Are spoutless sippy cups better?

parents.com - The Best Transition Sippy Cups and When to Introduce Them - Parents

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As your increasingly independent child prepares to make the transition from the breast or bottle to drinking out of a cup, it can be helpful to choose the right sippy cup to ease that switch.

When to Introduce Sippy Cups

Your baby probably won't be able to hold a cup or drink solo without spilling it until after age 1, but you can let them start practicing earlier. The ideal time to introduce a sippy cup—whether with a straw, spouted, or spoutless—is typically around 6 months old, when they start solids. They will be having a lot of new sensory, motor, and cognitive experiences when they're first eating, so it may be best to wait a week or two before adding the cup. Also, as with all transitions, think about what else is going on in your child's life before you begin. Have they started a new daycare? Did you recently move houses? If there have been any big changes, you may want to wait a month or so before beginning the switch to a cup. Too many changes at once will make your child feel insecure and likely to cling to familiar routines and objects.

Tips for Easing the Transition

Your baby won't start drinking from the sippy cup overnight. Here are some expert-approved tips to help bridge the gap between the breast or bottle and cup.

Try out a few sippy cups

Although there are tons of baby cups to choose from—hard- and soft-spout sippies, and those with a straw—some experts recommend spoutless sippy cups because the others may hinder feeding development. If possible, buy several types; your child may have a preference. For example, some babies prefer cups with handles (especially those who like to hold their own bottle) but others do not.

Start by offering an empty cup

First, offer an empty cup and let your baby explore and play with it. Do this for several days so they'll be familiar with the cup before you put liquid in it. You can also explain that they're soon going to start drinking from the cup, suggests Mark L. Brenner, Ph.D., author of Pacifiers, Blankets, Bottles, and Thumbs: What Every Parent Should Know About Starting and Stopping.

Teach them to sip

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Make sure your child is seated before giving them a cup with water, breast milk, or formula. (The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends you avoid juice at this age.) Hold the cup up to their mouth and tilt it slowly so a little liquid dribbles in. Give your child time to swallow before offering more. If you put breast milk or formula (or even a smear of pureed baby food) at the tip of a baby cup that has a short straw, your baby will taste it and probably suck the straw to get more.

Expect messes

The first few times your baby drinks from the cup, it can be a bit messy (expect lots of drooling and dripping). Don't force your child to take more than they want, since you don't want to turn this into a power struggle. If they try to grab the cup to drink on their own, by all means, let them.

Make the cup appealing

If you've been bottlefeeding, an easy way to do this is using the bottle for water only and saving the good stuff for the sippy cup. "If given the choice between having milk in an unfamiliar cup and water in their favorite bottle, most kids will go for the cup," explains Jennifer Shu, M.D., editor of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Baby and Child Health. You can also show them that it's fun: Take a sip from a small cup and say, "Mmm, yummy!" Your baby may just want some too.

Limit time with the sippy cup

Once your baby likes the cup, they may want it all the time—but don't let them carry it around during the day, use it as a pacifier, or sleep with it. Constantly bathing their teeth in sugar from drinks (even the naturally occurring sugars in breast milk!) increases the risk of tooth decay. "Nursing on a bottle's nipple throughout the day and night means your child's teeth are in prolonged contact with milk or juice, and that can cause cavities," explains Dr. Shu.

Always supervise your child

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Supervise when your baby drinks from a cup while seated. If they walk or run with a cup and fall, it could lead to mouth injuries.

Learn when to wean

The longer you wait to wean, the more attached your baby will get to the bottle or breast—and the harder it will be for them to give it up. After your baby is comfortable with the sippy cup (about a month or so), you can begin the weaning process. If you move too quickly, they may view the cup as more of a punishment than simply a new way to drink. Start by phasing out one midday feeding session, since babies usually eat the least at that meal and aren't as emotionally dependent upon it. Replace the feeding with a snack or a meal, including a beverage from a cup. Wait a week (or two if your baby is struggling with the transition) before eliminating another feeding. Continue phasing out one feeding per week until your child is off the bottle or breast completely. "The evening feeding should be the last to go because your kid is probably most attached to it, especially if it's a big part of his bedtime ritual," says Dr. Shu.

The Best Sippy Cups for Babies and Toddlers

Ready to start weaning your child off the breast or bottle? Of course, you could introduce them to open-top cups right away, but you'd have to deal with plenty of frustrating messes. (You better believe they'll love chucking that full cup straight across the room!) To lessen the stress, it's usually smarter—and cleaner—to choose a sippy cup designed for the transitional phase. The best sippy cups will be easy to clean and use, made without harmful chemicals, and able to withstand spills. Keep reading for our top picks on the market today.

parents.com - The Best Transition Sippy Cups and When to Introduce Them - Parents

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