My Son Won't Use a Sippy Cup

Most kids give up the bottle around 1 year so you still have some time before you need to really worry about it. For both my kids I ended up trying a few different types of cups until I found the right one. Only buy one of each type though so you don't spend money on cups he won't use. My 18 month old loves the nubby cups from walmart too. He will drink out of another type but only if he is not home. At home it has to be the nubby ones. Another thing to watch for, even though it sound dumb, is the color of the cups. My son has a preference for red cups and if he sees the red with other colors, he always asks for the red one. So, I now have mostly red cups to save us all aggravation.

My son's little sister was the same way. She would throw her cups at whoever tried to give them to her.

The best advice I can tell you is to not give him a choice. If he can see a bottle then he'll want it. When my niece realized the only way she could have her juice or milk was in the cup, she started drinking out of it on her own. We just put it down where she could reach it and get to it when she was ready.

Hi R. - have you tried the NUBY cups they sell at walmart? They are transition cups - have the cup spout, but it is soft like a nipple. THEY ARE NOT leak proof although they are advertised as such, I would definetly not lay him down with it, but may help at mealtimes. They are sold in a 2 pack or single (under 2 bucks). GOOD LUCK

Hi Rachel,

Have you tried a straw cup on him. My daughter initially would not take teh sippy cup either, totally different sucking action, and different muscles used from bottle to sippy cup. I was so sure she would not know how to drink from a straw cup until one day I just handed it to her, and she knew what to do. Try that. Hope it works.

R.

Hi R.-
You could try the soft silicone spouted sippy cups-I believe they are made by Nuby. I have seen them at Walmart and some drugstores. You could also try a straw sippy cup-there are a few out there. He may find the straw cup interesting to drink from. Good luck.

We started with the Toss n Go sippee cups. They were much easier for our dd to suck out of. The sippee cups with the valves are tough.

My youngest son was breastfed exclusively for the first year of his life. This was not by choice either! He would just not take the bottle, not even with pumped breast milk. At a year I stopped nursing (a whole year, non-stop, I was ready!!!) I tried to give him a sippy cup, every size, type, color and shape I could find, but like the bottle, he would just not take them! I ended up giving him a regular cup. I bought small 8 oz plastic cups and I would put just a sip in it at a time; to reduce the number of trips I had to make to the fridge, I would pour a full glass and pour a sip at a time into his cup. It was frustrating at first, but honestly it ended up being a blessing. I used sippy cups with my oldest two and probably bought a hundred or so as they would always mysterious go awal. I would sniff out misplaced sippy cups by the smell, and I when found them under the couch, behind the T.V., in the toy box, under the seat in my car , oh I could go on and on, I would have to throw them out because they were so gross! (smelly, sour, cottage cheese milk, yuck!) I swear one is still hiding in my house somewhere, there is a smell in my kitchen that I just can’t eliminate (although, I wouldn’t put it pass my recently estranged husband to have hidden rotting fish in the curtain rods lol) Seriously though, I have no words of wisdom to offer on how to get your son to take the cup, I failed miserably in my efforts, but I did want to offer the alternative solution that I ended up using and that has been reasonably successful (although, I have recently bought stock in Bounty!)

my son is 8 months old and i gave him a sippy cup at 6 months and he has mastered it. he grabs right a hold of it and drinks when he is thirsty. Are you using one of the trainer sippy cups with the handles and a soft mouthpiece? They are spillproof as well. If you arent, I recommend trying one! mine are by playtex but avent makes them too. At first he couldnt hold it very well cuz it was heavy with the water/juice or whatever in it so i helped him and then over a few weeks he could hold it himself.

My daughter wouldnt take it at first either..i actually started her on the sippy cuos with the straws in it....she took to that no problem, then eventually did take the sippy shortly after

Hello Rachel, If you want your son to use the sippy cup, try only putting water in a bottle. My 2 children were funny when I gave them sippy cups. I first only gave the sippy cups as they sat in the high chair. They would throw it, etc...but eventually they saw that if they were thirsty, they had to drink from the cup. -M.-

This could be a case where your son is just not ready. You may just need to hold off. My son had the same problem (he is 3 now so this was a while ago.) The thing that I found that worked were special sippy cups called "Nubbies". You can purchase them cheaply at wal-mart. The tops are plastic not hard so it's an easier adjustment from a bottle. For about a month my son would only use the Nubbies and then he easily transitioned on to hard topped sippy cups.

J.

My son had the same issue just a few months ago. (He's 13 months old now) Teething is the culprit. He still has a hard time with the traditional sippy cups and continues to chew on them. Fortunately I discovered a great alternative...Nuby makes a cup with a silicone straw. This works great, and won't hurt the roof of the mouth!!! (The straw is stationary, short, and soft...a brilliant invention!) It's easy to hold, easy to drink from, and doesn't spill beacause it has a flip-top lid. I read studies that state that straws are better than sippy cups for oral developemnet so this cup is excellent all around :)

My 18 mth. would only use a cup with the straw
-Shanie

Sometimes they are just not ready to give up something they are used to and comfortable with. All kids grow differently, and you have to read them. Who cares if your friends kids use a cup, your son will probably walk before theirs or talk before theirs. And, he will eventually give up the cup. Have you ever seen a 5 year old walking around with a bottle in their mouth?

I'm sure you'll get other responses, but 9 1/2 months sounds pretty young for a sippy cup. When my son turned twelve months old, I threw out all of his bottles, and it took him by the end of the day to adjust because he realized that was where his milk was, and he snapped into immediately. But, of course, that is your decision what age you decide to put your child on a sippy cup, but really, it's recommended after age twelve months. I would say throw out all of the bottles, but he's under twelve months, LOL! Also, when babies are teething, their behavior changes. Some children have a rough time cutting teeth, whereas other children respond to it more smoothly.

Good luck!

I had the same problem with my little boy. My friend son's are the same age as him and they were all using a cup and he wasn't. A friend of mine suggested buying the sippy cups with the handles on them. He just turned one in September and he has it down pat. I would say he caught on around 10 1/2 months. So don't worry, he'll get there. You'll be amazed, one day he'll just do it!!!

I think you should just continue to give him the cup, especially at mealtimes. He is playing with it and chewing on it, eventually he will figure it out. He has plenty of time before he needs to use it full time. I see that you work full time, try not to let the daycare provider push you into pushing it on him, he'll get it in his own time, trust me. I have a 2 1/2 yr. old and an almost one year old...just keep giving it to him.