It can be considered an easy and convenient thing to just continue breastfeeding after one year.

When your toddler wakes up during the night why not just breast-feed and get some sleep again for a while?

After one year of age there is no particular health gain from breast-feeding and the child’s teeth are in danger of being corroded from the content of sugar in the milk.

The most difficult thing by stopping is the advancing age and the child’s still better ability to remember what is usually goes on.

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The appetite during the day of a child who is still breast-fed at nights is quite small as he is used to get a little something ever so often. It is very frustrating to prepare many different kinds of food and then the child just takes one little spoonful and promptly wants to get down from the meal.

He is neither really satisfied or have slept enough from the many small breast-feedings.

I am sure a great reason about breast-feeding for an extended period is that its nice also for the mother to regard her baby being a baby still. Time goes fast and the needs differs and the most fair thing is to support the child in his growth and development.

If you make up your mind to stop then keep it as a resolution that can’t be shaken. If you are a couple both should stand together to keep it.

Set a time to start when both parents have some time and energy to make the changes. You decide a good time to put your baby to sleep, normally about eight o´clock in the evening. When the little one wakes up in the night you can offer some water from a bottle or a cup and have it ready. Put the child in a secure cot and walk in and put him down to sleep again with calming words. Place a loved teddy bear or equivalent toy and a soft cloth as a kind of comfort and substitute for the missing breast-feeding.

Most children will protest on and off for some nights, but when you are consequent he will forget about it and even sleep longer and better.

As a toddler between one and two years old the growth is still quite big and he can’t manage long intervals between the meals. He needs the three chief meals and some small snacks in between and water offered in a cup.

He is able to manage some of the eating and the meals at this age, but needs a lot of encouragement to eat the amount of food he needs. You talk to him about the food and nod and make big glad eyes to help him to do a bit more than he could alone. You tell him that it tastes good and look like you mean it.

You keep the atmosphere secure and shut down all electronic devices during the meal.

To have a good eye contact with your child is essential because you then quickly understand each other.

From the Danish Health authorities a book on food for small children

The child needs guidance through your eye contact and your words describing what is going on. Without it the child will not have a chance to concentrate long enough to eat enough. The child wants to mirror what he sees the parents eat and doing so makes it a social thing to eat together.

He is motivated by seeing you eating and talking about the food. He needs to chew and use his teeth so give him a little  on his plate that he can manage to chew and touch it as well.  Some of the food he can take with his two fingers and other with a spoon or fork. You will experience that his appetite will increase after you have stopped breast-feeding at nights.

I will sum up that the best food for your child is your own homemade food – the same as you eat yourself just more soft and eatable for a child who still lacks some of the teeth.

When you are on excursions you can take with you some of the ready-made baby food from the food stores but if you make food in advance it’s not difficult to bring your own homemade food in small boxes in a cool bag. The ready-made baby food from the stores are too soft and the child needs to exercise chewing to be able to talk clearly later.

Its more healthy and cheaper what you easily can produce yourself.