How old is too old for a sippy cup??

SMHWife

Just curious on your thoughts?  I still let DD carry one around the house if she's drinking something while she's playing or resting on the couch!  And she's 4 1/2.  During meals she always uses a regular cup.  I got a funny look from a friend when I mentioned this and I was curious if I'm the only one!!!

GinandTonic

When my son turned 5, I purged them all from the house.  DD was 2 1/2, well slightly older - and dod fine with a straw or a big girl cup.  I realized he was using them just because they were there and they were only there because of her.  If she weren't around, he would have stopped sooner.

I do have more thermos-type cups - or cups with lids and straws - for when we're in the car or if I want to pack a drink.  But no more flat out sippies. 

Andrewsgal

I let DD have one  if she is in the movie room, or the playroom so I don't have to deal with spills. At meal times they both drink out of regular cups. DD is 4 and DS is 2.

goodheartedmommy

I think 4.5 is too old. 3 is the cut-off in this house, and I don't allow even M (26 months) to walk around with it. At 2ish, we moved to straw cups (thermos) and they use them until about 3.5-4 while out and about. After that they move to the kind with the screw off lid, and drink out of regular cups at meals. They've been on open cups at meals and at home anywhere between 2-3, depending on the child. -

joseysbride

I do the same.  I always have one of those staw-type sippys for her in the fridge and she will grab it and haul it around the house as she plays.  If I just keep a cup for water out for her during the day, she barely drinks any water at all, and I guess I just feel like she should be drinking a fair amount of water during the day.

I don't put any other liquid in a sippy cup for her, though.  She also uses the camelbak water bottles often, too.

SMHWife

Andrewsgal:

I let DD have one  if she is in the movie room, or the playroom so I don't have to deal with spills.

 This is my exact reason... I don't feel like cleaning up after the spill!

UGAbride

The boys still have them (almost 4 and 2.5), but just because I don't want spills all over the house.  Although DS #1 just started asking for a regular cup at meals, so he does use that at the table and is doing fine.  I guess I could look for some different kind of water bottle/thermos thing instead of a sippy for him to use in the car, and when we're out and about, just haven't bothered.  I imagine whenever I switch DS #1 I'll switch DS #2 as well. 

I still send a sippy in his lunch/snack, maybe I shouldn't??  It's just that I do a splash of juice but mostly water drink for his snack, so I don't want to send a full-on juicebox instead.  And he gets milk for lunch, and I think a room temp Horizon milk box would be gross.  Ok, I need to hunt down some other insulated cups so he doesn't look like a giant baby I suppose

Andrewsgal

And FWIW I see no difference between straw cups, or cups with lids and straws then sippy cups, we use both interchangeably. 

august06mom

Yeah, I think that's too old, although I'm not exactly sure why it really matters.

dnagal

Exchanging sippy cups for straw cups or stainless travel cups seems like a technicality to me--essentially the same thing, only one may look less "Baby-ish".  

at 2-3 and beyond, you child should drink from a normal cup when seated at the table.  Drinking "on the go" should be done from some kind of spill-proof cup, regardless of age, if you are concerned about your furniture (or you banish all non-kitchen/non-table drinking) 

I'm 39 and will use a travel mug in the car....so I guess I'm still on sippy cups as well.

 

SMHWife

I never use the thermos type cups... they always seemed to leak a little when I tried them in the past!  DD has gotten better about not squeezing the juice box, so she does ask for that more than a sippy cup, but sometimes the water or milk has to go in a sippy cup if she's near my couch! 

ridesbuttons

For us sippy cups are largely gone now that DS2 is 2.  I generally do not let my kids walk around with a drink.  If they want a drink, they may sit down at the table or counter and drink.  Walking around with a cup of milk or juice is unnecessary, IMO.

I have had both kids in speech therapy at different times.  The speech therapist recommended only straw-type sippies (if used) as the other types can interfere with normal development of muscles in the mouth as they relate to speech.  The straw-style is a more natural movement, apparently.

We're fairly strict about eating and drinking being done at the table or counter only.  Kids and parents.

