What Age Did You Get Rid of the Sippy?

I have a daycare and we are done with sippy's when they are two. They tend to eat better when they aren't constantly chugging on those cups. It does get a bit messy until they understand that big cups have to stay in the kitchen, but they do get the concept. It also helps with potty training cause they aren't drinking so much so its easier to take them to the bathroom every 30 minutes that every 10! I do let them have a sports top bottle when they are sick. That is my weakness. I just don't want them to get dehydrated on my watch!!! Good Luck!

My daughter is almost 4 and we hardly ever use it anymore, but I do keep them around for when she gets a "treat" and gets to eat in the play/TV room. Fewer spills. But at the table, she is all open cup. I took out the little rubber valves on the inside to minimize the sucking that they have to do with those, that way the supposed tooth decay risk is limited.

My boys both stopped using a sippy cup around 18mos, they used an open top cup for all drinks in the house from that time on.

The both (6.5yrs old and 3yrs old) have stainless steel Klean Kanteen's that have a sport top on them for when we leave the house, and they always have water in them. My husband and I both have them too, with screw on tops. No BPA or anything to leach into the water with stainless steel, so they are safer than water bottles or plastic sippy cups.

Why get rid of it? Adults use the grown up version (water bottles) and it's so handy to have a leak-proof beverage holder that can be tossed in a bag or taken to bed, even if it's just for comfort.
My boys, ages 6 & 2, use regular cups most of the time, but we have the sippys around for bed and the car. Of course, my 6YO can very responsibly handle any kind of cup at any time, but my 2YO wants whatever brother has and will inevitably make a mess and soak himself with any kind of cup that is not completely enclosed (i.e. straw cups), so it's just easier to have sippys around for convenience sake.
Besides, it easier to keep them hydrated when their drinks are not limited to the kitchen for fear of spills.

Do any of us really ever get rid of our sippy cups? I fill my non-spillable bottle with water everyday to take to work with me. As long as they are able to drink from a cup, I think it is okay to use a sippy cup, water bottle, whatever. My kids use cups during meals, and non-spillable bottles when on the go.
Does your son take his milk to bed with him? If so, you may want to break that habit. He should be getting his teeth brushed and then having nothing but water after that. Milk left on his teeth overnight can cause a lot of problems!
Good luck!

13 mo; he was doing great with a cup. Then a couple times he started to refuse the cup. Bye bye sippy, and we haven't looked back. Occassional use if going somewhere the water is questionable.

Hey C.,
You know, I carry a water bottle everywhere I go, and the sippy cup is really not all that different. My son's just turning two and is really good with a regular cup. That being said, he's not allowed to carry it around since he doesn't really pay attention to the liquids inside. He uses a sippy (with water) for around the house and in the car, and uses a regular cup at mealtime. If you're concerned that a sippy is too babyish for your son, I would get him a water bottle that is spill proof and easy to use (as another mom suggested). One question: does your son take his milk to bed with him? If so, that might be a habit you'll want to break. If not, how about giving him milk from a regular cup before he brushes his teeth at night?

We started phasing out the sippy at the dinner tabla at around 2.5. We still use the playtex spill-proof ones in the car (she likes to "sprinkle" the carseat) and for around the house. She is perfectly capable of using a regular cup, I just don't need the spills all over the house.

My oldest is 3 and stopped using a sippy cup regularly around 2 1/2. My middle boy is 2 (just turned this month) and still uses a sippy for all drinks.

Our son is 3 and no longer uses a sippy cup. We have a nonspillable bottle of water in the fridge so he can help himself to water whenever he wants it. We also take his water bottle with us when we travel. Otherwise he uses a regular cup at meals. We only fill it half full so if he spills we don't have as much to clean up. (We try not to make a big deal of spills...just clean them up and move on). We started switching him over at about 2 1/2 years old. His aunt gave him a special plate, bowl and cup for Christmas...it has "Cars" on it. That might have helped him make the permanent switch. It really depends on what you want to do though...I have a sister that never used sippy cups with her kids...they went straight from a bottle to a regular cup. Each person has to make their own choice.

My kids (5 and almost 2) know how to use an open cup (they get one with milk at mealtimes). But my little guy uses a sippy for water all day long, and the 5 year-old transitioned a year or so ago to reusable water bottles for water all day long. I think the important thing is that your kids *know* how to use a regular cup (like for meals), but I have found that by haning onto the sippy cups/water bottles, my kids drink way more water because they have them with them wherever I go. This means they are more hydrated, and aids in digestion. Plus, like the others said, I don't have to worry about spills (even with water) in the playroom or the car.

I think it depends on the child. My 3 1/2 year old still uses one because he frequently knocks his cups over. He's so wiggley, even at the table, that we just can't get it to stop happening. He can use a regular cup just fine though. I've got a couple little bottles that are more like water bottles people use at the gym. That way he does not look like he's still using a baby cup. We always have to have water with us for him anyway, so this works well. He's a big drinker and I'm not about to discourage that.

My cut-off was 3 for sippy cups. We keep them in case the kids have grape juice or something that would seriously stain, but otherwise use regular "big kid" glasses the rest of the time.

My son will be 3 in April and we rarely use a sippy cup. If we are home, he always uses a regular cup. If we go out, I try to give him a mini water bottle. If I know we will be out for a while and I want to bring some juice for him I will bring the kind of sippy cup with a straw.

My twins were three and a half when the sippy cup fairy came one night and took all the sippy cups away. She left a fun toy for each of them and some colorful plastic water bottles to replace the sippy cups. I wanted to break them of taking a cup to bed and so this was our solution. We let them know days in advance that the sippy cup fairy was coming and for a few nights after they wanted a drink in bed while we were tucking them in but i used a regular cup and then took it with me. it worked well.

