How the *&%# Do I Use This Sippy Cup?

Try the take and toss cups. You don't have to suck as hard and there are no pieces to put together. Those were the best cups I could find.

My daughter never used sippy cups, she hated them. Have you tried them? You have to suck SO hard to get anything out. They are not necessary. Sippy cups are a recent invention (to cause anxiety in moms, in my opinion) they didn't exist when I was a kid. By about 14-15 months most can learn to drink out of a regular glass at the table. Or use a plastic cup with a spout (no valve).

My daughter drank millk out of a bottle at bedtime and drank out of a regular open cup at meals until she was three, then the bottle went away.

Don't stress over this, it doesn't matter what she drinks out of and at what age.

My kids learned with the valve taken out first, so that when the tipped it up the milk dripped out into their mouth. Once they figured out that something good was in there and how to suck on it, I started putting the valves in and it was no problem.

I also have both the Nuk and Avent sippy cups. To be more specific, if I were you, I'd start with the Avent cup, and leave off the clear silicone valve underneath the white spout (it just pops off of the white part) and milk will drip out of the Avent spout when tipped up. You can leave off the white valve on the Nuk, but as you experienced, the milk won't drip out of the Nuk sippy, it will pour out. So I'd go with the Avent while she figures it out. And then use both the Nuk and Avent with the valves in.

We started with straw sippies. The small ones allow you to squeeze the bottom of the cup to get some liquid to the top so they know what that weird thing can do.

Also, I found straws to be much easier for my daughter to get the liquid from than regular sippy cups with teeny-weeny holes. She didn't have to suck as hard, so she drank a lot more water.

BTW - if you do get the straw cups, be aware that as the liquid warms to room temp, it creates a vaccuum in the straw and liquid can come up through the straw just while sitting. I would make sure you're okay with that... or use it only for water.

Once my daughter got the hang of the straw cup, the others were easy. However, I tried to transition her to a stage two sippy and she wouldn't have anything to do with it. It was just too much work for too little reward with those after the ease of the straw.

Also, I like the Nuby with the really soft, flexible silicone tip - she can chew on it and liquid will come out. I also had to show her how to use the cup by tipping it up for her to begin with. (Now I have to remind her by pulling the cup down that the straw cups don't work that way... dealing with a bit of confusion, but it's entirely manageable.)

for my carpet and my sanity and cleanliness. I only used sippy's for this reason. I started my kids on open cups at 12 months while sitting in a chair and floor covered in plastics. They liked the open cups (with only a table spoon of liquids at a time in the cup) better. For sippy cups I use the take an toss brand NOT the straw ones, but the ones with a spout, they only have 3 small holes. They stand up to moderate pressure being squeezed and dropped, and easy to clean. They are not expensive and you have several in case of some being washed. The best part is that the holes are not large, so the liquid does NOT come out easily even when being sucked on. Sometimes when they got older I had to take a stick pin and poke the holes a little larger or they would get mad cause it didnt come out faster. I hate the silicone ones they dont wash well, especially if milk got left too long in one, and the kids get frustrated with them. I think they leak and are less durable than the cheap take and tosses.

I have never had to teach my kids. They would start off trying to suck on it like a bottle. It took a day or so but then they realized less tongue more suck and had no problems after that.

Thing is you can't give up and go back to the bottle and then try again the next day. As long as they can hold out and get the bottle back they will, it is easier that working through the problem at hand. :)

I left the plastic doohickey thing off that is inside (as per my doc's advice). Have rarely had trouble with spilling.

We are in the same boat with our soon to be 1 year old. He mostly likes to chew on them. We have been giving him one with a soft straw and while he mostly shews on it, he has recently figured out that he can get some water out of there. He has learned to make the kissing sound and when I give him the cup, I make the sound and then he tries to with the straw in his mouth, which helps him to suck.

Using a sippy cup, is instinctual and intuitive.
The kid just sucks on it.
Just like with a nipple or bottle.
No 'teaching' about it.

Or since she is 1 year old, just try a straw cup.
The kind of straw cup that is for kids, and thus has a lid on it, to prevent spills.

get rid of the valve....my first never could suck hard enough. I tried and I could hardly get anything out....
if you insist on sitting for eating and drinking (which you should but in today's society no one does anymore but that's another issue) - it doesn't matter if there's spillage because it's contained.
start w/water - no real cleanup there. within a few tries, she'll have it down and you can put milk in. Big bonus - you'll transition to a regular cup much faster and easier. My kids had a regular cup down by 10 or 11 months (but we started sippy at about 7 months because they both hated bottles).
good luck

I agree with the straw sippy cups. That's what I had started both my kids with. Around 9 months. It was much easier for them to learn that way. It is also very true about the pressure and it shooting liquid out.

After a couple weeks with the straw they will get the hang of the sucking thru the little holes.

A soft spout sippy is a good place to start. I think we used Nubby for a while. My kids eventually liked the straw cups but not at 12 months, closer to 24. the take and toss ones are pretty good and cheaper. We have tried half the brands on the market over several years with 2 kids and it adds up.

we got one with a straw and he did what he was supposed to right away...not sure how he knew to suck it, but there you go. he is 1 year yesteraday

My son wouldn't drink from sippy at that age. He would just chew on it. I think around 13-14 months he started drinking and he does really well now. Initially I had the hard spout ones. I got the soft spout sippy cups(Little muchkin) and also straw cups. My son drinks well with all of them now, but initially I think it's better to start with soft ones. Your son may chew on it too, but eventually he will get it.

Do they have soft silicone spouts? My DS had a hard time figuring it out. I got him the Nuby sports sippers, which have long spouts, kinda similar to a nipple.
So his first reaction was to suck on that. From there, he got the idea for other cups. You might try that, if the cups you have now have hard spouts.

My daughter figured it out day 1. Every kid is different.

With each of my children, it has been a quest to determine which type of zippy cup they respond to best. Right now, my twins both favor the Nuk Sports Sippy Cups. These are great because they don't have a separate flow restrictor to forget and the clear silicone spout lets them see that there's something in there. Now these can become a mess when they start pushing in on the silicone and playing with it like that, so be aware that once you find a brand that they successfully learn from, that may yet be short-lived. But I certainly recommend the soft-spouts for learners.

My son stuggled with the regular sippy at first, so I gave it a try. It was VERY difficult!!

We switched to the soft Nuby ones and straw cups, then went back to regular sippies!!

Not sure which one you are using now? Some of them require the kid to suck really hard and my kids hated those. I think the Nuk one is what I ended up with (has a really soft spout that pops out when sucked on). The secret is to let your little one know that something comes out of it by giving the cup or spout a little squeeze while in their mouth. Same goes for teaching to drink from a straw, get a juice box/pouch, put the straw in lo's mouth and give a gentle squeeze. It's amazing how easily they learn since their sucking reflex kicks right in!

I never gave my kid a sippy cup. I gave her a regular cup with a handle and she learned to drink from that.

My kids learned using the juicebox - straws. It is easy for them as they dont have to work hard :) You can dilute the juice in the juicebox and give it to them.

My kids couldn't ever use a sippy cup. They could a straw cup with ease though!! Maybe try that?