On Monday we took away my 2 year old daughters sippy cups...boxed them up and mailed them to babies. The cup was her security blanket, so to speak. She even took it to bed full of water. The main reason we took it away is b/c she is getting spots on her teeth from constantly having it in her mouth and she is losing weight b/c she prefers drinking to eating. She will even fill up on water and now she is losing weight as a result...26 months and 21 lbs. I knew the next few days would be rough, but...wow!!! Yesterday she screamed/cryed for 3 hours when it was naptime and never fell asleep. At one point I was crying along with her. Last night it took my husband and I an hour and a half of tag teaming to get her to sleep. I am trying everything, singing, rocking, back patting, laying with her, etc... Before we could just lay her down and walk away. I am close to my breaking point since I also have 2 other young children...any advice to smooth the transition?
Well we made it through the week. Haylie successfully fell asleep on her own last night...without the cup. Naptime is still more of a battle, but 30 minutes is doable. The babies she sent her cups to sent her a present (which she loved) and now she is sleeping with a blanket and baby doll. She has also been asking for a cup with a straw or for a cup without a lid. Thanks for all the great advice. Playing the "bad guy" to our children is sometimes hard to do, but sometimes neccessary.
Hi A.-
The only thing I can think of is to try to replace the sippy cup with something else. You say you told her that you mailed the sippy cups to babies.....maybe tell her that the babies were so proud of her for giving up the sippy cup that they sent her a new stuffed animal or dolly. Maybe she can take this to bed with her instead of her cup?
Just a thought.....
Good Luck,
K.
I would talk with her and let her know that all the other babies needed the sups because they dont have any. Let her know that she is a big girl and that big girls drink from a big girl cup...poor thing! Offer drink and snacks often and show her when you are at restraunts and other peoples houses that everyone drinks from big cups. I have to make that transistion soon and I do dread it....good luck
I just read some of the other responses and I believe you are doing the right thing. Not to say that Sippy cups are bad for a two year old, but your little girl is having problems(teeth, weight loss, anxiety, ect.) Listen to your gut on this one and hope it ends soon for you. Sometimes just getting on their level and having a talk will help..
My son is 3.5 years old and sleeps with a sippy cup tucked under his arm...sometimes he will set it upon the headboard of the bed.
I see no harm in it...he doesn't carry it around all day, but he is a huge drinker, so I limit milk and water down his juice a lot.
Maybe like the other poster suggested letting her pick out ONE new sippy at the store and then have it only at nap and bed times with little or no water in it.
Or you can hold out and by day four she should be over it. Just three more days of turmoil.
{{{{hugs}}}}
The only real concern here is that she's filling up on water and not eating. You've already taken the cup away, it's a shame to give it back...but I did have to do just that with bottles with my middle child. However, he only got one bottle a day, and had to stay in the playpen to drink it. He was(and still is, at 18 yo) a very active child, so he hated being 'cooped up' to drink it. In all of one week, he'd given it up on his own.
I have to agree with the other reply that mentioned giving her something else, a dolly or stuffed animal for being such a big girl. There isn't a health risk involved for either of those if she goes to bed with it or carries it around the house with her.
I agree, why is it so important to you that a 2 yo not have a sippy cup? Give it back to her. You will know when she is ready to give it up. Do it the same way they suggest to switch from the bottle to the sippy cup. Offer a normal cup at meal times but let her have the sippy cup in between and at bedtime.
Once she is consistently using the cup at meal times, then pick one between time to work on and teach her that the normal cup will be available but that she has to leave it on the counter (or table or wherever she can easily reach it but is not being carted from room to room). Then work on the next in between time.
finally you can do the mailing the sippy cups to the babies thing again, but I totally agree with the other person on this. Give her something like a stuffed animal in exchange and teach her that she can have a normal cup with some water on her dresser so if she wakes up thirsty in the middle of the night she can get a drink.
I really do not see the harm in a 2 yo having a sippy cup still. There are far more important things that can be worked on at this age. ;-)
Good Luck!! ;-)
try giving her something else in the cups' place... a new special toy, blanket, stuffed animal... maybe even take her to the toy store to let her pick it out. she is probably missing the oral part so much, she may chew or suck on the new item... I have a few friends who's kids suck on the corners of their blankets as habit... anyway- good luck, dont' give in!! We have given in lots with our 3 yr olds 'wants' at bedtime &I really regret it!
I don't know about smoothing the transition, but what I think you may need is just some encouragement. You know that you are doing the right thing, just keep up the good work. No matter what you do, you daughter is doing to have some 'separation anxiety'. Just keep on. It may take longer than you want of this horror, but when it's over (and it will pass) it will be well worth it.
I feel for you b/c I am in the same boat. I solved my issue by giving the cup back. I figure that the 5 before her did not go to kindergaten with their cup and she won't either. The fight just wasn't worth it to me. Not sure what to do. Good luck. If you find a solution, please share.
