Bottles to Sippy Cups

Updated on January 14, 2008
L.M. asks from Chula Vista, CA
16 answers

Hi. I have a 12 month old son who does not want to drink out of a sippy cup. I've tried several different type of cups and brands. He just throws it on the ground and crys. This has been going on for a month. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all your wonderful advise. Over the weekend, I gave my son a couple of different cups with soft tips. I put water in them and let him play with them throughout the day. On Sunday morning for his first feeding, I gave him one of the cups with formula. He actually drank out of it! Although he didn't finish the formula or drank from the cup for the rest of the day, it's a start. We'll just keep at it. My husband and I are planning to buy more cups and use them since he like to do what we do. Thanks again.

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J.N.

answers from Los Angeles on

My son never was a sippy cup fan. I think you have to suck hard especially on the no spill kind. They have cups with straws and that's what he preferred.

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D.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi L.-
Hang in there. Each child is different, so what may work for one child may not work for others. And we all try something different. With My son, it took him about 3 months to actullay drink out of the sippy cup. I would put it on his high chair every meal, he would throw it, play with it, and sometimes not even pick it up. Finally one day, it clicked that the cup had water in it. And it was easy after that.
Good Luck

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K.F.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi there. My daughter loves drinking out of the camel back bottle that REI sells. It has a straw that you have to bite and suck the water out of. She loves this over a sippy. She's been using this since she was 11 months old.
It might be the biting action that she likes. Good luck with your son.
Katherine

1 mom found this helpful
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A.A.

answers from Los Angeles on

My son really liked cups that had straws over traditional sippy cups (much better flow and better for their teeth in the long run). Playtex has a nice flexible straw that closes easily for non-spill traveling and the First Years colorful, "disposable" cups with lids and straws were also some of his favorites (and inexpensive). Maybe also try offering your son a sip of something from your cup since kids this age love to imulate adults. Don't worry, eventually he will like the idea of drinking for some sort of cup. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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S.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

I know you say you have tried many different brands, but this is a brand you may not have tried, I don't know. I kinda had the same problem because my son did not realize you could still "suck" out of things that did not have the same feel as a bottle. So, we got the NUBY brand recommended by a friend. Specifically the SOFT one, it is the same material as a nipple on a bottle, but shaped like a sippy cup. So my son was able to see that even tho it felt the same, it clearly wasn't. And after a month or two we slowly started giving him the other hard topped sippy cups and he did great. If this doesn't work, maybe you could try those more adult sippy cups for kids, like the ones that have the straw attached at the bottom so that he can't pull it out and see if he sucks out of that. Other than these ideas...I honestly don't know. :) Good luck.

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A.D.

answers from San Diego on

My son has never used a bottle or a sippy cup...he went straight from the breast to a regular big boy cup. I think those that are breastfed, generally do better going straight to a sippy cup because of the sucking action. But I think it bothers their gums sometimes, and just doesnt work for many kids.

If your son's coordination is good enough, try giving him a regular cup and see how it goes, only fill it up about 1/4 of the way till he gets a good idea, and go from there.

I wish you luck.

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B.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

Have you tried making it a game. Give him the sippy cup without the lid add a splash of water and let him try to drink. When the water is gone you can teach him the sign for more and water. We introduced the sippy cup as a toy when our son was 6 months. He'd just pound the cup on his high chair but at least he was getting familar with it, kinda. He didn't start drinking out of it until 9-10 months and he would NOT give up his morning bottle. That took until about 13-14 months. It takes time, let him play with it, might work? Blessings

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T.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Try bubbly water mixed with juice. a friend of mine tried it and it worked. When he was interested in it, she ditched the bubbles, and he still drinks the juice.

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N.A.

answers from Los Angeles on

my daughter didn't want sippy cups either she wouldn't drink from them, thats all i would give her and eventually she started using them because she was thirsty

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N.M.

answers from San Diego on

In the beginning I used the sippy cups for drinks other than the milk/formula (i.e., water, diluted juice) and left it out in their area. At snack time I give a "smoothie" - in the beginning I used the Gerber Juice and Yogurt drink (comes in the 4-packs) that I mixed with milk (1:2 ratio respectively). Now that they're two and I have a smidgin' more free time (LOL), I make the real thing. Eventually I eliminated the morning bottle then a couple of months later the evening bottle; it took 5-6 months.

The sippy cup that I used in the beginning was the Nuby brand; it has a silicone mouth piece so the transition was easier/softer for them. The negative part about them tho' is that they do leak a bit when laying down. I was able to transition my daughter to the harder Gerber brand in about a month and my son in 2 months. (Side note: they also like using the straw type but I can't remember when I started that.)

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E.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

i just threw out the bottle

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S.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

I'd try having mom and dad drink out of sippy cups for a weekend. See if that makes them more attractive.

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L.R.

answers from San Diego on

my daughter did the same thing, she didn't drink much for a few days, which her dr said it was OK, and after a couple of days she gave in and no more bottles, good luck.

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F.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

Remember that all individuals get conditioned to certain behaviors (i.e: brushing teeth with right hand, etc) and when that behavior is asked to change, resistance is to be expected. If your child is thirsty he/she will eventually drink out of something! Also, if you are frazzled with the change, your child picks up that energy and also gets frustrated. Relax, leave the sippy cups around the house so that he/she can get it and put away all bottles. It is just a matter of time and re-introducing the concept over and over again.

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D.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi there. Have you tried the nuby sippy cups with the soft nipple like spout? It's quite popular with the toddler set. I know that all my friends have the same cups for their toddlers. Carina found it too hard to suck the liquid out of a regular no spill sippy cup (I tried it and It IS hard). She's able to use the nuby one much better. I also bought the straw kind which she LOVED except it's such a pain to clean the top throughly. He might like the straw kind better.

Good luck.

D.

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T.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

I had a similar issue with my girls. They were both breast fed for 9 months and I could never get either one to take a bottle. When they lost interest in nursing and wouldn't take a bottle, I had to give them sippy cups. They weren't quite sure how to drink from them, but since it was our only option, I just kept giving it to them. When they had nothing else to fall back on, they figured out how to get the milk out of the sippy cup. It took 2-3 days, but they got thirsty enough to put in the effort to get that milk! So I guess my advice to just to keep trying. Hope this helps.

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