My son is 15 months old and he will not drink from any other sippy cup than the one I first started him out on. Does anyone have any advice on how to get him accustomed to different cups?
Thanks to all the wonderful advice! I love the idea of starting him on a real cup, but have another problem. He goes to a sitter Monday-Friday and I know she will not let him use a real cup. She would be worried about the mess, and if I start doing that I believe it will be a big confusion to him. Also, the kind of cup he loves is by NUK and it doesn't have the spout. The whole piece is rubber that fits into a ring that screws onto the cup. I hope that makes since. Actually last night he did drink about 1 1\2 ozs of milk out of a Gerber sippy that does have the spout, and this morning he drank 1\2 the cup so we are getting better. I am also going to try the cups with the straws along with a big boy cup.
Again thank you all for your great advice!
JUST KEEP TRYING. THATS THE BEST ADVICE THAT I CAN THINK OF. HE'LL GET THIRSTY ENOUGH AND DRINK OUT OF JUST ABOUT ANYTHING.
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!
D. Mattern-Muck
The MOM Team
Mom's helping Mom's Work From Home!
www.formyrugrats.com
One thing that helped with converting my son, is I let him pick out his own "special" new sippy cup from the ones that showed him. He was very exicited to use it because he got to choose it himself.
What Deborah siad is so true. I was told with my 1st (who would not take a bottle after 5 months) to just keep getting different kinds unitl you find one they will take. Is the sippy more like a bottle and you want him to move to more of a "big kid" sippy?
Before you know it he'll be drinking from any sippy offered to him, and once that happens he'll be wanting to drink from YOUR cup.
I have 2 ideas:
#1- WHen he gets really thirsty ,put is drink of choice in a different cup and hide his favorite one.(that is what I did with my kids.)
#2- Put a drink he doesn't like in his favorite cup(if he likes apple juice and not orange juice Put oj in his cup.)When he says ick, give him the new cup with his favorite drink.
Good Luck.
I transitioned my son to his first sippy by buying a NUBY soft silicone spout as many recommended. I had to deal with the same issue as yourself. Pedi told me they were bad for his teeth because they are basically the same as a bottle. So I had no choice than to take him off of it. He just didn't have it. I think I must have bought every sippy out there until I bought a Playtex soft spout (with handles) and he slowly and eventually hooked on to that one. It's pretty great since it does have a soft spout. But you will have to deal with many crying matches before they stay on just one. Just be strong. I have since transitioned him to the next stage of playtex sippies that has the same shape spout but it is not rubber, it is hard plastic. better for his teeth. Good luck and update us again.
Like another poster, I used a straw sippy cup with my son. When he was 11 mos old, I had a Jamba Juice. He grabbed the cup and I let him chew on the straw. I didn't think he could suck it right up. 5 minutes later, there he goes. He wasn't able to drink out of a "regular" sippy cup until he was much older, I think!
Have you tried using a straw in a cup made for this. They worked with both of mine.
Our daughter was in a Montessori program from 10 weeks old until she was five. We were not allowed to bring sippy cups to the school and were asked not to use them at home (which we didn't so that it wasn't confusing for her). So, we had a head start when it came to moving to a regular cup. We moved straight from the bottle to a cup. I remember walking into the infant class and four of the little children were sitting around a table made their size and sitting in chairs snacking on fruit with silverware and using cups...I'm thinking that none of them were walking yet. Now's the time to introduce a cup. Let him pick his very own cup (or two) out. Plastic mugs are also good. I found mugs at a Hallmark store with names on them; maybe you can find one with his name.
Good luck!
S., I know that its frusterating to have only one cup that your son will use. Its not to early to start him on a regular cup, but you have to be ready for messes. If you try and tell him that he is a big boy and that they use big boy cups, and show him how to use a regular cup, that may help. I just quit using the sippy cups cold turkey with my 4, and they had no choice. granted there was a lot of screaming, messes and frusterated children, but that was the only way to get them to use big kid cups. They have small enough cups at walmart or target that are 4 or 6 for less then $2.00, so you may try starting with that, or even take the lid off his sippy, and get him used to the no lid idea first.
