Should Suri Cruise still be using a bottle at 2?

Once again, our resident mommy member weighs in: Us magazine reports the shocking truth: Suri Cruise is still using a bottle at age 2. Tsk, tsk, the Parenting Police are saying -- that is so not cool, she must be a tyrant toddler who rules the house.

After the age of one or at least 18 months, all nipples (except for Mommy's of course) should go in the trash, and baby should be using a sippy cup or a straw or something that doesn't look like a child in need of a fake comfort object when in public.

Tom and Katie's constant traveling is considered a possible sticking point, since her schedule and sleep can be upset by all the schlepping and she could "regress" into self-comforting behavior, the baby doc quoted by Us says. And don't even get them started on kids who are still nursing at 2. Oh wait, we just did.

So, dear readers, we are buckling up our child-safety belts to protect our nether regions and asking: Should Suri still be using a bottle or should Katie be hitting the bottle more to deal with attacks like this? The comment board awaits.

[Photo: Okay, this is Suri last July, but what do you want? The girl is harder to photograph than Pablo Escobar. AP]

Comments

[Linda]

get over it everyone. You dont know the personal circumstances of the family. There could be a number of reasons why she's still got a bottle. And so what if she has it just because she likes it, whatever. There are so many more important things to worry about then whether a child still uses a bottle at 2.

[Terri]

There is no way a 2 year old should be on bottles - or breast feeding. That just shows lazy parents who just do it to shut the child up or because they cannot accept that their child is growing up. Shame on the Cruise family and any of you out there who do it too.

[Jan]

Here it is, December 24 and Suri is still walking around with a baby bottle hanging out of her mouth. I know what it is like to want to keep your baby a baby, but she will be 3 in April. Guess she will be taking the bottle to kindergarten with her.

[Vicki]

To whom it may concern: I believe that a child with teeth, who can eat (whole foods now) should be encouraged to start using a cup-for such a well balanced child, it seems strange to see her with a bottle all the time- let alone the health risks, she now has teeth, and that is not good for her to be sucking on that bottle all the time- I am just really surprised at these "two smart people" in their child raising techniques. Hope they can get through this soon.

[Karen]

Now its July 2008 and I saw yet a new picture of Suri with Katie, broad daylight, still hanging on to her bottle. I have three kids, all were bottle fed. All were off the bottle by the time they were old enough to drink from a sippy cup. It's not that hard, people. You have a little going away party for the ba-ba. Build the kid up as a big girl, not a baby. And you TAKE IT AWAY. Period.

And it's not about it being nobody's business but Tom and Katie's. It's about Tom, who knows it all and who badmouths OTHER people for the way they handle their own personal issues and life choices *coughBROOKESHIELDScough* who can't even wean their two year old kid from a bottle, fer chrissakes! What does Scientology say about bucktoothed little kids with tooth decay, huh Tom??

Does it make a person a bad parent of they choose to just let the kid have what they want because the inconvenience of hearing the kid protest and having to deal with a natural growth and development stage of one's child is too much trouble? Not necessarily. It does, however, make one a LAZY parent, who is probably going to pay for it later with more behavior problems and orthodontia.

[whit1]

I have also been noticing the bottle attached to Suri, if anything it should be a bedtime thing only! My doctors were bugging me to get off the bottle before 1. She is freakin 2 walking around in her designer duds carrying around a freakin Platex nurser bottle?!!!! This is just another bizzare thing that goes on in the Cruse household. Katie.... take that bottle away stand up for yourself!

[whit1]

I have also been noticing the bottle attached to Suri, if anything it should be a bedtime thing only! My doctors were bugging me to get off the bottle before 1. She is freakin 2 walking around in her designer duds carrying around a freakin Platex nurser bottle?!!!! This is just another bizzare thing that goes on in the Cruse household. Katie.... take that bottle away stand up for yourself!

[whit1]

I have also been noticing the bottle attached to Suri, if anything it should be a bedtime thing only! My doctors were bugging me to get off the bottle before 1. She is freakin 2 walking around in her designer duds carrying around a freakin Platex nurser bottle?!!!! This is just another bizzare thing that goes on in the Cruse household. Katie.... take that bottle away stand up for yourself!

[Crikey]

Of course it's nobody's business, Briana, but what fun is that? Tell me you don't secretly roll your eyes if you see a 4 yr old with a pacifier or a child attending preschool with a bottle. It's laziness on the parents' part.

[Briana]

They may have a very good reason why she still takes the bottle. It's nobody else's business but theirs.

[Tim]

If you are still allowing your baby to use a bottle at 2 the issue has nothing to do with the baby. It has everything to do with the parents. The parents are just lazy and afraid of a little inconvenience for a while.

[Scott]

Yeah! Could be worse, she could be a Scientologist ... oh wait ... she is

[Scott]

Yeah! Could be worse, she could be a Scientologist ... oh wait ... she is

[Lani]

Actually both of my kids were off bottles by 18 months. I started at 12 months and slowly did it over the next 6 months.

SG - I do not think it is alright for a 4 year old to breastfeed. That shows the mother is not willing to cut the cord to me and I have argued that out before with relatives who have gone that route. As for "battle" you do not want to fight? YOU are the parent. You make the decisions. If you let your child rule you now just what will happen later?

[Maria]

Not sure what you would consider wrong with nursing a two year old. Don't mix your unease with what's good or not good for a child.

On the other hand, it's correct that she's a little behind on the milestone of dropping the bottle. She may not be a tyrant--it's pretty highly in the realm of possibility that her parents are spoiling her within an inch of her life.

[T]

I'm not blaming Suri, but I do think it's a bad idea for her to still have a bottle at 2. I have a daughter who turned 2 in April and not only has she been off of a bottle for a year, but her pediatrician has actually recommended weaning her from the sippy cup to a regular cup as soon as possible. It has nothing to do with what's in the cup/bottle. If you still want to give breast milk or whatever that's fine. It's the fact that constant sucking on a bottle and/or sippy cup isn't good for their teeth and other development.

[Jon]

Could be worse - she could be a jacka$$ who grows up and spends their time at work picking on two year olds.

[SG]

My son is 2 and still has his. It is a battle I am not willing to fight at this point. If that makes me a bad mom, have the parenting police arrest me. I love how it is OK for a 3 or 4 year old (I actually knew a 5 year old!) to still be breastfeeding, but a 2 year old who cannot talk is not allowed a little nip before bed. Talk to me again if you see Suri with it as she starts her first day of kindergarten.

[Zenu]

Zenu the space alien( not the illegal alien) says it OK.

[Michelle]

Oh, leave the poor kid alone. She has enough problems. Now, if she's still using the bottle in a year or so, then yes, it can become an issue. But at 2? Eh. So what. Unless she's about to enter kindergarten or preschool, not a big deal.