Drinking Question

I don't think he is too young for a sippy cup. This was about the age I started the cups that have the straws to start getting away from the sippy cups. Also I introduced the regular cups but would only put a little in at a time because they do spill. It takes a while with the regular cups learning to keep it on the table and away from the edge.

I never used a sippy cup with my now 3 year old son. Accidents are inevitable but he seldom has one. I think accidents are an opportunity for him to learn to be more careful. It seems to be working. I hand him a dish towel to clean up accidents. On the road, we usually only take water and I usually bring a glass half-pint jar with a lid that screws off when he wants to drink. It really depends on whether you are "wired" to respond patiently to accidents. If you have a lot going on (like other children) or hate dealing with messes, then this may not be the way to go.

Hi M.,

At that age (and a few years after) I bought some plastic cups with lids that have a hole for a straw. I got mine from tupperware, but I am sure there must be others out there. They were great for the car or while watching TV, anywhere where you don't want them to spill. I still use the cups without the lids in the kitchen. Heck, I even use the lid and straw myself for in the car!

My 6 y/o uses a sippy cup when we are out and about. Saves money on juice boxes. At the dolloar store near us we found the pop up type water bottles. My 2 y/o uses them as well.

Hahaha, I had to respond: mine are 9 and 12 and still use a sippy cup in the house when they want to drink anything but water upstairs since we have white carpeting (very silly choice of carpet color!). I think they used sippy cups until they were about 5 with meals and in the car, simply because we had the tall ones and they are easy to wash in the dishwasher, etc. It never occurred to me that kids might be "too old", you can take out the valve to make it easier to drink out of which a lot of parents do after some time, but then it is less spill-proof. The kids also have flip-top bottles with a "straw" that pops up and sports bottles and have been drinking out of regular cups since toddler time, so as long as your son is capable of drinking out of a cup I would not worry too much.

If a child is old enough to manipulate a regular cup, then it is time to move on from sippy cups. However for travel, why not upgrade to a water bottle you can refill with either a straw type top, or one with a squirt type top that can be popped open and shut. This allow you to fill it with whatever you like, encourages independence, and controls spills. Playtex has some great ones, I think they might even be insulated. Good luck.

They have some nice cups with straws. that might work

I don't see anything wrong with sippy cups when you are out. You could take the stopper out and that way the flow will be faster but it will be stop him from spilling a lot. Adults drink their coffee out of cups with lids, we drink out of sports bottles when we are out and about ... they are like adult sippy cups. If he is out and about, I say stick with the sippy cups, better safe than sorry. When he is at home at the table use a regular cup. Nothing wrong with using both.

My son turned three in march and he still uses a sippy cup regularly-it makes my life so much easier. If there are no sippies around or if he requests a regular cup he uses one. Thinking of my play group-all about the same age-they are all using sippy cups as well.

But every kid/family is different so whatever works for you is good :)

Hello M.,
It sounds like you're trying to rush your 3yo to do things that a more grown up child would do. My almost 3yo still drinks out of a sippy cup, (I dont want to yell at him for making a mess!) He'll drink out of a regular cup if he's eating at the table without any accidents. (my 10yo still spills!! LOL)
He's also Potty trained during the day & sleeps with a diaper at nite - (not a problem there)He never wakes up dry. So, I know he's not ready yet. Good luck! kids grow too fast, enjoy!

I understand your concern. With my son, 1st child, I was always trying to get him to the next stage. If you really want him to use a regular cup, a straw might help and/or making him sit at the table while drinking to aviod spills.
Also my daughter who is 3.5yo uses the cups that have the straw attached and have a spill proof top on them. She can drink from a regular but like yours, spills.
We also use Klean Kanteens while out. They now have sports tops to swap out with and the whole family uses them. They now also have insulated sleeves. I get mine from Peacock Organics in Noank/Groton area. I didn't look to see where you were but you should be able to find a store near you that carries them or check out Peacock's online: http://www.peacockorganics.com/

My 2 year old goes to play group that is for children under the age of 3 and even the 18 month old there drinks from an open cup at snack time. I say if he drinks from it w/ occasional spills use sport tops when your out and ditch the sippy cups.

I wouldn't say he's too OLD for the sippy, but there's no issue with transporting liquids in a bottle if that works for you. My daughter is 2y and 2mo and is currently making the transition. She gets a sippy of milk in the morning, but otherwise we are encouraging her to use regular cups at home during the day (less than half full, because we also expect spills). When we go out, we take a water bottle, like you, especially if we're going to be out for a while. She prefers to do like the grown ups anyway :)

I don't think 3 is too old for a sippy cup but if he is ok with a sport bottle or the kind of cups with a straw built in then there is nothing wrong with that either. whatever he is comfortable using so that he can stay hydrated while you are out is what should be used. I think I got rid of the true sippy cups at about 3 1/2 or 4. my husband thought that was a little too old but I couldn't find a good size water bottle that my son could hold and open easily by himself.

My 3-year-old uses both. When we are out, he has a water bottle with a straw or a spout. At home, we let him drink from an open cup if he is at the table and is being careful. He thinks it is a treat and responsibility to use an open cup (which it is), and if he spills on purpose we give him a sippy cup. Accidental spills will happen, and practice is good, so I say encourage cup use when you are prepared to clean up spills (just maybe not in your car).

Maybe get a more "grown-up" cup for travel. I got my kids some reusable sports type bottles where you flip up the lid and drink out of it. I just found with the screw off tops they get lost or end up in the dirt or something.

I'm with you - ditch the sippy - as an SLP I can tell you that using it too long won't help his mouth structure development, as sippys encourage tongue thrust position - something a 3 year old should no longer engage in. How about the travel straw cups when you are on the go?? Those are fine!

I know a lot of kids who still use sippy cups - there are plenty in cool colors and designs if you want something less baby-ish, but he's not even 3 yet. It's going to be a few years before he's careful about spilling. There are also bottles with built-in straws - get one that is leak-proof. As he gets older, you can get the kind that I have that I take in the car and to the gym. You can get them at sporting goods places like Dick's, and they have a folding mouthpiece/straw - however, you have to kind of bite down on the "straw" to get the liquid to come through, so that might be hard at this age if he has to squeeze the straw with his teeth and also suck at the same time.

When you buy any bottles or cups, be sure they are made without the BPA plastic that is so harmful. All the advice now is telling us not to use water bottles from the water companies - they have harmful plastic, they are subjected to high heat when they are transported from plant to supermarket, and the water isn't regulated at all (or even filtered half the time). So those bottles should not be purchased or re-used.

I think it's important that kids stay hydrated, and that's why all the cars and strollers (and even the grocery carriages) are made with cup holders! Definitely take water if you don't want him to have too much juice, but take something. A lot of times kids (and adults) want to eat when really they are just thirsty - so having access to liquids can help long term in preventing over-eating and even obesity.

All the kids in my family used some form of sippy cup past 3, and my granddaughter is almost 5 and still using one.