When is the right time to lose the sippy cup and how do you go about ditching it. My son likes his sippy and is pretty reliant on it in the mornings after he wakes up and in the evenings - almost like a bottle. During the day, he does ok but is always asking for juice. I am just worried that he won't get enough to drink. How much should they be drinking at this point? Any tips on switching to a cup?? Please let me know. Thanks!
About 18 mos old I go to a cup with a spout with the daycare kids. If they spill it a lot then I go back to a sippy for a few more months.
My own kids went to uncovered regular cups by age 4. But they still use sippy cups if we are traveling in the car and they will need to drink (like on road trips or when we do picnic lunches) or if they want a cup of water in bed when they have colds. Sometimes it's nice to have non spill!
All my kids use sippy cups still. They are 5, 3 , and 1.
The reasons...if they do not finish their milk I can toss the sippy in the fridge and not worry about spillage. My 1 year old can't grab the cup and spill it all over the floor and carpet. They can take their drink outside and not worry about bugs getting into it. My kids can all use a big kid cup, but for convience sake...we use sippys.
For my first, we used a sippy until about 20 months. They did drink from a cup before that but mostly with help. By the time they were 2, they had small cups they would drink from on their own. They did make messes but it is all in the learning process. My 14 month old likes to drink from a regular cup but I watch closely. Now that it is summer, it is the perfect time it give water in a small cup. A dixie or shot glass size works great. Also a water bottle with out a sport top is a good start. I plan to have the sippy only for going in the car or going places once she is about 2 yrs old. You could start introducing a regular cup now and let him transition. He may surprise you and prefer it.
We ditched it fairly close to 2 years. Started out by letting her have from sippy cup but without the stopper then without the lid. It was quite straight forward.
ALL THE BEST!
V.
Our 22 month old is just transistioning to the real cup. He still uses the sippy when we are outside, in the car or in the house (not seated). But, if he's seated at a table - he uses the real cup. Start small (dixie cups are great) and just give him a little bit of water in there and let him try. He'll spill at first, may cough a bit but will get the hang of it.
Another time to teach him is when he brushes teeth at night.
As for how much to drink, that's a good question. We always have water readily available for the boys. At meals we offer milk and the occasional juice watered down. They both drink plenty.
Try keeping a cup with a straw or even a sippy cup of water in the refrigerator. My kids have had a water cup available to them in the fridge since they were very young. Then you know he'll get enough to drink, and it won't all be juice. We did juice for lunch and milk for breakfast and dinner, then water any other time.
Bonnie,
You should try to switch to a cup with a straw. The reason is that the sippy cups with spouts don't help children's tongues develop as they should for speech. A regular cup will help your son develop hand skills and straw will strengthen his tongue for speech. Sippy cups are great for on the go and in the car, but for everyday use you should try and switch. As for how much should your son be drinking is around 20 oz. and no more than 4 oz of juice a day. Just have a cup around or ask if he would like a drink. There are lots of cups out there with straw that don't leak very much, tiny little drops.
Good luck.
K.
Hi, I have 3 boys between 19 months and 5 yrs. The little one always has a sippy with water in it around somewhere. I give him milk in the morning and at dinner, then all day long he has water and maybe one juice. I figure when he's thirsty he'll have his sippy.
As for the cup, you have a long way to go yet. I do have the cups with tops on the for the older kids but the baby can only use those at the kitchen table. They love to take the top off! He'll be using the sippy for a couple more years.
He's only 1 year 5 months? Cut him some slack. He's doing great. You could try teaching him a cup with straw during the day so there will be an easier transition when he's 2-3 years old. Keep him off the bottle. You're alredy doing better than most of the mamas on this site. Good for you!
He is still young, if he likes using a sippy cup let him have it. He is not even 2 years old yet. We all have to choose are battles and the sippy cup is not a battle I would choose for you to under take with a 17 month old child.
