How to teach my baby to suck from sippy cup

LittleLeahBee · August 2014

My son is turning 10 months old in a couple of days, and I've been trying to introduce a sippy cup for a while. The first one I introduced was the Nuby kind, which has the silicone tip that baby has to bit to open up the flow of liquid. He did well with that one very quickly, but I've grown to hate that brand's sippy cup because I've had 5 out of the 6 I've purchased begin to leak by the second use. I don't want to use them anymore, so I've tried to introduce other brands that require you to suck on them to get the liquid out, and my son doesn't know how to do it. I'm worried I've ruined the opportunity by first introducing the kind you have to bite to free the flow. We've tried multiple other brands with no luck. He bites and he bites hoping to get his drink out, and eventually gets frustrated and cries.

I've tried so often and for so long now that I'm feeling like giving up, but I would really love being able to introduce a sippy cup, so I'm at a loss.

Do any of you have any suggestions for teaching my son that he needs to suck to get his drink out? Or any brands of sippy cups that I should try instead?

I'm open to any and all suggestions.

ashiscute · August 2014

Don't use sippy cups. There is no benefit to your child to use a sippy cup. It's best for development to use a straw type cups. These still require sucking but use their mouth muscles differently. Most of these spill or leak if left unattended because they aren't meant to be spill proof.

When DD and DS were small I'd buy the generic ones at target that had handles for water and then just use a take and toss cup with a regular straw for meal times.

LittleLeahBee · August 2014

Thanks guys! I appreciate the advice. @ashiscute, I know that Nuby makes a straw type of cup too that is leak proof. What are your thoughts on that? I actually have a couple because I was intending to try that with DS too...but I hadn't yet. This is the kind I have: https://www.amazon.com/Nuby-2-Pack-No-Spill-Flexi-Colors/dp/B003N49ML8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407789298&sr=8-1&keywords=nuby+straw+cup

Would that be better? I'm interested in your thoughts, as I hadn't heard sippy cups were a bad idea until now. Thanks for your advice! Let me know if you think these ones are better, or if you would recommend another brand more.

jtmomma13 · August 2014

We are having the same issue with LO. He uses a regular sippy just fine but has no idea how to use a straw. We use pouches at random still and lately I've been letting LO suck from the pouch himself. So I am going to try and reintroduce a straw and see if he can figure it out. Probably not the most conventional way but we will see if it works!

ashiscute · August 2014

My DD has a speech disorder and Oral Sensory Processing Disorder and has been seeing a speech therapist since 17 mos. The first thing the speech therapist asked is whether or not we used sippy cups because they have a negative impact on speech. (They did not have any affect on us because we never used sippy cups.)

I have never used the nuby cup you posted but have tried tommee tippee cups and playtex cups that are similar and they are very difficult to suck liquid out of. I was concerned with the little amount of water that DD was getting and tried the tommee tippee and easily figured out why she wasn't drinking much. It was very difficult to get water out. It wasn't worth the effort for her. That's when I switched away from cups that are "spill proof". The valve that stops the liquid from spilling out makes it very difficult to drink from.

These are the two types of cups in my house (other than a regular open cup)-

https://www.amazon.com/The-First-Years-Straw-Ounce/dp/B0054YZDWC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407854240&sr=8-1&keywords=take+and+toss+cups

https://www.amazon.com/Zak-Frozen-Water-Bottle-Girls/dp/B00LNGN03Y/ref=sr_1_60?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1407854436&sr=1-60&keywords=water+bottle

The take and toss cups are great because they're cheap and you can reuse them for a bit and then toss them and get new ones. I just use a regular straw with the cup and throw them away. These are the cups that the kids drink milk from at the table. The second water bottle is what the kids get water in all day long and that we would take in the car. This cup does spill if the straw isn't closed. It has a straw valve like a typical water bottle and therefore isn't difficult to drink from.

I personally think that teaching them to drink from a straw is more important than finding a cup that won't spill. It really depends what your needs are for the cup what kind you choose. I hope that helps.

Carmen101613 · August 2014

We have a lolla cup that I would love to use instead if the nubby sippy , but he won't drink from it. I have tried and tried to teach him. To be honest, he isn't great at drinking from the sippy either. I end up diluting his formula a little so he gets a little more water. I know that is no help to you, but I'm in the same boat.