Hope this helps,
We went cold turkey when changing cups because otherwise, the twins would lod out till they got their preferred cup. The only exception to this 'rule' is one type of cup that my daughter cannot use, although my son can! We keep trying it, but when his is finished and hers is still full, we revert to the types they can manage. So, I guess my advice is plug away...if they can manage the new cup, go cold turkey, if they can't, just keep trying it.
My daughter is also 15 months. She uses a cup that has a straw. Is there some reason why he needs to use different ones? When I zeroed in on the cup she is comfortable with, I bought three just like it. Problem solved.
Like I always say...I do not have conflict with my child over food and drink. If she eats, she eats..she doesnt, she doesnt. I refuse to make consuming foodstuffs and liquids a battle. I woke up one day and realized that she will be 12 one day. So, why fight over it now?
just my two cents...
Margaret
Get rid of all of them. Start him on real cups. If you tell him they are gone he doesn't have a choice. Start by putting very little in the cup until he gets the hang of it.
S.,
"Let sleeping dogs lie," "why mess with a good thing," "leave well enough alone," "pick your battles." Lots of different cliches came to mind when I read your question :)
Is there a reason you don't want him to have this kind of sippy cup? My kids would only take one kind, so I stocked up on those and that has been the least of my problems! He is not taking a bottle anymore, which is good, and he doesn't need to be off the sippy cup until he is two (according to our dentist and pediatrician.)
So if you really want to change the cup, you have to know what cup you want to go with because there are so many. The straw kind of cups are great, but kids don't get the idea that when they get to the bottom of the cup, they don't have to tip it. This is a very foreign concept for them to grasp and has caused numerous messes in McDonalds. It also depends on what cup he has...if he has the one with a rubber nipple-like spout, then Gerber makes a rubber spouted sippy that is shaped like the hard plastic ones, that could be a good transition. Then there are different sippy styles, playtex has a rounded moutpiece that is way different than the gerber ones, so that would be a more challanging cup to emulate...again, don't sweat the small stuff...buy more of his favorite kind!
Hi S.>> I am a 60 yr. old Mom/Grandma/Great grandma. I think you have the answer right there in your hands, If you have a 9yr.old and a 15yr. old chances are the baby will take the cups from them if he thinks they are using them too. Remember the world of make believe? Good luck but if this doesn't work just clean the old cup with a little peroxide and water once in a while and let him keep it as soon he will loose the lid then the cup. This may be his security blanket and he will give it up when he is ready. Liz
Reading other posters I have a few additions to make. First, you can start with a "big boy" cup if you want to go that route, but you don't have to push it yet, you have time. With my eldest (now almost 3) we switched to big boy cups at the table around age 2. For away from the table (mostly water or his naptime milk) we allow sippy cups without the plug, gauge, or whatever the insert is called. This is mostly because his baby brother (14 months) still primarily uses a sippy cup and it is security. MOre and more he wants to use the big boy cup though because big boy drinks (soy milk, chocolate milk, juice, etc...) go in the big boy cup and only water and plain milk go in the sippy cup.
If you want to switch to an older sippy cup because you are worried about the suction being too much on the existing one you have two options. First, just pull out the plug or gauge or whatever the darned insert is called and the fluid should move freely, no harm no foul same sippy cup - no worries about suction ruining the teeth. Second, most of the major brands (Gerber, Avent, etc...) have staged cups with interchangeable lids. If it is the cup he is attached to - put an older stage lid (stage 2) on the younger stage (stage 1) cup. If it is the spout then put the younger stage (stage 1) lid on the older cup (stage 2). Once he is adjusted to this you can then switch out the rest so that he is just using the older cup.
Good luck! Hope you find some advice you can use.
Some things are hard to introduce, so why fix something that is not broke? Since he likes that one, all the better=)