Hmm..my son is 20 months and loves to drink from a plastic wine glass and regular cups too. The spills get to be too much though. He also uses a bottle too as the sippy cups are not entirely spill proof esp in the car! So..I guess it depends. My daughter is 4.5 and uses a sippy cup around the computer keyboard so she does not spill and talks a mile a minute! Her speech is better than mine and she sucks her thumb still. She can pour her own juice into a sippy cup and then practically put it into the dishwasher when she is done. She gets it all herself. Hope that helps.
My son stopped drinking from a sippy around 18 months. I couldn't find any stoppers, so I just gave him a glass and set him down with it. He did just fine and he's been sippy free ever since. Well, except for car rides. Its easier than having a big mess if he drops it!
Think about taking him to the store to pick out a big boy cup, a sippy cup with the straw. Now that it is summer, although the weather hasn't figured it out yet, they even have insulated cups to keep drinks cold. Maybe if he gets to pick it out, he will want to use it.
My oldest daughter is 5 and she still gets sippy cups when we are in the car or at bedtime with water, so I wouldn't take any criticism from anyone.
If you are really ready to give him a regular cup, start by giving him a regular cup at meal time when he is sitting at the table.
Good luck. I have 3 kids and I am still trying to perfect motherhood.
We have like 20 kinds of plastic cups in our house. Every situation has it's spill-proof requirements. If he's in his high chair, give him the most open cup he can handle. When he's walking around with water, get a cup with a spout that is not spill-proof (slat style). You can decide what drinks he gets where, and with what cup.
If he is being a stickler about the sippy cup, give him only milk in it, or better yet, water. If he wants juice, he will need to sit at the table and use another type of cup...you make up the rules that work for you.
If he gets used to lots of different styles, he won't be so attached to the sippy cup.
well first off the sippy is not that bad but alot of juice is. Read the content of sugar in juice. Depending on how he sucks on the sippy may not be all that good for his teeth. Kids tend to allow the juice to sit on the back teeeth when drinking thru a sippy. Where as with a cup they can't do that. Any time you try to remove bottle or sippy you'll get a fight but it will only last a few days.... try it . good luck BTW these cups were invented for parents to help with the spills and they are great for the car.
My daughter is 4 in Sept and she still uses a sippy cup if she's not at the table drinking. She seems to be always thirsty, so as soon as I'm sure I'm not going to get a bunch of spills all over the house, we'll stop. When she's drinking at the table with a meal, then it's a regular cup.
My son is just over 2 and still uses a sippy cup and as far as I'm concerned he can use it until he is in college! It is spill proof and I have enough messes to deal with without adding spilled milk. Use your judgment, if you don't mind the occasional spill then go ahead and move him.
Like most of the other posts, around 18mos or so we only used "open cups" during meals. Essentially we said 'sippies' were only for first am or at bedtime. When I refer to sippies here, I'm saying true sippy cups, not sport bottles or straw cups. We used this as a "table" rule. We bought some different plates and made a big deal out of the "new" tableware for big kids.
We used plastic dixie cups at first, or small plastic cups (like the "kids" cups from Fridays, Go Roma, etc). What I didn't like about Dixies is that the kids can squash them or crack them.
We continue to use sippies or straw cups, just for the spillproofness of them - and my kids are 4 and 6. I do not let them walk around with the cups. It's just while they wake up in the am and at nighttime for a cup of water bedside. We do not use "the piece" inside that prevents a spill when knocked over. I just don't allow "open cups" in our family room or in bedrooms for the kids - way too much trouble. This way if a cup IS knocked over, I don't have a whole cup worth of liquid everywhere, just a small spill (usually it's milk in the am and bedside ice water at night - they do act as a "thermos" too).
All day long, meals and out on the go my kids use "open cups". In the car, occasionally they will get one of those 'disposable' sippies or a straw cup. (I keep spare disposable kids cups in the passenger seat cup holder in the door...a nice back up!). We use them ALL THE TIME, at the movie theatre, playing at the park, etc. I can just buy ONE drink, without everyone having to share sips or fight over who holds it.
I hope this helps.
