My son is one today and I'm looking for suggestions on transitioning to a sippy cup. I have introduced the cup for a couple of months now (on and off) and he's interested in playing with it or thorwing it on the floor. I have helped him drink out of it (taking out the spill proof part) and he will drink a little (only tried water so far since I figured it's gonna be messy), but he has no desire to try it himself.
Hi J.. Don't give up. This transition can be difficult. I introduced my daughter to a cup around 5 months so that she could get used to it. After a month of two of offering it with meals or at least on a regular basis, she takes it no problem. If he has a favorite drink definate try to offer that, even if it's formula. Good luck and don't give up he will get it soon.
J.
Hi J. --
We have a 22 month old, so we went through what you're dealing with last summer. I started introducing the sippy cup with juice or milk with the spill-proof piece attached. Some days he was interested and other days he wasn't. I just made sure I always offered it first. If he didn't drink out of it, we would give him the bottle. At 15 months, he was still favoring the bottle, so we went cold turkey. He went without milk or juice for a few meals, but it didn't last long. He figured out that if he wanted something to drink, he needed to learn to use the sippy cup. We tried all varieties of sippy cups and found the Gerber ones to be the easiest for him. You will be amazed once your child gets used to it, the bottle becomes a non-issue. At least for us, that's how it happened. We were recently at my sister's home who has a six-month old. Our son saw the bottle and said, Baby bottle. He had no interest in it at all.
Good luck!!
T.
Hi J.,
I got my daughter on a sippy cup shortly after her 1st birthday. We actually began by using real cups or her sippy cups without the lids. We held it while she sipped from it. (Yes it's messy but it was effective) I think this helped her put two and two together and the fact that she sees us drinking from the cups. What also helped for us was that I never allowed her to have anything other than formula out of a bottle so she quickly learned that if she wanted that yummy apple juice she'd only get it from a sippy cup.
She took to it fairly quickly but I have friends who's kids wouldn't have anything to do with them until much later. It's funny this was asked, I was just talking to my friend who has a 2 year old who is still using a bottle. If you find something that works, please share so I can share it with her as well!
Good Luck!
I struggled with this situation with my two little ones. My kids doctor just suggested going cold turkey and throwing out all my bottles and only offering the sippy cup. At first I didn't have the heart but soon realized that if I didn't they'd still be on the bottle.The 1st few days were rough but now we are bottle free. Good luck...may not work for every child.
Give him something he LIKES in the sippy. Such as formula/milk/juice. One of the easiest cups I have found for kids to suck from is the Gerber ones. It will at least get him going and then he won't care what kind you give him. My first had a hard time too, but using the gerbers with their formula or Milk in it.. did the trick!
When my son turned11 months I made him quit the bottle cold turkey and all was fine now my daughter who just turned 1 in April, well it's a bit harder because she loves her baba. She only gets a bottle before bed or if my husband is picking her up from my parents since it is a long drive I don't want to torture my husband with her screaming. She would rather have her bottle but I do not give her that choice. I figure if she's thirsty during the day she'll drink out of her sippy if she really wants it.
Good luck
You're on the right track - just takes some kids some time to adjust. My son actually preferred straw cups to the sippy so we made that transition first with water and milk durnig the day,then faded out the bottle at naps and finally bedtime. Good Luck!
my dr recomended never putting juice or milk in bottle only formula during this transition so they don't get confused and introduce it at every meal time i started with the advent sippy cup but quicky went to reg ones once she was confortable.
fyi as a dental hygienist
always yes i said always water down the juice by 1/2 even if it says all natural or you spueezed it yourself it has too much sugar i still do it and my daughter is 2 1/2 you don't know what kind of decay i see in my office on little ones 1-4 yrs old.
I have found one of the best ways to introduce kids to a cup is in the tub! Put COLD water in the cup, just a half inch will do. Make sure the cup is one of those with two handles so they can grasp it well. They learn VERY quickly how much water is too much! Babies don't like cold water down their fronts, especially while sitting in warm water. This has worked with all three of my children. They all were drinking out of a cup (NO LID) by 10 months old.
I am going through this again. With my first, we tok all the bottles away when she was 15 months becaue we were expecting our second, it worked but she quit drinking milk. She is now 3 and still does not really drink milk from a cup ever. My little one is 1.5 and I am using the cup for everything but milk. We have tried milk in the sippy cup, but she throws it so we give her bottles for milk only.
Hi J.,
I'm a Child Development Specialist with a non for profit agency. Our nutritionist recommends continuing offering the sippy cup with water throughout the day and at meal times, when he should be drinking milk, put his milk in it. If he is stubborn and won't take it, don't worry, if he's thirsty enough, he'll drink. She also says that it is very detrimental to a toddlers oral health to continue on the bottle. It will be tough, but you and your son can do it. Just be consistent. Hope this helps.
