Still on a bottle at 4??

MemoryMakers2669

<font color=green>Would rather have a sippy tag th
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Did anyone watch Rachael Ray yesterday? She had Leah Remini on, talking about the mess her and her Dh are in with their dd, almost 4. I think this age is a bit old for a bottle, but WOW is all I can say about this situation! It is quite extreme! :confused:

If the video isn't on the first page, just click On The Show at the top, then Thursday the 24th and it will be right there. There are a few videos. The one with her DD and the bottle is the one that shows what they are going through.

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/


Here is the story.....

Leah Remini may have been tough as nails on The King of Queens, but when it comes to her nearly 4-year-old daughter Sofia, she's a total pushover. "I'm very consistent; I give in," says Leah. "My daughter runs the house." Although Leah is conflicted about taking a stance that leaves her daughter in hysterics, she'd like to try getting Sofia off the bottle. "The problem I'm having with bottle-feeding is basically that Sofia drinks six or more bottles a night," she explains, a situation that leaves her and her husband Angelo exhausted from handing over new bottles and changing diapers at all hours. Leah also recognizes there are potential health issues. "We're hearing that it's not good for her," she admits. "In talking to our pediatrician, they almost fell off their chair when we said she's still on the bottle. So I'm thinking maybe it's not right."

As Leah and her husband Angelo decide to wean their daughter, they let Rachael's cameras inside their home and offer 24-hour access to their lives. It's an unflinching look at a parenting struggle that leaves Leah feeling guilty, her daughter in tears, and her husband challenged to do the right thing as they try and withhold bottles.


Rachael introduces Leah to Dr. Ari Brown, a pediatrician who assures her that weaning a child off the bottle is a common struggle - albeit one that most parents conquer by age 1 and 2 years old. In Sofia's case, Dr. Ari explains that Sofia uses the habit of sucking on a bottle to fall back to sleep when she awakes during the night, and has become dependent on this soothing ritual. But bottle-feeders at her age can run into health problems, Dr. Ari explains, such as getting too much calcium while being deprived of other nutrients and facing an increased risk of ear infections.

Get more toddler behavior tips -- read an excerpt from Dr. Ari's book Toddler 411, and enter for a chance to win a copy of this manual. And, Dr. Ari tackles your questions on the message board.

After her meeting with Dr. Ari, Leah and her husband Angelo decide to try and wean their daughter. They get some pointers from one of Rachael's viewers who is a mother of three. "You're not going to like a lot of things I'm going to say," Stacey Lewis tells Leah. "Children need consistency and they need structure. This is going to be tough work but we're going to get it done."

For their first night with no bottles, Stacey suggests some tough love and says if Sofia has a tantrum they can offer her water in a bottle with no nipple. They decide to give it a try, but only last a few hours when Sofia has a fit. "We're definite pushovers and at the end of the day you have to follow your heart," Leah says. "Sofia was crying again for a bottle of milk and then I started crying I think because I felt so bad," Leah says, and they give her the bottle. "It just doesn't feel right for me to have a screaming baby and to say no to a bottle."

Stacey consoles her and says they won't break the habit in one night, but is confident it will work. "Sofia's a bright young lady," she says. "She's smart and she knows what's going on ... it's time, when you're willing to endure. You're not killing her."
 
Diapers and bottles at four years. :rotfl: Just when I thought I'd heard it all. Doofus.
 
I was reading that and thinking.. "A bottle at 4, wow.." I kept reading.. "A bottle AND diapers at 4!!! HOLY COW!!"

But, what do you expect with parents who admit they're "push overs".... So sad..
 

I was reading that and thinking.. "A bottle at 4, wow.." I kept reading.. "A bottle AND diapers at 4!!! HOLY COW!!"

But, what do you expect with parents who admit they're "push overs".... So sad..

The bottles all night long though, 6 or more, that is insane! Poor kid, no wonder she is so chubby. That really is sad to me! I hope that doesn't effect her for too long.
 
"The problem I'm having with bottle-feeding is basically that Sofia drinks six or more bottles a night," she explains, a situation that leaves her and her husband Angelo exhausted from handing over new bottles and changing diapers at all hours. Leah also recognizes there are potential health issues. "We're hearing that it's not good for her," she admits. "In talking to our pediatrician, they almost fell off their chair when we said she's still on the bottle. So I'm thinking maybe it's not right."


geez, ya think? bottles and diapers at 4?

I can see the Cruises having the same issues with their little one, everytime you see a picture of Suri she has a bottle in her hand and she is over 2 now.
 
"A bottle AND diapers at 4!!! HOLY COW!!".

If I drank six bottles of anything at night I would need to be in diapers, too! :scared1:

I would also venture to guess that the bottle and diapers aren't the only issues. If they are pushovers, they are having other problems (brushing teeth, bath time, picky eater, bedtime, etc). They really need some intervention.
 
WOW, just when you thought you had heard everything! :rolleyes:

I don't understand how at least marginally intelligent parents can think it's okay for a FOUR-year-old to be drinking out of a bottle. :confused: If they think they have battles NOW, they are in for a rude awakening when she's a teen, if they continue to be clueless, stupid pushovers.

I just don't get how parents think they are doing their children a favor by letting them rule the roost. It's so sad. Those kids are messed up already.
 
