Hi,
My daughter is 18 months old. I am currently transitioning her from a bottle to the sippy cup. She seems ok with the sippy cup where the spout is soft. It says it's for 6+ months. The sippy cups with the hard plastic spout is for 12+ months.
I was told it's best to move away from the bottle as early as possible. It somehow causes tooth decay etc. I am wondering is there a difference between the sippy cup with the soft and hard spout? Would the hard spout causes less tooth decay compared to the soft spout? I don't see how using sippy cup is any different that using the bottles. Sorry mamas, I could be totally wrong. I have no idea, which is why I turn to you all for help.
Thanks for all the responses. Just to add, my daughter is able to drink from a regular cup. I normally give her the regular cup during her lunch/dinner time. I want to move to the sippy cup for when she has her milk. If she drinks from a regular cup, she wouldn't be drinking enough, probably ends up only having a sip or two.
I believe the reason the bottle causes tooth decay is because children leave the bottle hanging in their mouth along with the liquid. the sippy cup should be used as a cup, not carried around like a bottle and then it should be okay.
Stop all this worry about their teeth! My daughter's both started a sippy at 5 months old, and never had bottles. My youngest is 2 1/2 and still uses a sippy. My 9 year old has perfect teeth, no cavities, and no tooth problems. My youngest gets her teeth brushed every night and I don't allow anything but water after that.
I think that so many parents are so worried about so much these days! It drives me nuts. Find what works best for YOUR child and don't put too much stock in all the "info" you find on the net. Don't put your child to bed with a drink (besides water) and you will be fine. :)
The bottle is definitely worse on the teeth (not necessarily for decay but because it will bring your child's teeth forward). As far as soft or hard spouts go, I don't think it matters one way or another. Just find a cup that she likes and use it exclusively! Your daughter will probably transition easier than you think! Good luck!
They did not have the soft spout when my kids were baby's, So mine were on the hard spout at 6 months. From 9 months to one year they only had one bottle a day, in the morning then the cup the rest of the day. My kids all had and still have strong healthy teeth. The tooth rot comes from putting them down with a bottle, I never did that. J.
At 10 months old I switched mine to a sippy cup with a straw. I think the best prevention is to not let her walk around holding the cup all day. I also would limit her amount of juice. I quickly moved mine from the sippy cup to a regular cup. When ever she wanted a drink, she had to come to the kitchen for a sip from the big girl cup and that's where it stayed when she was finished. She just turned 2 and drinks only from a cup. Throughout the day she gets a glass of milk, one serving of juice and then water the rest of the day.
have you tried the big girl reward system? like with potty training probably your next task to tackle have her try and drink from a regular cup that u are drinking chocolate milk or juice from and she will want some too. say "are you a big girl" can you drink from mommy's cup and when she wants a drink of her own let her ave a sippy cup with a hard spout or sippy cup with a straw. there are bottle companies make a toss n' go sippy cup and ones with pop out straws and when she is older you can teach he how not to spill when she she sips.
I'm with you. My son is 17 months and uses the soft tipped sippy cups. He doesn't like the hard ones (I think they slip out of this mouth). I give him a regular cup to drink from with a straw sometimes for lunch and dinner . He also has a sippy cup with a straw that he loves. I say it's probably all okay because these phases pass through quickly. I think doctors are concerned with kids having their teeth move but I could be wrong. I can see sucking your thumb for five years being an issue but using a sippy cup for 6 months?
I would get him into a team sport or band. something that puts him with a group of kids on a regular basis who work together on something. That helps build and strengthen friendships
the transistion from sippy cup with spout to regular cup with straw or no straw was a little easier for us....I guess I viewed it as an intermediate step...
My personal preference is to transition as soon as you can to a regular cup. I'm wondering if 18 months is a "typo" because by that age most children are already well on their way to drinking from a regular cup. Here's how I do it.. at around 7 months of age (depending on the child's readiness) I begin serving some water from a regular cup once or twice a day to give the child the 'feel' for drinking from a cup. I don't use a 'sippy' or 'straw' cup until after the child has turned a year old and can begin drinking regular milk. I use only the straw type cups and only put water in it. The child begins drinking milk or juice from a regular cup, and transistions quickly off the bottle when at my house (we do home childcare). Their parents are responsible for what they do at home, but at our house they do learn quickly to handle a regular cup. Until the child is able to hold and drink from the cup without a lot of spilling, I sit with them and give a lot of help. Most children will begin to let me know very soon that they want to do it all by themselves and I let them as soon as I can. Yes, there are spills and messes, but that is part of their learning process. One thing you need to understand about my method is that I avoid plastic. Yes, I give the childern glass cups. The first one I use with the youngest children is one of the small juice glass size that you get from the Kraft cheese spreads. They are a good size for the child's small hands, and the glass is sturdy enough to withstand some dropping to the floor without breaking. I believe in two years of childcare we have had three cases of a glass being broken, and only one of those was from a child dropping the glass. (The other two were when I accidently bumped a glass from the kitchen counter while getting ready to wash dishes.) If children are present in the area when the glass breaks, we immediatly instruct them to stay right where they are while we clean up. If necessary we lead them safely away from the area. It hasn't presented a problem for us, because the children have learned to listen and do what we say in an emergency situation (just wish they listened as well when it comes to time to clean up their toys!)
I'm not really sure how much difference various types of sippy cups make regarding tooth decay. I have heard that dentists recommend the straw type cups over any of the regular 'sippy' cups. I have found that the straw cups are easier for me to use for the children to have a cup of water handy whenever they need it during the day. I don't like the idea of having to try to keep that straw clean enough if using milk or juice in it, so for that reason I restrict those to water only.
I hope this helps you make your decision.
Hmmm.......I don't think it really matters. I have always had my daughter on the hard spout and she did fine. She is 27 months and still on a sippy cup. Kids tend to transition to sippy cups easier than we think. It's when they transition to a toddler bed that sucks!
Good luck!
I don't think that most sippy cups are all that much different than bottles. Especially the kind with the no-spill valves...have you ever tried to suck one of those things?!?!??!
I introduced both sippy and open cups well before a year old--we were done with bottles by a year. I like the "take and toss" kind the best. I found a couple with larger, freer flowing holes...and enlarged the other ones that were too small (with a hot paperclip). Spills aren't really a problem as I've taught my daughter to treat them like a regular cup.
Avoid tooth decay by not allowing milk/formula in a cup or bottle at night and practice good dental hygiene. The night brushing is the most important cleaning.