MichelleWP

We stopped at 2, but we don't allow cups other than water outside of the kitchen/dining room, and we have no carpet in our house.

gogadget

Your kids don't need to be walking around with sippy cups at all.  Be prepared to deal with a mouthful of cavities if you are letting them sip on juice all day long.  Water is fine but it my opinion it is just a crutch to be carrying around a cup constantly.

SMHWife

She's not walking around with a sippy cup all day.  But if she's chilling on the couch watching a cartoons or sitting at her little table in her room coloring or playing play-doh and she asks me for something to drink, it's coming to her in a sippy cup for now.  The kid is a walking disaster sometimes and if I can avoid a little extra clean up here and there, then I'll take it!!!

shopgirl_07

Does is it really matter? Who cares how old a kid is with a sippy cup. Seems like a silly thing to care about.

Andrewsgal

gogadget:

Your kids don't need to be walking around with sippy cups at all.  Be prepared to deal with a mouthful of cavities if you are letting them sip on juice all day long.  Water is fine but it my opinion it is just a crutch to be carrying around a cup constantly.

Who are you?

No one said our kids are walking around drinking juice all day. She has a cup of orange juice in the morning while watching TV (gasp!) I prefer it not to be on my couch. She also can have water whenever she wants it. What kind of crutch would water in a sippy be? You mean she might actually want to drink water all day when she grows up? Oh the insanity, we must stop that bad habit now! 

Andrewsgal

gogadget:

Your kids don't need to be walking around with sippy cups at all.  Be prepared to deal with a mouthful of cavities if you are letting them sip on juice all day long.  Water is fine but it my opinion it is just a crutch to be carrying around a cup constantly.

Who are you?

No one said our kids are walking around drinking juice all day. She has a cup of orange juice in the morning while watching TV (gasp!) I prefer it not to be on my couch. She also can have water whenever she wants it. What kind of crutch would water in a sippy be? You mean she might actually want to drink water all day when she grows up? Oh the insanity, we must stop that bad habit now! 

newmomma1

I was just thinking about this today.  DD is 4.5 and other DD is 1.5.  They both get sippy cups around the house.  But the 4.5 yr old also drinks a cup with and without a straw.  Not really a big deal to me.  When she's watching TV it's a sippy cup for sure... don;t want the mess.

I guess by 5 I'll stop??  Not a big deal to me.   

SMHWife

It's not a big deal to me either.  I just thought I'd ask around here!!!  I never thought it was an issue until my friend questioned it. 

Jodi&Joe

Joey and Cam have one cup of milk in the morning and one before bed -- milk goes in the sippy.  But we have slowly been dwindling them down (due to either losing them or leaving them places, what have you) and when they are gone, they are gone.

Which I dread.  Right now, I read them their bedtime story on the couch --- while they drink their milk.  So that's going to change when it's in a cup. They will have to drink their milk in the kitchen and THEN have their story read. 

At times, they will have juice/water from a sippy but that's rare. 

 In a sippy is for MY benefit, not theirs! 

hikerbeth

My DD refused to drink out of a sippy cup after she was 22 months old.  However, we live in a dry climate so she always wanted water at bedtime and I made her have that in a sippy to avoid the mess until she was 4 years old.  Once she was just over 4, I let her have a cup beside her bed.

AnnapolisLari

Both of my kids started on straw cups. There weren't any sippies to get rid of.

We keep the straw cups because I don't want crap spilled all over my house, even if it's water. They get juice maybe once a week, if that, and the rest of the time it's water or milk.

gogadget

In my profession i see kids with sippy cup caries from sipping on juice all day.  It happens TRUST me just a heads up.. I had a patients who walked around with the straw type in her teeth all day and just threw her head back to take a swig whenever she wanted to... her mother was an RN and confessed she didn't want to deal with her so she let it happen....not being snarky at all just letting you know what i've seen first hand and had to deal with.

penguingrrl

SIL has her 5 year old still only on sippies, even at the table.  I think that's a little old, but would never say anything to her.  My older daughter has a closable water bottle we use to put in my bag and go out or put near her bed, but otherwise uses an open cup.  The younger one is starting on an open cup at the table, but has a sippy to carry water around during the day.  I use a water bottle that closes for myself during the day  because I'm a clutz and tend to knock things over and don't want to deal with the mess, so I have no problem with them carrying around a closed container of water either.  Milk is kept to the table and juice is a once in a while treat if we're having a nicer meal (Sunday dinner is the main time they get juice).

