How to Introduce a Sippy Cup?

I tried both my kids on sippy cups at 5 months (son is 7 yrs and my daughter is 7.5 months). I started when they could have fruit juices, because they now advise not to put juice in bottles. My daughter likes the soft silicone spout by Nuby. It doesn't leak and they only get out what they need (the child controls the flow of liquid). They sell the cups at Walmart fairly cheap depending on if you get the ones with lids.
Well, hope this helps some. Good Luck!

S. - I haven't been too focused on starting sippy cups with my son who is 9 mos. My mom (who is a dental hygienist) told me that she didn't really advise it - thinking at 6 mos it was too early and just not the best for babies oral dev't. However, I have tried introducing it at "snack times" or nap times. My son also does not hold his bottle yet. He likes to lightly hold the bottle/cup - but, right now since he's teething he's more interested in pushing in the bottle nipple or biting on it b/c his teeth are bothering him. I remember my daughter being a bit older when we started sippy cups - but it may have been b/c I breastfed for the first year too. She did the best with Nuby bottles. Also, I think we mainly used the sippy cups when we were traveling or when she was snacking somewhere other than the kitchen. Sippy cups to me are more for convenience and less mess situations. Each child is unique - what works for one doesn't always work for the other. Good luck!

If he does not hold his own bottle, he not going to hold a sippy cup. Now don't forget a sippy cup is bigger around than a bottle, so it is going to take time for him to get used to that. I would continue to use a cup during the day and hold it for him, but use it only at meal time. When it gets time to take him off the bottle, it will go pretty easy for you. You can help him to learn by placing his hands around it, make it a game by singing a song when you do it. I also took out the stoppers in the sippy cups so that my kids got used to free flowing liquids. That helped when transitioning to a regular cup. I hope this helped. J.

that will come. i got the cups that are short and have the handles on either side of it... those worked good. my son got ahold of one at 7 months and never looked back. he did well with them at that age. however, i run a child care in my home, and i have a 10 month old that shows little interest in it... so... its probably per kid too.
dont worry about it - you are doing a good thing by introducing a cup at this age, it will help avoid being stuck on the bottle (if you use them at all - i breastfed and never used one LOL)

You can try the transitional cups with the handles. These were very helpful for my son, who when we started offering the cup would not hold up his bottle. He would hold it, but would suck air rather than tipping it up to successfully drink out of it! The handles fit their hands so they don't have to try to master holding the cup (some of which are heavier than bottles) all at once. With the handles, he was able to get the cup positioned right. One day, he just randomly started tipping the cup up on his own. I think it was a balance thing. He felt confident enough that he wouldn't just fall over backwards and so he just seemed to become a pro drinker over night!

We started offering the sippy cup at meal time around the time our son was six months old. It took a month or so, but he did start using it.

We NEVER offered the bottle at meal times and we never let our son just drink from the bottle randomly, but we did start leaving a sippy cup of water out (all the time) for him to pick up if/when he wanted.

At around 11 months old our son gave up the bottle all on his own and was completely switched to the cup.

**Our son NEVER really held his own bottle. Bottle time was always "snuggle" time more than anything as he got older. We just replaced that time with story time before bed and as he wanted during the day.

S.,
Somewhere in the responses is exactly what I was going to say :) First, my ped said not to even try a sippy until 9 months because the whole motion and sucking is different than a bottle/breast sucking motion. Second, when they are ready, they will use it.
I see someone already suggested "Nuby"... it's been a life saver for our house! They are basically spill proof without any valves...Munchkin makes a cup too. My 10 month old wouldn't drink out of a hard spout even with the valve removed, but she never puts her Nuby down!
Just know that in time, he will figure it out... plus as he gets older, they learn by example, so make sure you and your husband use cups around him.

Yes, 6 months is too young to be able to hold it on his own. It will take a few months for that. I also introduced a sippy cup at 6 months and he started holding it on his own around 10 months. Just keep practicing so he gets used to it!