I saw that show, and actually felt sorry for the little girl! :scared1:

It must be hard to be 4 years old and be responsible for running the house :laughing:

Just a theory I wondered about = When I watched and saw that this toddler sleeps between them every night, I wondered if Leah's DH snores - jmo but he looks like a snorer. :cutie: They don't put her to bed at a reasonable hour, she has two people on either side (one who might snore, which is even hard for an adult to sleep with) and maybe she is a light sleeper so she wakes up throughout the night PLUS she has 6-8 bottles to finish (plus diapers) :scared1:

These people have to be living on hardly any sleep, and I believe Leah is so sleep deprived that she can't make a rational decision. :thumbsup2

Calling Mary Poppins! :rolleyes1 You're needed ASAP, as this will get much worse if they let this continue much longer.....
 
Gosh, and I felt bad helping my son with homework! lol! These poor folks have their hands full with the harvest of their own doing. Poor kind is only doing what you would expect her to do. The grownups need to get a grip.
 
WOW, just when you thought you had heard everything! :rolleyes:

I don't understand how at least marginally intelligent parents can think it's okay for a FOUR-year-old to be drinking out of a bottle. :confused: If they think they have battles NOW, they are in for a rude awakening when she's a teen, if they continue to be clueless, stupid pushovers.

I just don't get how parents think they are doing their children a favor by letting them rule the roost. It's so sad. Those kids are messed up already.

I think you may have just hit upon the true problem. :rotfl2: They are not even marginally intelligent. They have decided to allow a 4 y.o. to be the boss. At the risk of offending the Scientologists out there, it seems there are a fair amount of Hollywood Scientologists who aren't the brightest bulbs in the chandelier. Bottles AND diapers at four?

Here's a thought. Grow a backbone and remember that you are the parent. Take the bottle away cold turkey and endure the fits for a few days. Weaning her slowly will just prolong the agony for all involved and you clearly do not have the stuff it takes to stand your ground for that long. Just rip off that band-aid. Throw the bottles away so you can't give them to her even if you want to. This is going to be a battle of wills, period.

Sadly, my money is on the kid.

(And what is the deal with Suri Cruise and that bottle she lugs around sucking on? How old is she anyway? To hear her parents talk, she can carry on conversations like a 5 year old. Yet she sucks a bottle like a one y.o. Is this some Scientology thing we're not privvy to?)
 
OMG This poor kid will have no boundaries and no idea what delayed gratification is. That's a recipe for a heinously dysfunctional adult. And she's going to have a rude awakening when she gets to school and finds out that, while she rules her parents and her home, she does NOT rule her teacher and her classroom. How will she handle that?

There are lessons that kids just have to learn to be productive members of society. It's hard to hear your child cry -- but parent-up already -- it's part of the package. No one said parenting was easy. It's certainly easier in the moment to just give into everything -- but you're going to pay the piper, (and your child will, too), down the road. You're not doing them any favors by giving them anything they want!

I predict a celebrity episode of Supernanny is on its way!
 
You guys have no idea how common this type of parenting is.

I'm a nanny. I hear about this kind of thing ALL the time. And it always comes back to one thing: If the parents refuse to have boundaries the kids will be completely out of control. The parents SAY they are tired of the chaos, they know it's not good for the child, blah blah blah but they ALWAYS give in when the kids start to scream.

When was the last time you saw a report of a kid dying from screaming? Let them scream. If the parents give in the child will keep screaming. If the child wins once by screaming then you can bet they will be screaming next time because it WORKS!

The reason I don't have those issues with my charges is because my rules never change. It is very boring to challenge me because my answer is always the same. If I say you can't jump on the couch then I mean you can NEVER jump on the couch, even if you ask me a million times, on different days, even when I am tired. If you try to jump on the couch I will NOT allow you to get away with it. And that structure carries over to every other area.

I know we have to pick our battles, but this type of parent never picks ANY! If you watch Super Nanny the families are all the same - the kids rule the roost and the parents just stand there and shrug. If the parents would set some boundaries and enforce them there wouldn't be a problem!
 
She thinks it might be a potential health problem??:scared1:
I know she a mom and mom's don't necessarily see their kids faults but her daughter is very overweight based on looks alone. I think the ped should be working with them more. They really need help because she apparently doesn't have the right backbone to be a good mother.

** edited to add part of the problem may be that her daughter doesn't see a licensed MD. She's a scientologist right?? They don't go to licensed doctor's they see scientology practictioners.
 
Well in about 10 years she will be plastered all over the tabloids for her issues--drug abuse, whatever. Poor kid. Um the word is NO folks. :confused3
 
This is really sad. A 4yo who drinks 6 bottles a night? No wonder she needs diapers! Who wouldn't? Leah refers to her as a "baby" but a 4yo is not a baby.

This is nothing but a bad habit. The longer it goes on, the more entrenched the habit will become. It's not going to be easier to wean her later. These parents need to wake up and smell the coffee.
 
Giving into tantrums of any kind is not doing what's best for your child...it's doing what is easiest for you. No one said being a parent was easy.
 
Not to bash Scientology (sort of)--but I read that children are treated as little adults--able to think for themselves and make their own choices.

From the Scientology handbook:

"A child has a right to his self-determinism. You say that if he is not restrained from pulling things down on himself, running into the road, etc., etc., he’ll be hurt. What are you as an adult doing to make that child live in rooms or an environment where he can be hurt? The fault is yours, not his, if he breaks things.

The sweetness and love of a child is preserved only so long as he can exert his own self-determinism. You interrupt that and to a degree you interrupt his life."


THat to me means little discipline=CHAOS!
 


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