Getting My Daughter to Use a Sippy Cup

Updated on March 22, 2007
E.L. asks from Holden, MA
17 answers

Does anyone have any suggestions for me in getting my i year old daughter to use a sippy cup. She refuses to use one! Have tried a few different cups, but haven't found one that she will use to drink out of. She thinks that it is a toy. I was planning on just going "cold turkey" but I'm not sure that is the solution.

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E.N.

answers from Boston on

my son was the same way. he didn't use a sippy cup until he was 14 months. I was geting very neverous. I started taking the bottle and replacing it with the sippy cup once a day. Until he was using a sippy cup completely. It took a couple of months because he wouldn' t let go of his nighttime bottle. The ped. told me to replace all but the night one that worked for us. I found that the big ones with handles worked the best to start with. they have a soft tip so it more like a bottle.
good luck

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J.M.

answers from Boston on

Have you tried Nuby cups? My daughter had trouble switching as well, these worked for us. If you're daughter is still on formula put it in the cup.

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B.M.

answers from Providence on

I found that going cold turkey has work the best with my family my grandma did it my grandmas kids did it and i did it
you will feel bad at first but you have to stick with it

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L.J.

answers from Boston on

Cold turkey. If she is thirsty she will learn to drink from a cup.

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A.R.

answers from Boston on

Hi E., Do not worry abouth this. My daughter was the same way. She was never really a "mouth" baby, what I mean is, she would never take a pacifier, she had a very hard time changing from my breast to a bottle, and she never put things in her mouth even when she was teething. I would buy the teething rings and try to show her how to put them in her mouth, and she would make the funniest face, and push it away. When it came time to start giving a sippy cup, she would just play with it, and hardly drink out of it. I just continued to give it to her, and slowly she started to drink out of it. She always preferred her bottle though. By the age of 2 she was just drinking out of her sippy cup. One thing I remember is that in the beginning she did not understand the sucking part, so I took the spill proof gadget out and then gave it to her, in her high chair ofcourse, and she seemed to do better. Just keep offering it, she will get the hang of it. I would just switch her during the day to a cup, and still maybe the bottle or breast at night, then go away with the bottle and just the cup. Hope this helps.

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A.W.

answers from Boston on

My daughter preferred the "Take and Toss" sippy cups to the traditional ones with the valves. Since she is already a year old, have you considered just skipping the sippy cup and going with a straw/straw cup? We found that my daughter was much better at, and preferred, getting liquids from a straw than a sippy cup. It is actually better for her (in terms of oral motor development, as well as for her teeth), its something that you can naturally model for her since its normal for adults/big kids to drink from straws, plus it gives you one less step when you decide to go to an open cup.

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A.B.

answers from Boston on

Hi E.. I had the best luck with "nuby" sipcups. They are closest to a bottle nipple

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J.B.

answers from Boston on

When I started my son on cow's milk, I put it in a sippy cup. I also made a big deal about being a big boy when using the sippy cup. I think the clincher was that I made him believe that his bottle was broken and that we had to throw it away. He threw the bottle away himself and transitioned pretty well. You could also have her big brother show her how to do it. Good luck.

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A.G.

answers from Boston on

i agree with other the other moms for us the straw is what my 6 month old liked and she is now 8 months and loves to drink from her sippy cup..

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J.B.

answers from Lewiston on

I am also trying to transition my 1 year old from a bottle to a sippy cup. Our pediatrician said to take him off of the bottle completely, but over the past few weeks I have been gradually decreasing his bottles an increasing drinks in the sippy cup. The bottle not only gives a baby food, it is also a source of comfort. To all of a sudden take it away might be traumatic for a little one. At first my son would only drink from a sippy cup when someone held it for him. I thought he was simply having a hard time getting the hang of holding it himself, but recently I realized that he is perfectly capable of using it himself...he would just prefer others do it for him. So now I coax him to at least try to pick it up himself and then if he is having difficulties I help him. I found it was easiest to get him to drink on his own when I gave him a beverage he really likes, such as juice. I would then hold it for him to take a drink and after that he was on his own. He quickly realized that if he was going to have the juice he had to use the cup himself. For my son the sippy cups w/ a handle on each side seem to be easier for him to pick up.

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B.R.

answers from Boston on

Just let her use a big girl cup. She might be telling you it's time. Juice boxes might come in handy too. I just got told that sippy cups are bad anyways. I got told that they keep the liquid pooled around their teeth then stick there so their teeth could rot. Now I have to get my 1yo son on a cup. It will be messy but I don't want his teeth rotting.

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N.R.

answers from Providence on

When I took my daughter of the bottle I used Nubby soft top (WALMART). The nipple is soft like the bottle that way they get used the feel of the cup and the shape of the top but they still have the soft mouth part.

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B.D.

answers from Boston on

Are you using a sippy with an insert to make it spill proof? I have found that if you take the insert out and kind of dump it into her mouth she will get the idea that something is in there. You have to do this repeatedly for a while, but they usually get the hang of it. Also you could try the cups with the straws that are spill proof.

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J.H.

answers from Providence on

my son uses a sippy cup that has a soft plastic straw. i get them at babies r us. they have two side handles, are short not tall, and have a straw that has a slide cover to bring it on the road. my 10 mth old son has been using this cup for months now and took right to it. i figured that teaching him to use a straw cup was more practical then a regular sippy cup b/c if we're ever out and about and he needs a drink, he'll know how to sip from a straw. good luck!

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K.D.

answers from Providence on

Try the Nuby cups, you can get them at Walmart & baby Depot, they have a softtop like a bottle, it was the only cup my son would use. Plus they are inexpensive too.

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C.L.

answers from Boston on

The sippy cups do take practice. I always had good luck with the avent and the playtex cups with the countoured mouthpiece but they do leak a bit more.
My boys were both breastfed but did have the occasional bottle. We never put anything but milk in the bottles and on their 1st bday the bottles went in the trash. They can't have what isn't there and if she gets thirsty enough she will eventually figure out the cup.
I wouldn't offer here several different sippys at first to see what she likes, it could get confusing. I would try one at a time for a few days and eventually she will be able to use them all.

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M.S.

answers from Boston on

Hi I also am a mother of a 1 year old, and my daughter would also not use a sippy cup, unti1 we bought the First Years Take and Toss Cups, the worked great 4 us, my daughter cou1d drink her juice or mi1k and we didnt have to worry about them 1eaking and she was getting the right amount without getting to much

Hope this he1ps!

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