S.,

I switched all four of my kids to a sippy cup at 6 months. It takes time, but it can be done. For my last baby, I used the cups with the little handles on the sides at first, then switched to a regular cup with a lid.

Good luck,
S.

Hi S.,
My boys never (or rarely, much later on close to weaning) held their own bottles. But they did hold their own sippy cups. I remember it took some time. For us, we had spill-proof cups with water that were always accessible and we took them everywhere. We started by just putting them within reach, and pretty soon they would crawl up to them and take sips on their own. The ones we use for mealtimes are non-spillproof (like those keep & toss or tupperware ones), that we use for milk. We did the same thing--just set it on the highchair tray during meals, and pretty soon they were reaching for those as well. You could take your son down the sippy cup aisle at Target and see which one he likes to grasp and gets excited about to start some interest. Good luck!

Try the "Nuby" cups found at Target or Babies R Us. My son had trouble with this and these were the perfect transition because the tops are soft.

Good luck!

Some kids just like be cuddled and held while drinking. These babbies tend to not want to hold bottle/cup on there own. You may have luck if the cup has handles. Otherwise don't worry about it, as long as he is holding toys and other things.

Iwould think that 6 months is too young to be drinking from a sippy cup, at that age they shoukd still be drinking just breast milk or formula anyway?!

Personally I think this whole early sippy cup thing is a waste of time in many cases. Our pediatrician, whom I highly respect, suggested starting early with a cup too, but honestly my little guy wasn't interested. When a child is ready they will grab that cup and go for it. Until then, you can spend a lot of time coaxing them (and that's great if you have the time and interest) or you can just wait until they start grabbing for your glass - then you know they are ready. A child desiring to do something will make it happen much faster than anything else. (Note - in the case of delayed or ill children, you may need to put in more "coaxing" time to help them.) My guy just dropped it, dribbled liquid all over and eventually figured out how to rip the tops off and fling it across the room for fun - so we stuck with bottles longer. Everyone was happy and I didn't spend all day cleaning up after him. When a child does show interest it will be a function of muscle development and hand/eye coordination to use it, both of which demand lots of practice, just like walking, so don't worry - just keep trying when YOU think your child is ready!

SAHM of seven, 23 yrs - 22 mos

Yes, it comes with time. My son is 7 months old, and he can now hold his bottle on his own pretty good. Starting around 5 1/2 months, we let him hold it for short bursts of time, so he would get good at it and learn the dexterity needed to hold it, and how to aim for his mouth. (LOL!)

There are different shapes and sizes of sippy cups out there. We plan on buying our son one with handles; they just look easier to hold. Born Free and Sigg Kids are two brands that come with handles.

Good luck!

Try just setting the cup in front of him on his highchair tray when it's time to drink. Wait and see if he will pick it up on his own.

We skipped a sippy cup and went straight to cups with straws. Target sells a kind that doesn't spill. We thought it made the transition from the bottle easier, and it was nice not to have to rely on the sippy cup (if you're at a restaurant, all you need is a straw!). Good luck!

In my experience, the girls seemed to get the "holding the cup" thing faster and earlier than the boys. When my toddler was 6t months old, I found it easier to introduce a regular cup (he was at a loss regarding the sippy cup) and it was fine as long as I held it. As time went on and he finally got the hang of a sippy cup (it took him almost a year to figure out that he had to tip it back, he thought he could just put it down on a floor or table and suck), I found that he would keep forgetting about tipping it back until another year had passed. It seemed to be the same with the boys in our playgroup. the girls just seemed to "get" the whole sippy vs bottle/boop thing much faster than the boys. One would think that the boys would notice what the girls would be doing but they jsut couldn't. So, dont' worry about it, 6 months is pretty earlier to be holding and tipping the sippy cup at the same time. (By the way, my kid was breastfed and bottle fed but never wanted to hold the bottel himself until he was much much older.)

yeah, that will come with time. He's only 6 months old, so just give it some time and make sure you give him the opportunities to do it himself... don't get into the habit of doing it to the point where you forget to teach him how to do it himself.