2 Year Old Daughter Still Needs Cup at Night!!!!

I have always let my daughter have something to drink at night. She's supposed to only get water- in an non-spill sippy cup, but I have broken down and given her milk several times. She has cavities, but that's from breastfeeding. I think it's pretty common for kids (and even adults) to want something to drink in the middle of the night.

Like some have said water in the cup is ok. I have 4 kids and by the middle of the night they have dry mouths. It upsets my 5 year old but my 7 and 10 know what and how to fix it. I see nothing wrong with a cup. I do limit how much water goes in to it with the 2 and 5 year olds. You are not doing anything wrong...

well my daughter wants a drink at night but she uses a regular cup, & has a toddler bed so i just put water in it & she gets a drink before bed & if she wakes up thirsty i leave it on her dresser...we have a strict rule of water only after 7pm, her bedtime is usually 8pm
...if she still uses a sippy cup will she take just water in it? then you could leave it with her...

I would break her of it now. I know that might seem harsh, but I would have 2 major concerns for the future. First, if you are giving her anything other than water in the middle of the night it just sits on her teeth (and yes milk has lots of sugars in it) that will cause tooth decay and CAVITIES! Second, potty training her will be a nightmare! You have to watch their intake at night or else you might want to start saving money for the fulltime laundry service that you will need! It sounds like she finds her sippy comforting and not like she is dying of thirst. I would start on a Friday night and let her cry...hopefully by Monday it will be a non-issue. I know it is hard, but there are some habits that are much easier to break at two than at 3 or 4.

not to be harsh but do you ever get thirsty in the middle of the night? i dont see the major issue with her having her cup at night...i still bring a bottle of water to bed with me and i'm an adult it might be some type of security for her but be it a blanket or a cup its still what makes her feel safe....i say let her have the cup she wont sleep with it forever

Wow, I am soo glad that I'm not the only one with this issue. My son would rather have his cup of milk than eat! He has to have it at night and at naptime. It just soothes him. I'm sure I could break him of it, but I haven't tried at this point, because I haven't really justified in my own head that it is harming him. If he does get cavities, which he doesn't, they are his baby teeth. They fall out! I always give him mostly water with a little bit of milk anyway, at these times. I may change my mind later, but I am not one to let my child cry and scream until he falls asleep. We let them have blankets or their favorite stuffed animals at bedtime, which could possibly cause a suffocating hazzard, but we do it anyway. Pick your battles. My husband has a cup of water on the nightstand every night when he goes to sleep. We are all individually different and have differences on what soothes us. I say use your mommy instinct and go with it. If anything, just give her water in her cup and be done with it! Hope this helps.

I have four boys home with me,one is 18 yrs old and lives in another state with his dad..he had a cup at nite,and to this day,at the age of 18 has PERFECT TEETH. I let each of them have ONE cup of chocolate milk..and only one,they want more? Sure,but its water. All my kids have perfect teeth. My oldest son is on meds and creates cotton mouth,he keeps the cup next to him at nite...they all do. I dont see a problem..as others have stated,as adults,we keep water bottles on our nitestands:)..i think itll be fine:)

My boys are 4 and 5 and I still give them a sippy cup of milk right before bed (when we're starting story time). I put it in a small sippy cup and put 1/2 water 1/2 milk. They've had this for years so they are used to it. Just plain old water is better, but this is what we do. As for the middle of the night. We waited till they were about 3 and then I just told them 'you get one sippy cup at bedtime and that's it, no more middle of the night sippy'. I told them if they were really thirsty they could have a cup of water, which they never took. It took a few nights of 5-10 minutes of crying or maybe even screaming, but I stuck with it, and since then they've pretty much slept through the night.

I see no problem with a cup of water at bedtime. I always had a glass of water by my bed growing and actually still do. Both my boys get water at night. The only time we've restricted it was when my older son started sleeping without a diaper, but he didn't have accidents with or without the water.

If you are giving her milk in her cup, see if you can switch to water. Otherwise, I personally don't see a problem with it!!

I think as long as it's just water then it shouldn't be a big deal. My son is just over 2 and likes to have his cup of water at night. We've just made sure that he knows after he gets a drink that he puts it back where it goes. Good luck!

It sounds like you have traded a breast/bottle for a cup. So the best way to break of the bottle or cup in this case is cold turkey. I'm sure you will have a major battle on your hands, but if you will start on Friday night and consistently refuse to give it to her for about three or four nights, she should be broke of it. I know this seems harsh, but you are going to have to chose, whether you want to continue to get up in the middle of the night to give her a cup or whether you want to stop it. Unless she is diabetic, there shouldn't be a reason why she actually NEEDs it. In fact she may just be doing it because, with the cup comes Mommy and Mommies attention. Good Luck with the battle. Toddlers wills are made of steel.

my daughter had the same problem when she was about 1 1/2 years old, i broke it and told her it was broken, and she couldnt have it any more, she wasnt happy but after a few minutes of cring she got over it. She asked for it a few times over the next couple of days but then completely forgot about it. May work, but your case could be completely different than mine, good luck.

I wish I could offer you some advice to this one. My 18 month old daughter requires the exact same thing during the night. Funny thing is, I never realized she shouldn't be getting it. When you are in the middle of your sleep and she wakes up we are willing to do just about anything to get her to go back to sleep. So we give her a sippy cup and not even 5 minutes later she is back to sleep. So I am definitely interested in hearing some opinions on this one. My thought behind this is sometimes I wake up thirsty and go to the kitchen for a drink. So why is it any different for her to be thirsty and want a drink? Again, that is only my personal opinion on this subject. Sorry I am of no help to you though. I guess we can learn together on this one.

My first thought was - so? But I guess it does matter what is in the cup. If its water, I say it is doing no harm. However, if its milk or juice (that will rot her teeth) then I would try to change to water, or pick a break when you can take it away. I have a nephew that is just about to be 5, but at 3 1/2 got a mouth full of fillings and caps b/c he took chocolate milk to bed.
Hope it all works out!
M.

I can completely understand what your going through. My son will be 4 next month and my daughter is 2 1/2.

She will not go to bed without her milk. But there are times she is starting to go to bed without anything. So, I am just being patient with her.

Nt son did the same thing around 2 1/2 and by 3 he did not want anything to drink at bedtime and he still doesn't.

So just be patient and before they 3 I am sure they will want a drink less and less.

My friend's daughter is the same way. But her daughter wants milk, not water!! I know there is a chance for cavities but for one they are baby teeth and will fall out eventually anyway and two I think as long as you have her brush in the morning you are good. In order to give her daughter milk, she will freeze a sippy cup that is filled halfway with milk. Then at night she will take the cup out, fill it to almost full with refrigerated milk so that it doesn't go sour. THe frozen milk will thaw with the refrigerated milk so that by the time her daughter wants it at night it's pretty much thawed and has been kept cold enough to not sour. Good luck!!

My daughter will be 4 in December and still sleeps with a cup of water at nap and bedtime. I only give her water, she never expects anything else. Some days she drinks the whole thing, other days she doesn't drink any. I don't see a problem with it. Some people say it isn't good because of night time potty training. I, however, disagree. I think it is more important to make sure my daughter stays hydrated. I get thirsty at night and I keep a cup of water on my night stand. This is essentially the same thing.

If you feel strongly about breaking her just make sure she is drinking plenty of water throughout the day. Maybe that will curb her need for so much at night.