baby holding own bottle at d/c

linjmurx

so at my daycare center, once a baby can hold their own bottle they let them feed themselves in a boppy-type thing on the floor. I've seen other babies do this tons of times (I often visit during my lunch). I can't remember my initial reaction but I kind of stopped thinking about it. Now I found out that they started doing this with my son who is 7 months and now I'm not sure that I feel okay about it. First..  twice so far he has soaked himself by turning his bottle upside down. When they explained it to me I wanted to say "so don't leave him when he's eating".  But I bit my tongue. Then afterwards I thought about it and remembered that babies can choke on formula/milk/liquid.  Not sure that I feel comfortable with. I know they'll say they are watching but realistically they are not and cannot watch constantly.

wondering what people's thoughts are on this.

thanks 

blh226

I let my baby hold her own bottle and feed herself at 7 months because I am a detachment parent, but you have to keep an eye on them. They can choke. They cannot be ignored. It may be time to switch facilities. 

SunAndRain

I can't say that I ever heard of a baby holding their own bottle as a potential hazard.  Have there actually been deaths, or emergency room visits, reported because of this?  I let my baby hold her own bottle as soon as she was able and  encouraged her to do so.  I figured learning this skill was an important part of her motor skill development.

Now my daughter is learning to drink from a straw cup and a regular cup.  Talk about soaking herself! 

shannm

Once it was clear that my kids could do it without making a mess, I had no problem with it. My son was better at it than DD.

groovygrl

Are you confusing holding a bottle w/ bottle propping?  I think I would have more of an issue that it is in the boppy thing reclining like that, I'd rather see them more upright.  Though I would assume they're present in the room/area and keeping an eye on the kids...

emberlee3

State childcare regulations in TN are that babies up to 1 year must be held for all bottle feedings. Even babies who hold their own bottle are held by the caregiver while they drink.

emberlee3

amy052006:

I would definitely not be ok with this, but I also breastfeed. So yes I would expect my caregiver to hold the baby, pace the feeding, etc. And it's certainly not a learning thing if they are trying to tell you that both of my kids learned how to eat finger and drink from a sippy just fine without being left on their own for bottles.

It's just lazy IMO. What are they doing that they can't give a bottle because they certainly make time to give younger infants bottles and I hope monitor older children with solid food.

ITA. Neither of my children have held their own bottle, but they are both independentminded with other areas. Holding own bottle is not a developmental milestone.

Karla CS

As long as someone's nearby, I don't really see the problem with this. It's a skill, and like all skills a child learns, they need practice and they're not going to get it right the first time.

FreshlyWashed

I would only be upset because I breastfeed. If my provider was letting my hard earned milk splash around, I'd say something. My pedi never emphasized being able to feed themselves with a bottle, so I guess I've never focused on it.

honkytonk_kid

I would not like that at all, and would definitely request that he be held for bottle feedings. For several reasons- 1. like pp said, my pumped milk is precious and I would not be ok with it being dumped out for the sake of learning to hold a bottle and 2. feedings are about more than nutrition.

Holding their own bottle is not a necessary skill to learn, nor is it a milestone, it's a function of a primarily bottle feeding society. If you want/are ok with your own kid holding their own bottle, that's fine, unless the bottle is propped it's not inherently dangerous, but it's also not unreasonable to NOT want it to happen.

financialdiva

amy052006:

I would definitely not be ok with this, but I also breastfeed. So yes I would expect my caregiver to hold the baby, pace the feeding, etc. And it's certainly not a learning thing if they are trying to tell you that both of my kids learned how to eat finger and drink from a sippy just fine without being left on their own for bottles.

It's just lazy IMO. What are they doing that they can't give a bottle because they certainly make time to give younger infants bottles and I hope monitor older children with solid food.

I agree with this.

Can't you just ask them to feed him the bottle? Tell them that is what you prefer?

shannm

I will add that while I don't think it is a needed skill, I understand that a 4:1 ratio means more than one baby may need something at one time. If my baby successfully can feed himself while another is being cared for, great. I don't think it is a sign of laziness. It's a sign of multitasking. If my baby was upset and needed to be held, I would be glad that another baby could independently hold a bottle so my LO could be directly attended to. And FWIW, I breastfed both babies and still didn't have an issue with it. If I did, I would have hired a nanny.

linjmurx

thanks for the comments. To clarify, I wouldn't mind him drinking on his own- it is only the safety aspect that I am concerned about. Plus I will get annoyed if he keeps dumping his bottle on his clothes. No, I don't think it's a developmental thing he needs to learn (my DD never drank on her own) but I agree with previous poster that 4:1 ratio means more than one baby almost always needs something at the same time.  I guess if the bottle was propped it would definitely be a safety issue. But maybe since he's holding it he's okay... if he were to choke he would drop it I guess?

The reason I don't just immediately ask them to hold my baby is because they do have so much going on and are trying to do so many things at once. I agree with previous poster as well that I'm happy if another kid is drinking on his own so that my kid can be soothed if he's crying. I know I'm already the pain in the butt mom there so I try to think stuff over before reacting, and pick and choose what I ask for.  

daisy662

I do that at home so certainly wouldn't be upset if they did it at daycare. I never thought about it before this post. It just doesn't seem like a big deal to me unless your LO is left completely unattended which it doesn't sound like that's the case. 

JWSchwarz

I think I would have been pretty mad about it at 7 months. but thinking back, maybe it's not that bad. Realistically they can feed themselves, drink from a sippy, etc. If you're planning to wean from bottles at around a year, it will make it a lot easier if he's not associating milk w/ comfort all the time. you should make sure they are holding him other times though!