I have a two year old boy who will be three in May. I started him about a month ago with a big boy cup during meals and when supervised in the kitchen only. I still let him have a sippy cup for running around and playing. But each time we use the "big boy" cup I emphasize my rules for using it... like no messes, stays in the kitchen. He does a good job as long as we are watching him closely.

Good question C.! I was curious to see the responses as well because my daughter is going to be 3 in April. She can handle a cup/glass well, but I mainly have her drink out of her sippy cups so that she doesn't spill when she's outside the kitchen.

When she eats her meals though, I have her drink out of the big girl cup. It was nice to see that others keep their sippy cups for awhile because I was thinking by 4 or 5, my daughter should be more conscientious of what she is doing and I can put them away then. I just need to get out of these terrible 2 stages, and then teach her to either drink in the kitchen or be more careful with what she is doing.

I hope we helped!

Angie

My daughter was 3 in Nov. We have a couple sippy cups for long car rides and taking milk/juice to daycare in the morning. Any other time she drinks out of a regular cup.

Well...unless my hubby is watching her and he uses it to let her have a snack in the living room! :)

I don't think you need to get rid of spill proof cups but the ones with the spout are supposed to be gone around 2 1/2 so they don't mess with the formation of their palate. I switched my kids to the spil proof cups with straws for when we are out and about doing other things. Other wise they use regular cups at home. I still give my 8 year old a straw cup if he is anywhere but at the table, it is just easier for me not to have messes. And the cups I have don't look like baby cups so he doesn't care to use them.

The sippy cup is a pet peeve of mine. IMO, it is for a young child that doesn't have the skills to drink out of a regular cup, period. They start with it around 6 mos, learning to drink out of a cup. Once they are about 16-18 mos, they have it down really well and transition to a regular cup just fine. Occasionally it takes longer to get the skill of picking it up and setting it down with out knocking it over and realizing you need to be careful, but I cannot imagine having a 3 yo on a sippy still. But, I will say, my 5 & 7 dds do have non-spill staw topped cups that they have filled with water by their bed at night and take if we are traveling. For the day to day drinking, meals, etc, they have a typical cup and have had one since around 16-18 mos.
S.
mom of 3 and daycare provider for 20+ yrs

UGH -- Sippy cups are obviously not the root of all evil but they are definitely a pet peeve of mine Right up there with a 2 yr old still using a bottle : D.

I hate seeing school age kids still using sippies. This is what has happened with a family member and she tried infecting my son with this senseless habit.

Get rid of the sippy whenever you feel like it. He'll drink from a cup when he is thristy enough.

Hi C.! My kids started using an open cup at 1 year but even my 5 year old uses a sippy cup if I let him have a drink while watching TV. I see no reason to let my nice furniture get spilled on. Why clean up a mess if you don't have to :)
Don't worry too much about it. We use the Kleen Kanteen with the sippy tops for the car too. Again....no mess.
It is a little funny that people get peeved about kids having sippy cups at an age *they* feel is too old. Having such a strong pet peeve about something so simple is a waste of good emotions. Don't let that affect your decision.
So, if you have an open cup at meal time and a sippy for the car and for occasional drinks in any room other than the kitchen you will be fine.

My son will be 3 in March and we honestly never really used a sippy cup. We just tend to put a small amount of water/milk/juice whatever in a small (like 6oz) cup and go with that. Daycare had them using sippy cups until they were about 2, then they switch him over also.

My son still uses his, and he's going to be 5 this summer! He uses a regular cup at meals, but when we go out and at bedtime, he uses his sippy. We try sometimes to switch to a regular cup at night - even tried last week! And there I was, again, cleaning up an entire cup's worth of water he'd spilled in his bed! Not worth it, he can use the sippy as long as he wants!

I started trying to get rid of a sippy when my son was 2 years old. I bought straw cups instead, they have either no spill ones or the take n toss munchkin brand ones. We only used the straw cups for water that he could have all day and at meal times it was regular cup. My daughter is about to turn 2 and we are planning to do the same thing.

I actually gave up the sippy except for having a drink of water right before bed (not in bed) pretty early. My second son had a nasty habit of tipping it over and trying to shake the liquid out, so I took it away at about 13 months! His brother was 2 and I took his away at the same time so they both had the same cups for meals. It worked great! I had to limit the amount in the younger boys cup at first, but he learned way faster than I thought he would, and he feels like such a big boy using a big cup like the rest of us.

Good luck to you.
Jessica

Hi C.....in our house, I let my kiddos (3 & 5) eat snack & drink juice/water around the house so when they do that I have them use a cup with a top. If they are at the table for meals they use real plastic cups. We started them with their real cups around 2 1/2. We would put little amounts of liquid in, repeatly say (still) "two hands" and expected spills. They helped clean them up so no big deal.

As far as I am concerned my husband should still be using the sippy cup because he still spills!! Haaha :)

I think it just depends on how many spills you are willing to pick up. If you have the patience to deal with all kinds of spillage..stop the cup now. If not, keep it until you think he has mastered his motor skills adequately.

Just want to let you know that my 4.5 yr. old still uses hers but can handle a regular cup since she was 2.5 yrs. or so. We have her use it outside the kitchen, in the car and at bedtime so she doesn't spill or it gets tipped over by the cats or the sibling. I don't think there's a time limit on when to rid your child of it but if it's a concern you can certainly stop it now or at four.