Lynne Stacey, a mother of two boys from New Palestine, Ind., never knew how picky her youngest son would be as she weans him from a bottle to a cup. Now she knows firsthand how color coordinated her toddler can be. "It's funny, my son Colin requests the blue bottle, not the purple or clear ones," she says. "He even gets out the nipple and ring from the drawer while I pour the milk."

Stacey notes that persistence and consistency between caregivers plays a major role when breaking toddlers of the bottle-feeding habit. "I think timing is everything and also that both parents are in on the plan," she says. "One can't give the child a bottle while the other is trying to wean him off of it. I know sometimes it's easier to just give in though when you're tired and just want the kid happy. But persistence is key."

Starting the Process
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) agrees that parents should remain firm when weaning toddlers from bottle to cup, which is often achieved in stages with patience. The AAP suggests beginning the process by replacing a sippy cup for bottle or breast at the midday feeding and progressing into morning feedings. Save weaning at bedtime feedings for last, as it is typically the most difficult time of day for toddlers to switch from the bottle.

According to the AAP, bottles become customary for babies as a source of nightly comfort – a hard habit to break when they are just learning to walk, talk and eat solid foods by themselves.

"The evening or when your child is sick is usually the hardest time to wean your child from the bottle," says Amie Broughton, a stay-at-home mom of two small children from Batavia, Ohio. Broughton says it's difficult not to do what you can as a mother to put your children at ease when they aren't feeling well. "When they get sick, it's hard, especially if they are crying a lot," she says.

Although many pediatric professionals recommend that children should not use a bottle after the age of 1, parents should not feel discouraged if their kids aren't weaned as soon as they blow out that first birthday candle. The AAP says that it may take up to six months from starting the weaning process before a baby fully uses a cup to drink liquids.

"When my daughter was in daycare, we could not even bring a bottle through the door after she was 12 months," says Broughton, who has a 2-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son. "It was difficult for daycare to put her down for a nap because she was used to having a bottle."

In order to effectively wean her kids, Broughton has utilized a "hands on" method that makes her children feel as if they have made the decision to stop drinking from a bottle. "What I tell them to do is literally throw away their bottle in the trash," she says. "Then they know they are throwing the bottle away forever and they don't need it any more."

The Security Bottle
The AAP says a major disadvantage of bottle use past the age of 1 is the issue of the bottle becoming a security object. The AAP suggests restricting bottle use to feedings, when a child is sitting down or when a parent is holding the toddler. Do not permit toddlers to carry or drink from a bottle during playtime – instead, provide them with a sippy cup featuring two handles and a snap-on lid with a spout to minimize spills.

"Weaning was easier for me with my first son, Ethan," Stacey says. "He just wasn't as attached to things as Colin. The only 'security' Ethan had was his Matchbox cars. As long as he had those in his hands he didn't care what I took away from him."

Health Issues
According to the AAP, there are also several health-related drawbacks to allowing a child to drink from a bottle after 12 months. Babies can develop a condition called baby bottle tooth decay, in which incoming teeth become susceptible to deterioration, as milk or juice remains around a baby's teeth during a nap or during the night. Also referred to as early childhood caries (cavities) by the American Dental Association (ADA), this condition is preventable.

The ADA notes that babies' teeth may decay when they first appear, as early as 6 months, so parents should never allow a child to fall asleep with a bottle containing milk, formula, fruit juice or sweetened liquids such as sugar water and soft drinks.

Not only are dental conditions considered red flags to prolonged bottle feedings, but ear infections are of major concern to health professionals as well. The AAP warns against allowing older babies to drink from bottles while lying flat on their backs, as this habit can cause middle-ear infections. According to AAP reports, liquid may actually flow through the eustachian tube into the middle ear.

Modern science has also uncovered links between childhood asthma and bottle feedings in the crib before bedtime. Within the last few years, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Boston, Mass., have found that the risk of persistent wheezing and asthma later in childhood can be raised significantly, by up to 50 percent, in toddlers with a family history of asthma or allergies.

"For infants in a high-risk group, we found that when and how they are fed influence the onset of wheezing and asthma," says Dr. Juan Celedon, of Brigham and Women's Hospital. "There is a significant relationship between the number of times children are bottle-fed in the crib or bed prior to sleep time and the occurrence of wheezing during their first five years."

According to Dr. Celedon, there are several precautionary steps parents can take to prevent these incidents and help decrease the prevalence of asthma, which has doubled worldwide in the last 15 years, according to the National Institutes of Health. "Finding modifiable risks factors for wheezing in childhood are a key to asthma prevention," he says. "Avoiding large-volume liquid meals in the bed or crib before sleep time, and avoiding placing a baby on his or her back immediately after bottle feeding may reduce the risk of wheezing in early childhood."

Whether it's a possible health condition or a less risky "security" issue concerning your child, the reasons for weaning from bottle to cup after 12 months are apparent. So bring on the sippy cups and recycle those baby bottles – no matter what color – today. The earlier, the better.

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• Talk about it!