Sippy Cup Transition?

Hi A.,
We didn't go from sippies to glasses, we had plastic cups for the kids, regular cups without lids. I'd start there. Try a tiny bit of water, like an inch in the cup and see how he does. If he can manage it, gradually increase the amount of water.
The glasses we've had for many years are heavy, and bulky, they'd have been hard for tiny hands so the kids didn't use them til about 5 years old.

I used to work at a daycare and at 24 months sippy's weren allowed in the classroom anymore for meal times- the childresn used the small paper dixie cups to drink from, some we filled up only little by little as they learned and other kids could drink the whole thing fine without spilling-
when my daughter was around 20 months i tried the same thing at home- she did very well and now can drink from any glass. Id say your daughter coudl start learning now, expect a few spills, fill it only half way up to start- and maybe get her some smaller cups to start off :) good luck & have fun with her- this age is the best!!

A. -- Whenever your son shows interest, I'd start the transition. There isn't a magic age. Some kids are ready earlier than others. Using short plastic cups filled halfway (as suggested by another poster) is the way to go initially. We encouraged our daughter to take small sips in the beginning otherwise she proceeded to spill whatever liquid was in the cup all over herself. It takes practice, but once they get, they become pros at it.

My advice is give him a plastic glass whenever possible. Just put small amounts in it so when he spills there isnt much to clean up. Sippy cups are horrible for a child's teeth. The liquid kind of stops in the mouth from them sucking and corrodes the teeth. Also the child tends to walk around holding the sippy cup and sucks at it all the time further adding sugars to the teeth

Use plastic glasses (I love the 6-pack of mini glasses from IKEA). Give him water...just a little bit...to let him practice. Practicing in the bath might be a good idea, too. Resign yourself to refilling his cup 63 times during dinner, instead of giving him one BIG glass that could make one BIG mess.

Good luck!

My children were quick going right to the cups. I mean, I thought I was to go gradually and I was going from the bottle (when my breastmilk decreased to nothing) to sippy cup that had the plug in it so if they dropped it, it didn't spill, or it it would prevent them choking on too much liquid coming out, but my boys showed that they didn't need sippy cup. They were quick and ready to move on with drinking out of a cup. There are small cups that are easier for little ones to hold because of their little hands. Don't worry or follow what books or drs or people say.....if he can and is ready, go for it. You may want to use little cups, sturdy ones that you can wash. Not the plastic ones. And give him a little bit and increase.....basically almost what everyone shared. :) Congrats to you and your little "guy". ;0)

Both of our kids had their bottles taken away on their first birthday. They didn't have an option but to use a sippy cup from that point on.

I was concerned about our son because he wouldn't take a sippy cup when we'd tried. When he didn't have a choice, he did great. We had to have a few different varieties around until we knew which he preferred.

Our daughter started around 9 months because the Day Care needed the spot in the infant room, and she needed to be off a bottle to transition. They used a cup during the day. She was off a bottle at 10.5 months.

I'd recommend stopping bottles as quickly as possible. They are old enough to use a cup. We even would give water, small amounts of milk in normal (not sippy) cups around a year so they understood how to hold and use a cup.

At 3.5 and 21 months, we still use sippy cups primarily out of concern for spills in most areas, but both will drink out of normal cups at the table with few accidents.

hope that helps!

Hi A.,
If your child is interested, let him. :) I worked in child care for years and now have a 3-year-old and 17-month-old, and cared for many children who were doing well with a regular cup by or around 18 months. Some children do not have the coordination at that age, but it can be good to start.

As a way to introduce it (and some things that worked well with my kids) you might try using short, squat plastic cups and only filling them half or less. It can also be easier to start with water in a topless cup due to spills. We kept sippy cups (or children's "water bottles" with soft straws or flip tops) for water only in the car or around the house. At the table, we use regular cups. Some children really are ready at different times, and it can be more stressful and discouraging to try to transition them when they are not ready. Soooooo...give it a try! :)

Our pediatrician wanted my daughter, born 8-08-08, off the bottle by the end of her first year. So did her daycare teachers. So, I'd say let your son sip away from cups. I let my kids keep the bottle as long as they wanted it- my son stopped drinking from a bottle at night, sometime in his early third year. It happened naturally- no weaning. So I always say let the kid lead with how they want to drink. Or else you produce a nail-biter, thumb-sucker, etc.