Teaching your kid to drink from a glass is an essential part of kid training. Of course, there have been cases where parents have delayed the switch from the bottle to the glass. If that is the case, these parents are probably not aware that excessive bottle drinking can affect a child’s growth and development.

Here’s what can happen to your kid if the moving on from the bottle to the glass is delayed:

  • Increased chances of weight gain/obesity
  • Possibility of tooth decay
  • Decrease in iron absorption
  • Changes in jaw structure

Let’s take a look at how excessive drinking from the bottle can lead to these unwanted consequences.

 

How bottle drinking affects weight

Leaving kids alone with the bottle when they are sleeping or resting might cause them to consume too much milk or other calorie-containing liquids, which can lead to an accumulation of calories. Many kids can get attached to the bottle till the age of 2 if it isn’t weaned away on time. A few years down the line, some of them can end up becoming obese.

How bottle drinking also affects iron absorption

As mentioned above, your kid might consume excess amounts of liquids if left alone or unsupervised with the bottle. Excess consumption of particular liquids might affect your kid’s health. For example, the type of milk that your kid drinks may affect your child’s health. Cow’s milk, when drunk in excess amounts, can interfere with the absorption of iron in the body. Cow’s milk is pretty low in iron; the body poorly absorbs the iron from cow's milk. It can also affect the absorption of iron from other dietary sources. This may increase the probability of the child getting iron deficiency anemia. Iron is an essential component of the growth and development of a kid and shouldn’t be compromised just because of an attachment to the bottle.

Why using a bottle can decay the teeth

A bottle or sipper may come with an inner straw/nipple/outlet that can affect your kid’s teeth if used for prolonged amounts of time. Also, many a time, your kid can fall asleep with the bottle in their mouth. This can cause the milk to stay in the mouth for extended periods, leading to the formation of cavities in the teeth (especially if your kid’s teeth haven’t been brushed at night).

 

Why using a bottle can affect the smile

Did you know that using a bottle or sipper for extended periods can impact the development of your child’s smile? This may happen due to the effects bottle-drinking may have on your little one’s jaw. Prolonged use of the bottle may affect the positioning and spacing of the milk teeth, which can directly/indirectly impact the development of permanent teeth during the later years.