Son Will Not Drink from Sippy Cup

Hi L.,

Actually, your baby is pretty darn smart. Dentists are now questioning how helpful those sippy cups are. They're being linked to dental cavities etc. So, having cups that don't require sucking to get the liquid out are best. Tupperware and Rubbermaid have ones that are just spouted lids. Or just using a small unbreakable cup and have a towel ready :) It sounds like he's mastered the flow, so it shouldn't be a problem. So maye the Born Free 'trainer' cup would work great for you. But I certainly understand where it's easier to use sippy cups in public. You could try a lidded cup with a straw then maybe.

Good luck, S.

Hi L. -

Your son sounds like he's primed and ready to drink from a "big boy" cup. Unless there is some specific reason you want him to use sippy cups, I'd just jump straight to the cup. You are lucky! Some parents struggle for months or years to wean their kids off bottles or sippy cups to regular cups. Jump at the chance.

Dana

L.,
I was wondering if tried a straw cup. I run a daycare and I have several children who will only drink from these types of cups. They are much easier to get the fluids out of and depending on the kind you buy they are still spill proof. I would stay away from the parent choice brand at walmart. I had to throw my cups away from them because the way that there value is you could not clean the cup properly and the value got full of mildew. Which I think is totally gorse. I spent a week trying different things to clean it out and nothing seen to work. Also have you tried adding a little juice to the water for taste some kids just don't like water or will he not drink anything out of a cup? Hope this will help.

Hi there! I have a one year old and she prefers to use a soft top sippy cup without the little plastic thing in it. So it leaks without having her to really suck. It's a little messy but it works.

Good Luck!

I also had a simular issue with my son. I found "Nubby" sippy cups from Walmart. They are really cheap, and they seem almost like a bottle- the nipple is really soft, and shapped simularly. This is the ONLY thing I could get him to use- I've spent a small fortune in cups.

Hi L. -

I do not have any advice on how to get your son to drink from the cup b/c my son did it on his own...he hated the bottle, so I think he welcomed the cup! But, I do use the Born Free cups and have for several months (my son is now 18 months). I really like the cups and so does he, but the disadvantage is that b/c of the free flow valve, they do leak. I only put water in them, otherwise my house would be a sticky mess! My son uses the softer spout (still), or drink from a cup with a straw. If your son chews on the tops of the cups, it does cause the soft spouts to tear and they need to be replaced...otherwise they really leak! But, perhaps if he got the water easier, he wouldn't chew on it. My son stopped chewing on the top pretty quickly. I think it is really just trial and error. I would only buy one B/c they are a little more expensive and see how it goes. Also, maybe try a cup with a straw?? It may take him a little bit to figure it out, but maybe he would like it better?? Also, I have heard to try mixing water and juice to get them to like the cup and then keep backing off of the juice?? I think it may just take a little time for him to get used to the idea. Just keep offering, but don't push it. He'll get it!

Good luck.

When I trained my kids, as well as, daycare kids, I started with juice. Most kids love juice and they are willing to work harder for it. I have used the regular sippy cups with the valves. I start by taking out the valves so they can get a few free flowing sips then put it back in so it doesn't make a mess. After a few times with this they usually get the hang of it. Don't give them juice out of a bottle or any other kind of cup until they are willing to get it from the sippy cup. After they take juice you can switch to other drinks as well.

I also use Platex straw cups. They are also spill proof. At most a few drops may come out if the flip lid for the straw is open. I don't remember the correct name, but they are in the baby aisle with the sippy cups.

Hi L.,
I guess my question would be, "Why do you want him to drink from a sippy cup?" My son is 37, so we didn't have those things back then. He went from the breast to a regular small drinking cup. If your son prefers your adult glass, then get him a smaller version, and put a small amount of liquid in it. Yes, you will have spills (inevitable with little ones); but why shouldn't he learn right now that he needs to come to a certain place in your home (the kitchen/kitchen table) to get a drink. I've honestly never understood why a parent would let their little one drag that sippy cup everywhere they go. Seems to me those cups end up getting dirty and bacteria-laden from all the places they're laid. Wouldn't it be healthier to have him drinking from a cup that is always clean and always in the same place for him to get it? Just a thought. Have a great day.

take out the valve so the liquid flows easily.. when he is drinking well without the valve then put it back in.

