[Play and Learn]

Milk is bad as well. It causes tooth decay.

Here's a link to read: http://www.babycenter.ca/baby/sleep/settlewithmilk/

[Momof4]

Ah, thanks luna. It's absolutely true about the ear infections. I have one little boy who was plagued by nonstop ear infections at about 1 year of age and the doctor recommended giving him his bottles in a semi-sitting position before putting him to bed so his parents and I both did that. The parents decided to wean him off bottles at about 14 months of age so we both worked hard at getting him onto the sippy cups at his meals and it worked well.

The sleep association also makes sense and my 15 month old boy has just been weaned off his bottle last weekend and he whined a bit at naptime this week but fell asleep just fine without his bottles so it doesn't have to be such a big deal.

I also agree about the tooth decay, but the choking danger is probably more serious for tiny babies, but that's just common sense.

I guess I am a very diligent daycare provider because I'm right here watching the children fall asleep and checking their breathing if they sleep longer than usual, patting their cheek to make sure they have a reaction and so forth. Every time there is some kind of recall on a product I get so mad because I think it's always common sense and it applies here.

[lunademiel]

Milk is bad as well. It causes tooth decay.

Here's a link to read: http://www.babycenter.ca/baby/sleep/settlewithmilk/

So does that mean you do not put children to bed with a bottle? Do you have a policy for this?