What did you give her in return. Supper Nannie always says to give something to them when you take away their special things.
I totally understand why you don't want the sippy cup to be her security blanket, especially if she is losing weight!!! However, she is still so young and I see nothing wrong with her having some type of security blanket. Maybe get her one of those really soft small blankies that has a cute animal on one end. My 3 year old son still sleeps with his "Raffi", and if he gets really upset about something giving him "Raffi" usually calms him down. It is a little pastel green blankie with a giraffe on it. Also, my 3 year old niece still sleeps with her Pooh Bear blankie.
Talk with her and let her know that she can hug her new blankie and sleep with her new blankie, and that cups are for drinking out of, not to sleep with.
Honestly, you may not like my answer but I say give her the cup back. Why is it important to you that she not have it anymore? I don't think it's unreasonable for a 2 year old to have a secrurity item or to still drink out of a sippy cup for that matter- my 2 year old daughter is the same way with her cup and also takes it to bed with water. We are begining to potty train and know she shouldn't drink water so late so I've been steadily decreasing the water in the cup so that there is hardly any in there- it's really more about the cup. Some kids have bears or blankets that they are attached to and for some it's the cup. I don't think it's unhealthy and while it's not great for their teeth- it's not like the pacifier especially if you are not giving milk or juice in it at bedtime. I think 2 is still pretty young- I say let her have it for a while longer.
My only reservation about the idea of giving the cups back is that you will be teaching her that "sending it away" is not a permanent solution. What happens then? You give them back, she realizes that these are the same cups that the babies were suppose to get... and she discovers the ruse.
And then, how do you take them away again?
If you do go to the store and buy *1* new sippy cup... What about not filing it up? If it is her security item, does it really need to have liquid in it? Maybe just having it will help soothe and you can still focus on other cups, getting her weight up, etc.
Oh... Have you tried straws? I know, not environmentally friendly... However I was having a hard time with my DD and found that she was particularly excited to use a straw, especially if she can choose the color and put it in. We use the sippy sup sport bottles but without the straw that comes with it (because I'm not good at always cleaning all those parts and I think its more hygienic if she uses a plastic straw).
Good luck!
Oh how I remember those days. I have three boys the older one was addicted to his sippy the middle was pacifers and by the third we knew the game.
One thing that worked with me was rewards or prizes.
Every day that he/she did not cry or have a temper tantrum they could pick a goodie from prize basket.
I went to the dollar store and got lots of fun $1 toys.
It seemed to work, as the hours turned into days and days into weeks, before you knew it they had forgotten all about the sippy cup. Good luck!!!!
Your doing a good job so far so I would keep being consistant you'll have a few bad nights but she'll finally realize its not going change and she'll adjust. Theres no easy way when we help our kids with their adjustments.
I think you have done a good thing. Even if you only limited her to water in the cups it sounds like she would still just be drinking instead of eating, and surprisingly there actually are health problems associated with drinking too much water.
Our now 3 year old went through similar not going to sleep and screaming issues twice in his late toddler/early twos, once with a household change (new baby) and once for no reason we could tell. If you can tough it out for a week the situation will get easier and usually by week two most of the drama is over. If it is not or you fel "toughing it out" will drive you insane :) - then maybe try having just one cup that is not a sippy cup but a "big girl" cup (we have some designed for 2 year old cooler cups) that she can ONLY drink water out of and ONLY at nap time and bedtime and which you fill partway to limit her intake.
In the meantime if you stay cupless, I reccommend letting her pick out a new "big girl" toy as reward for sending off her sippy cups. You may also try a little alteration in her bedtime routine that takes the place of whatever she did during the sippy cup time. In the evening, after stories we sit on the bed with our 3 year old and "talk." We ask him about his day, what made him sad, what he is looking forward too, etc... This has made him less likely to get back out of bed or call for us since he gets a "last chance" for our undivided attention and to spend time with us before going to sleep. It helps him feel more secure too.
Hi A.,
My kids are now 21 and 12, but they both loved their sippy cups. They are wonderful, well adjusted, bright people. I am also a clinical social worker who sees kids and adolescents for therapy. I feel for your little two year old. I've never heard of spots on the teeth from a sippy cup. If you're worried about her wieght, you could put milk in the cup. Both my kids were (and are) slender and drink way more than they eat. She will grow up faster than you think and there is no reason to stress her out about a cup. Sippy cups are a convenience-they prevent spilling, but are easier than a straw. When I taught preschool years ago in a class of 15 three and four year olds, most of the kids had sippy cups. Is someone pressuring you to take the cup away? Let her have her security-two is extremely young. Good luck. Listen to your heart...and to your sweet little daughter...she is giving you a clear message about what she needs.
D.