I like the gerber sippy with a soft straw.. my son learned how to drink from a straw at 9 monhts..

he doesn thave to drink from a sippy cup.. really the soft spout sippy cups are reeally just baby bottles.

L.,

It just takes time. My son was the same way. In fact, he still hasn't gotten over the habit if throwing the sippy cup when he's done. We are working on it. Meijer was cheap sippy cups (nuby I think).....I started using those because my son has his teeth and will kind of chew on them. I really didn't find a specific sippy cup that worked better than others.

In fact, I think the one thing that did help was showing my son how to do it. I would take one sippy cup and drink out of it and then he had his own to drink out of. Crazy, but it worked!!

Good Luck!!

Hi there,
My son was the same way! We did use the Born Free (OK but huge), Gerber trainers (actually not bad), and Toss and Go (not spill proof, but it drips rather slowly). I have to say it just took a while. I really think the Toss and Go cups helped him learn to suck/swallow differently. I don't know if you nursed your son, but I did and I think he was used to not having to do much! My pediatrician said that not to worry about a day or 2 without water because he needs to learn (and they do get water from other foods, etc). Now at 18 months we use the Playtex insulated cups and he's a pro. Plus he likes to drink from a regular cup. Good luck and hang in there!!

I had the same problem with my son who is now almost 2. To this day, he still doesn't drink from a sippy cup but now is starting to be able to drink from a regular cup. I tried numerous kinds for months and he never took to any of them. I would have kept giving him a bottle to make sure he got enough liquids but he started to refuse that too around 16 months. I was very concerned about it because he would only get a few ounces of fluid a day but I made sure to give him lots of foods with water like fruits and veggies. I am not worried now about it, he never seems to be dehydrated and has enough wet diapers. Hopefully your son will take to a sippy cup but I figured, the point is for our kids to eventually use a regular cup anyways so my son just appears to have skipped the whole sippy cup thing. So my advice is to keep trying but also to offer him sips from your cup frequently and don't worry, he will eventually drink from a cup at some point, maybe just not a sippy! Good luck.

This is the only kind of sippy cup my daughter will use and so we have started my son with them as well. He is almost 8 months and will drink from it (I did try a hard plastic one and he refused to use that one). We still have to hold it for him, but it's a start. :)

http://www.babybungalow.com/nu10oznospcu.html

I bought mine at Babies 'R Us. Down side to this one is that I can't seem to find replacement nipples for this size so rather than just getting replacements I had to buy new cups. :(

J.

Have you tried the Nubby cups? Or a cup with a straw instead of a spout?

My daughter never liked sippy cups either. I let her handle the adult cups, with a lot of mistakes. By the time she was 18 months old she was a pro with a regular cup. She would ask for a drink, take it and hand you back the cup. She also did very well with straws. Now she will take a sippy if we are in the car, but for the most part when she didn't want them I didn't push them.

My daughter caught right on to the 'straw' sippy cups. she did not like the spout type of cup either. She liked the kind with the flip up flexible straw. I think they were by munchkin or playtex. Then she went right into the 'nuby' cups (they have spouts but not valves - they are easier). Those are not 100% spill proof but work better than taking the valves off from the other cups. I bought the 'nuby' cups at Walmart. Good luck.

my son did the SAME thing! he hated sippy cups only wanted bottles or cups. but, he finally transitioned over. it seemed like forever, but trust me he'll be using sippys in no time!
(munchkin brand makes a cup that the lid kind of has the shape of a regular cup, my kids love it, helped my son learn to drink from a real cup. sold at target & meijer)

My son wouldn't drink from a sippy cup for the longest time. We were so worried because we felt he wasn't getting enough liquids. We tried the Dr. Brown sippy cup and this seemd to work the best. It didn't come out too fast. He is now 14 months and drinks like a champ from any sippy cup. Give your son time, and I think he will get the hang of it!

