Bottles at Nap

[mickyc]

I was wondering what other providers do when it comes to parents wanting their child to have a bottle at nap time.

I have had my daycare for 3 years now and never had any kids that still required a bottle. My daughter never had a bottle in bed either and I weaned her at around 16 months.

I started care for a girl (she is currently 12 months) in Sept. Mom told me to just give her a bottle for nap. This poor girl barely eats because mom feeds her approx. 5 full large bottles a day. They bring 2-3 to my house daily. I only give her 1 at nap. I mentioned to mom that she would only need 1 here but mom continues to send 2-3 here. They feed her a bottle on the way to my house and one on the way home (this is not counting the 2-3 they leave here). I have hinted that she would likely be close to transitioning off but I know mom won't do so easily. I have their oldest daughter and she was on a soother/bottle until 3 years old (I would just pour her milk in a cup here and never told mom I didn't give it to her in her bottle, also I never gave her the soother while she was here either).

I also had a new boy start a month ago. He is 15 months and still takes a bottle to bed as well. His bottle is formula even (not just milk). I also mentioned to his mom that he would likely be ready to transition off soon and she told me no she doesn't think he gets enough nutrition from food yet even though he is a good eater.

What would you do? I feel both kids certainly don't need their bottles during nap but ultimately they are not my kids and the mom's are both not too ready to move off bottles.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I have had a few kids who still took bottles at nap(however, they started when they were 8,10,12 months old!) I never had an issue with it as they all took their bottle themselves and I didn't have to sit and feed it to them. A couple of them would even have their bottle in the highchairs while I cleaned up after lunch and then I would do diaper changes and put them to bed. All 3 also took soothers so that probably helped. I know at home they all sat with mom and got rocked but they didn't here and they were fine. Eventually I just did what you did and dumped it into sippy cups and told the parents. They were fine with this but I think they still continued to get a bottle at home which was fine with me.

I did have a 2.5 year old who still got a bottle at home but at daycare he didn't. Mom sent a bottle for me to use here but I never did use it as he went to bed without it. Mom was shocked and said the only way he would nap at home was if she rocked him with it. I think it was mom who needed it but I didn't say anything lol. He was always the first one fast asleep here!

I would just ask if the parents are okay with them getting their milk in a sippy cup with their lunch and see how nap time goes.

[Crayola kiddies]

I would never give a daycare child a bottle in bed as its a choking hazard .... Huge liability!! Not to mention bottles drip so your play pen is going to stink after awhile and milk that remains in the child's mouth once they go to sleep rots their teeth since its full of sugar. Unless for a medical reason children don't need to be on a bottle after 12 months and once the child is eating four food groups they don't need formula .... The formula is a meal and the child will not eat more real food until the formula is gone. I would tell the parent due to insurance liability reason you cannot give a bottle in bed so they would be really helping the child by not doing it at home.

[playfelt]

Since we usually interview a family at least a couple months before they start care I always just plead ignorance if called out about something later - as in I just assume things (whatever is in my favour). By that even if a parent tells me their 10 month old doesn't use a cup, needs a bottle to fall asleep, etc. I just "assume" when they start that they have progressed to where they should be and don't ask. If I don't ask, parents don't usually tell just assuming I remember from the interview. Milk goes into a cup and they take as much as they can. I will hold for a bottle till they have been with me for a month or so by putting everyone else down and then holding the child to drink then into bed. Mom just assumes one thing, I do what I feel is in the best interest of the child and everyone is happy. Then when mom says 6 months or so down the road they think it is time to introduce a cup you just say oh really I just assume he was already trying to use one at home because he has been on a cup here and not the bottle for 4 months. Just assumed you brought the milk in the bottle out of convenience.

[Fun&care]

I've had issues with milk too...I had one who was having so much ( I think 4-5 bottles per day total) that she always had runny poops and therefore lots of bad diaper rashes. I tried hinting and hinting and finally they cut back to just one at daycare instead of two and it made a huge difference.

I also won't do a bottle at naptime because of it rotting teeth and also because I find kids who fall asleep with a bottle don't sleep as well because when they wake at some point during naptime they need a bottle to go back to sleep again. Same with soothers, when I start out a little one I try to cut this out too from day one.

[mickyc]

Well both of these mom's have told me to feed the bottles in the playpen for nap. Like I said I have mentioned hint hint that it should be time soon to transition out of them. They both were very quick to express their disapproval.

[gravy_train]

Personally, I have never put a child in their bed with a bottle. Yes, it is a choking hazard, it smells and it is also really unhealthy for the child. The child has to learn to fall asleep without eating and that can be a very hard habit to break. It also leads to childhood tooth decay and can cause permanent damage to those little teeth (http://www.cda-adc.ca/en/oral_health...ooth_decay.asp). This is something that I am clear about in the interview process. When I transition a new baby who is still using a bottle I will use it to comfort the child before naptime or if the child is really having a tough time but I do not rock them to sleep with the bottle and I don't use it as part of the naptime routine.
I think you have two options, mickyc: 1) you can just transition the child of the bottle and tell the parents after the fact or 2) you can tell the parents that you feel the child is ready to give up the naptime bottle as there are some serious health risks associated with bottles in the bed. You have to be firm about this and be prepared for them to argue and tell you that it will never work. Tell them it is amazing how well children respond to rules in daycare, etc. etc. I have a little one who is still using a soother at 2.5. I told him he could only use it here at naptime and I recently just told him that he isn't using it here at all anymore. End of story and that was that. He still comes in regularly with it in the mornings though as mom swears that he won't give it up at home :-S.
Also, 5 Little Monkeys - a bottle at 2.5 is ridiculous!!!!

[Crayola kiddies]

Well if you disagree with it then just cut it out yourself.... Or just put water in the bottle then there's no rotting teeth and no smelly playpens. You will have a few days of crying through transitioning but if you stand your ground it wont last long. I also cut out soothers as soon as possible too ... They disgust me.

[gravy_train]

Mickyc - that is tough because you want to maintain a healthy relationship with the moms too, but it is your house and your rules. The bottom line is that it is not safe and not healthy they can't argue that.
Instead of hinting maybe just tell them that this is how it is now and reassure them that their child will learn to sleep without the bottle. You can explain that you let it slide for the first while because you assumed it was a short term solution while the child transitioned to daycare?

[Fun&care]

Well both of these mom's have told me to feed the bottles in the playpen for nap. Like I said I have mentioned hint hint that it should be time soon to transition out of them. They both were very quick to express their disapproval.

They don't get to make that decision. YOU decide when it's time for them to have their bottle. At my daycare in the interview process I tell parents that all the kids have their milk after lunch and while they have their milk we do storytime. And then it's naptime. We have busy schedules and therefore WE decide when it's convenient to do certain things. If the moms don't like it, just use the choking hazard and tooth decay as your excuse and that because of liability you won't do it anymore and they will have to learn to fall asleep without their bottle.