DandelionMom

I got rid of the sippies after 3 but all my girls do have water bottles for around the house and in the car. 

veloelle

DD is a disaster in the dining room, so she typically uses a cup w/ a straw and lid. I got sick of cleaning up a huge mess half way through my dinner. For snacks, random drinks through the day, it's 50/50 on if she uses a lidded cup or not. I don't much care how long someone else's kid uses a lidded cup, nor would I judge.

summerbrideDC

Anytime b/t 3-4, I think, depending on the kid.  I think picking ONE age and saying "anything after that is just wrong!" is really not taking into account that kids are individuals and reach different stages at different times from each other.  Ethan stopped using a sippy before he was 3, if I remember correctly.   But he's got friends who had them until around 4 or so.  I do think, though, once you hit the neighborhood of 4 years old, you should really have the skills you need to drink from a regular cup all the time.  

summerbrideDC

dnagal:

I'm 39 and will use a travel mug in the car....so I guess I'm still on sippy cups as well.

This is a good point---I would like to change my answer to "you're never too old for a sippy cup!"  LOL 

KRISTA555

dnagal:

Exchanging sippy cups for straw cups or stainless travel cups seems like a technicality to me--essentially the same thing, only one may look less "Baby-ish".  

at 2-3 and beyond, you child should drink from a normal cup when seated at the table.  Drinking "on the go" should be done from some kind of spill-proof cup, regardless of age, if you are concerned about your furniture (or you banish all non-kitchen/non-table drinking) 

I'm 39 and will use a travel mug in the car....so I guess I'm still on sippy cups as well.

 

this...except I'm 29.

My former stepson used one until he was over 5 1/2. NBD, IMO.

monkeyqueen

gogadget:

Your kids don't need to be walking around with sippy cups at all.  Be prepared to deal with a mouthful of cavities if you are letting them sip on juice all day long.  Water is fine but it my opinion it is just a crutch to be carrying around a cup constantly.

lol!   That's funny.

I'm fine with sippy cups, water bottles, whatever you want to call them.   My kids have straw "sippy cups" of water and I have absolutely zero intention of getting rid of them.    Kids at our school are encouraged to have water bottles (preferably with a straw to prevent spilling) of water, because it's healthy to drink lots of water a day.   That should be common sense.

I carry around a camelbak water bottle (it has a straw) when I'm out and about, so why shouldn't me kids.  They get to have a sip of water when they want/need it.

monkeyqueen

gogadget:

Your kids don't need to be walking around with sippy cups at all.  Be prepared to deal with a mouthful of cavities if you are letting them sip on juice all day long.  Water is fine but it my opinion it is just a crutch to be carrying around a cup constantly.

lol!   That's funny.

I'm fine with sippy cups, water bottles, whatever you want to call them.   My kids have straw "sippy cups" of water and I have absolutely zero intention of getting rid of them.    Kids at our school are encouraged to have water bottles (preferably with a straw to prevent spilling) of water, because it's healthy to drink lots of water a day.   That should be common sense.

I carry around a camelbak water bottle (it has a straw) when I'm out and about, so why shouldn't me kids.  They get to have a sip of water when they want/need it.

AggieCouple

Really?  H and I use "sippy" cups all the time, that is cups with lids, in the car.  I don't see a difference between those and the nice, cheap, dispensable (i.e. I won't freak out if we lose one) ones they make for kids.  ML, who is almost 5 and hasn't necessarily NEEDED one for 3 years, still uses them in the car, and I have her use one for breakfast before school if she's having chocolate milk or something that make cause a change in clothing.

 Neither of my kids actually used sippy cups as transitional cups; we went from boob to straw cups to regular cups.  We brought out all the different sippy cups we had attempted from storage more recently because I was tired of the chewed up straws.  Then, I liked them so much, but we kept losing them, so I bought some of those cheapie ones by The First Years.