Another difficult aspect of "prying the bottle" from babies at 16 months
of age is the obvious need that many toddlers have - to suck.  I think
that is a large part of the force that is behind why young children need
to nurse for so long, not so much because of the need to consume
breastmilk (although that's good too) but because of the need to be
nurtured through sucking.

For the bottle fed toddler, bottles and paci's are where the sucking
happens.  Take them away for various reasons, and you see thumb/finger
sucking.

All the more reason to support moms in continuing to breastfeed past one
year.

Pam Chaplin-Loebell
Local Breastfeeding Support Coordinator (volunteer)
Philadelphia PA USA

>
> Date:    Sun, 17 Nov 2002 00:20:57 -0000
> From:    Jenny <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: When to Wean from the Bottle?
>
> http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/Art.asp?li=MNI&ArticleKey=21773&page=
> 1
>
> When to Wean from the Bottle?
>
> The Bottom Line: The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends
> that parents try to pry bottles out of their children's mouths once they
> turn 16 months old. Based on new findings, it may be recommended that
> weaning begin in children as young as a year of age.
>
> Our Comment: With breastfeeding there are natural limits to how much milk a
> baby gets, but with a bottle there are no such natural limits. Many lifelong
> health problems, including obesity, begin in childhood. We should not
> overfeed our babies.

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