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How to Introduce a Sippy Cup
by Maria Masters
Introducing your baby to a sippy cup starting at about 6 months old is one way to help her break the bottle habit by her first birthday.
If your baby is sitting up in a high chair, she’s ready to drink from her first sippy cup — or at least, ready to learn.
Not only will this teach her that liquid can come from a source other than a breast or a bottle, but it will also help her transition away from the bottle once it’s time to wean. Here’s all the tips and tricks ypu need:
When should you introduce a sippy cup?
Introducing a sippy cup to your baby early — at about 6 months — can make it easier to wean her off the bottle by her first birthday. Some babies naturally lose interest in bottle-feeding around 9 to 12 months, which makes an ideal time to start weaning your baby off the bottle.
Pediatricians and pediatric dentists say that babies should break the bottle habit by 12 months, and no later than 15 months.
How should you introduce a sippy cup?
Around the age of 6 months, try bringing her high chair to the table with you during mealtimes and offering her a little breast milk or formula out of a sippy cup.
Doing so reinforces the idea that she should eat primarily at mealtimes, rather than grazing throughout the day. Toddlers who sip out of a sippy cup all day can be at risk for obesity and cavities.
Once she sees her parents drinking out of a cup, she will be more likely to want to drink out of one, too.
Do you have to use a sippy cup to transition from the bottle?
No — and in fact, some experts recommend skipping the sippy cup altogether, and transitioning straight to an open cup instead. That’s because sippys are more like bottles than big-kid cups in the sense that the liquid is slower to come out (and therefore spends more time pooling around the teeth).
Plus, learning how to drink from an open cup is an important skill that your little one will need to master — something that’s often possible before the age of 2.
Pros and cons of sippy cups
Sippy cups are a big plus for busy parents. One of the biggest pros: They’re practically spill-proof — which means fewer messes and less laundry. Plus, they’re portable, so your little one can carry one with her in the car, in her stroller and at day care.
But sippy cups have some potential pitfalls, too. For starters, extracting liquid from the sippy is a slower process than drinking from an open cup or even a cup with a straw, so fluids like formula, pumped breast milk and milk (for tots over the age of 1) spend more time bathing the teeth with sugar.
Tots who tote their sippy cups around with them all day can be especially at risk for tooth decay and cavities; what’s more, they may not have much of an appetite for solids if they’re constantly sipping from their sippy.
As if that weren’t enough, some experts also think that children who drink from a sippy cup don't exercise their mouth muscles in the same way that they would if they were drinking from a straw or an open cup.
How to choose the best sippy cup for your baby?
The right cup will make those first sipping encounters easier and less messy for everyone. You might have to experiment with a few options until you find the right match, but there are a few helpful features to look for:
- Weighted on the bottom. Sippy cups that are weighted on the bottom are sturdier than non-weighted cups and won’t tip over as easily.
- Spill-proof. Learning to sip from a sippy cup will be messy. By choosing a leak-proof cup, you’ll be in the clear when she throws it off the high chair — and she will!
- Phthalate-free. Chemicals that are found in plastics, can throw off your body’s hormones.
- Handles. Most babies like cups with handles, which are easier for their tiny (adorable) fingers to grip.
Of course, if your child grabs your glass of water at dinner, there’s no harm in letting her take a supervised swig (as long as there’s no ice in your drink). She’ll learn to drink from a variety of cups faster if she tries several sooner.
Tips for transitioning to a sippy cup
Some tots won’t give up their bottles without a struggle. But with patience, they’ll come around eventually. These tips can help ease the transition.
- Fill it with the familiar. Your baby might take to her sippy cup more readily if it’s filled with a familiar fluid, like breast milk or formula. Or, she may balk at her old favorite coming from a strange new source. In that case, try water or cow’s milk.
- Invite participation. For someone who’s been suckling from a breast or bottle her whole life, sipping from a cup is a whole new experience. So let her take her time getting sippy-cup-acclimated (let her touch it, inspect it, even play with it). If she reaches out for the cup, let her grab hold while you help her guide it. She wants to hold it herself? Let her — even if she can’t quite figure out what she’s supposed to do with it.
- Go slow. Try holding the cup to your baby’s mouth and letting a few drops trickle in. Remember to let her swallow before offering her more — otherwise she might gag. She may also be too surprised at first to swallow — which means that the fluid may trickle right back out of her mouth. She doesn’t seem to get it? Hold the sippy cup near your mouth and pretend to take a drink (“Mmmm! That tastes good!”).
- Vary the cup. Sippy cups are the ultimate in convenience, but that convenience comes with a potential price — including slowed oral skill development and tooth decay — especially in the toddler years. So switch between the sippy cup and a regular cup, which will need more supervision, of course, to avoid spills.
And again, supervised sips out of your (ice-free!) cup are okay. The more practice she gets with regular sipping, the easier it will be to transition her from a sippy cup later on.
What should you do if your baby refuses a sippy cup?
If your little one turns her head away, that’s her signal that she’s had enough (even if she hasn’t had any) and your signal to put the sippy cup (or any cup) away until the next meal … or, if she’s really resistant, until another day.
If it’s been more than a month, or your child is over the age of 2, speak to your child's pediatrician. He or she might be able to help you make the transition, or refer you to another expert who can.
When should you wean your baby off a sippy cup?
There’s no “best time” to transition your baby away from the sippy cup, but as long as your little one is able to sit up in her high chair, she’s probably ready to start taking sips from an open cup or a cup with a straw.
Plus, learning how to drink from an open cup is an important skill that your little one will need to master — something that’s often possible before the age of 2.
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