I Want to Lose the Sippy Cups!

Two year olds LOVE to dump things! It's great fun for them to see cause & effect. She might also be getting a kick out of your reaction to the spill. It's typical as well as a developmental stage for kids at 2 to dump things over. I'd say her fine motor skills just aren't developed enough to skip sippy cups or cups w/o lids. Since I don't have a dishwasher, I always choose sippy cups w/simple 'plugs.' When my older son hit 3, I started keeping the cups from the kiddie meals at restaurants & have bought bendy straws for him to use at home. Even tho he's 6.5 years, he still uses them, unless he's at the table. So, let her use sippies for a while longer & save your carpeting as well as your sanity!

My son turned 2 in Dec. and just gave up a sipper 2 or 3 months ago. We were out shopping and found a "Mickey Mouse Club House" straw cup that he wanted. I told him that if we bought it for him, he couldn't have his sippy anymore. It took a couple of days reminding him what we agreed on, but now he doesn't care. (I still give him a sippy with water to have at night. Even I spill sometimes when I wake up thirsty in the middle of the night!) So, maybe your next step is a straw cup with a lid. First Year makes some that you get 5 for about $4.

However... if she's still not eating well, don't change anything else until she's eatting regularly again. You can try offering the straw cup, but don't take away her comfort yet. ~J.

Hi Desirae,
I think the only way you will be able to get rid of the sippy is to only give the little one drinks during meals at the table, otherwise you will suffer from many spills on the floors. Realistically, we are all too busy for that today and resort to quick fixes like sippy's. My mother often tells me she took the bottle as soon as we could walk and that was it, no such thing as a sippy. However, I think they lived a more simple life at that time. She probably sat home all day with us because my dad was at work with the family car and she had no where to go.

As for the sippy's...keep them or toss them. The PED has told me they are okay with they have the hard mouth piece (non-rubber). The dentist told me I need to take it completely. He saw my little ones sippy with the hard mouth piece and said to take it
from her because the sugars from milk and other drinks will rot her teeth.

Personally, 2 months later we are still using sippy's. The sitter uses them to save her house and I use them often in car rides. I do work on using the cup, but we are just not ready yet.

C.

I retained and used sippy cups well beyond age 2 because I didn't want to deal with spills if I didn't have to. I wonder why it's so important to you to have your daughter stop using them?

Wait until she is 3.

Honestly, it will just be easier for her. I know she looks like a "big girl" compared to the baby she was. But 2 is a world away from 3, and developmentally her fine motor skills have a long, long way to go. And it sounds like cognitively she's not ready (dumping them).

And this is totally normal. All of my toddler classes, which were mostly full of 2s, used sippy cups with the tops on (the tuperware type). Not only did I deem this necessary, but the program Director who set this policy in motion was a university instructor in child development.

Just keep on as you have, giving her the opportunity to drink from small regular cups (just water). But don't rush things -- when she asks for the sippy cup instead let her have it. Her confidence is more imporant than getting rid of the bulky sippy cups in a hurry.

I too am wondering why the need to dump the sippy cups?
It's a training tool for toddlers as well as security for Mom's to know they won't be spilling everywhere!
Kids use them until they are old enought to use regular cups...there's no time frame for them to stop.
Let her continue if she feels confident using the sippy cup. Forcing her to stop too soon will affect her self confidence deeply!!