My daughter did they same thing at that age and I gave her the NUBY Sippy's....the spout is made of silicone like a bottle nipple and is softer...she got used to those and then we had no problem changing to the traditional sippy cup. Good Luck!

We use the Nuby sippy cups. They have no valve. It is a silicone rubber 'spout' that when depressed allows the liquid to come out. As already mentioned the valve cups are showing to cause problems with jaw muscle development. The nuby is more like what they are used to with the breast or a bottle as far as getting liquid to flow. Maybe the cups you are using are just too hard to suck.

Also, there is nothing wrong with letting him try drinking from a small normal cup. Mom just has to help obviously. I haven't tried the Born Free cup...but it may just be you need to try different ones to find something that is easy for him.

My daughter had this same problem. It was because she wasn't getting enough liquid with the sippy cups. You have to practically hold the thing always upside down to get a drink. I use cups with the built-in straws and that works like a charm. They don't leak just like sippy cups but the kid can get as much liquid as they want. A tip: To clean the straw I use a q-tip dipped in some dish soap. They fit perfectly and you don't have to worry about the straw getting all nasty.

What I'm going to suggest probably goes against the grain a little bit. I would see if you can find a sippy cup that is a free-flow - meaning that it will spill. Or, take the spill proof valve out of an existing sippy cup and see if he'll drink from it. It may be, at his age, that the sucking power needed to get water out of a spill proof cup is just more than he can manage and is getting frustrated. I know that when our oldest was making the transition from bottle to sippy cup at about 1 year we had some difficulty and our day care provider (who is a family member) said that she thought we were trying to change to early - that she wouldn't get enough to drink. We had to play around with the sippy cups and found a Nuby that has a silocone tip, claimed to be spill proof (it wasn't), but she was able to use it. After a while, we moved her back to a spill proof and she did fine. At that point, we had day care move to the spill proof sippy cups. I think she was probably about 14 months at the time. I think the Nuby cup is still out there if you want to try it - they were really cheap (less than a $1 at Meijers). But that's my recommendation (but if you have light colored carpet don't put juice in it:) ). Hope it helps!

My daughter, now almost 14 months, still won't drink from a traditional sippy cup. She basically reacts the same way as your son, and I don't think she understands the whole idea of tipping it up to get the water out. Also, I have read that today's "spill proof" cup can make it harder for kids to adjust, as they have to suck a lot harder to get the liquid. My daughter ended up loving a sippy with a straw! I read to give it a try, I never thought she'd catch on, but for one whole day I just kept demonstrating how to drink from the straw and she just got it and now drinks from it all day long. Good luck!

It looks like you already got a lot of great advice. I have twin 9 month-old boys and they were having the same problem. I bought several kinds of sippy cups before my day care suggested that we just take the flow valve out. VOILA! They do tend to shake the cup at times and make a little mess, but I guess that's a part of the growing up process! Best of luck!

Hi L.,

I had the opposite problem. My child prefered sippy cups over adult cups- when I tried breaking him from using it. I don't necessarily think that him refusing the sippy cups is a bad thing. It's one less thing you have to break him from later. If he wants to drink from an adult style cup, now would be a great time to teach him- but expect spills at first. Plus, there are some plastics that are not good to use, because they are toxic, and the toxins seep into whatever is in the plastic.
Good Luck,
K.

Just take out the valves and you can use the cups you have. Tha's what I did. We also bought Tupperware cups. The only disadvantage is the spilling and deliberate shaking of the liquids onto the floor. It's no biggie :)

Hello L., My oldest, who is now 25, wouldn't drink from a bottle or a sippy cup. She went from the breast right to a cup. Even as an infant she wanted nothing to do with a pacifier either. It was just who she was I guess. Good luck, I hope you find something that works.

Im going through the same thing with my daugther..Im going to try the sippy cups that have a straw. She loves drinking from my cups that have a straw so hopefully this will work.
Good luck to both of us :-)

I didn't read thru the other responses to see if this has been said yet, but have you tried the sippy cups that have straws? I have a friend whose daughter never dranked from Sippy cups, but would drink from the ones with straws. If you haven't tried it yet, its worth a shot!