Sippy Cup Help! - Richmond,VA

Have you tried taking out the insert in them to make them NOT spill proof??? That's how I taught my kids how to drink from them. (Because with the Nubby they just have to bite and the liquid comes out....) Once they get the hang of SUCKING on the cup, then you can start making them spill-proof again.

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My son was probably at least 18 mos before he was willing to give up the Nuby cups. I HATED them and HATED having to replace them everytime he chewed through another one. We took out all the valves from all the other style sippy cups, so he wouldn't have to work too hard at getting a drink. I think that helped some. Straw cups and open cups just never really worked for us. In fact, even though my son is 3 now we continue to use sippy cups most often, just to avoid the mess, even though he is proficient at the open cups.

1 mom found this helpful

I went through the same problem...even with the same type cups.

I threw them all out and replaced them with the Gerber Graduates sippy cup (they come in a 2-pack). They have super hard spouts (no straw or nipple, just a raised spout). They are incredibly durable and survive being bitten and knawed on constantly.

These cups are the only ones I've found (and I've bought them all) that don't spill, and that don't get stopped up from the nozzle. They are a bit hard to find now for whatever reason...but I know WalMart has them.

Hope they work well for you too!

1 mom found this helpful

Teach him how to drink out of a straw or a real cup. Or maybe set taking him off the bottle a little further down the line, he just might not be mature enough to drink from a cup just yet?
When you want him to drink, set him at the kitchen table with his cup. It's better than having them wander the house with a cup anyway since you never know where you might find it or what it might be leaking on.
I was never one to allow the kids to wander the house with food or drink. Makes it much easier on you if you keep that in the kitchen or dining room.

My daughter would only chew on the Nuby cups too, and not really drink from them. But not enough teeth yet to chew through. I bought the cheapest hard tipped sippy cup from Target (I think it was the munchkin brand and was 99 cents), and took the valve out. She quickly learned that she could get milk/water out, but we did have her on a bottle for morning and night feedings. After a few days, we stopped the bottle, and she was only on a sippy cup with the valve out. It made more of a mess, and we had to teach her not to drop it, but she learned that something does come out (rather than all of the stress of trying to suck too hard and then refusing to try). Now that she has the hang of it, we put the valves back in, and she knows exactly what to do (and it's so much less mess!).

A friend of mine had me try the 'take and toss' cups, and they work well too (and you don't have to toss them). No valve, but doesn't spill. I found it easier to drink from myself than some of the other sippy varieties with a valve. The only thing I don't like about them is that they have a snap on lid, which has the potential of coming off to easily if dropped.

I was going to suggest a straw too. I think he will get used to the hard sippies pretty fast. He obviously knows how to do it so it won't take long and I don't think he'll get dehydrated. Yes, I would teach him how to use a regular cup too, but honestly, it's such a pain to rely on that as his sole source of drinking! It's so messy and doesn't travel well, but that's just my opinion. My kids drank out of all three at that age so I had options, but I gotta say I love a portable cup that doesn't leak!

My daughter never drank from sippy cups. I second the suggestion to teach him to drink from a regular cup. My daughter had that mastered by 14 months. She drank from a bottle at nap and bedtime, and a regular small plastic glass at meal times.

Sippy cups are a recent invention, and not at all necessary, they didn't exist when I was a child.

The open cup, even if he wants to control it may work. My daughter who has 16 teeth at 15 months likes to drink our of a cup sometimes. See if you can help him control it. If he gets a lot on him, just keep working at it. Try one of those small juice cups or the top of a bottle(the ones that go over the nipple) so it's small enough not to have too much liquid in it, but large enough for you to control. Just keep trying and he;ll get it...eventually :)

with my son i always used the ones with straws.

The ONLY sippy cups I liked was the playtex ones. Specifically they are leak proof and lock in place so your little one can't open the lid (I had serious issues with other sippy cups in regards to lips opening!). THey have a little rubber insert that snaps in place and can be easily removed for cleaning which causes it to be leak proof. They wash great and my daughter can't make them leak.

Straw cups come leak proof too (though, not completely really). I reallly would like to keep my 2 yr old in some kind of sippy cup forever cause I can't stand the messes and I don't understand trying to get toddlers out or sippy cups so fast. She drinks from a regular cup at dinner (and can do it just fine) but I like t give her access to drink whenever she wants and there is no way I am leaving a regular cup on the table for her.

She had a tough time with other sippy cups too and one day it just clicked for her.

He is old enough to start drinking from a regular cup, so I would definitely start working on that, but they aren't always convenient. The straw cups are awesome, too. My youngest never liked a regular sippy, we went pretty much straight to the straw cups. They have plenty of them that don't leak like a sippy but if you have a chewer you might start with the "disposable" ones (like the disposable sippys, they just have straws). They don't leak much (a few drops if upside down) and are cheap to replace if the straw gets chewed. Or they also have lots of fun character cups. Good luck!

(To get him to use the straw put something he REALLY likes in it that you don't usually give him. It will give him the incentive to really work for it.)

To get my DD to transition to her sippy (we use Playtex because my Mom bought them and DD didn't care), I took the valve out. She had to get used to the water pouring but she got the hang of it. I put the valves back in for travel (I do not need my car to be a puddle!) but I leave them out at home because I'm transitioning her to a regular cup. I offer her just a little in a lidless cup and she's doing alright. I suspect that if you did that, or used a straw version, he'd get the hang of it. I second what the other mom said about Playtex cups. The lids screw on, and are virtually toddler proof.

One thought -- if he has chewed holes in these tips, the cups need to go today. If they have holes, they could tear (or rather, be bitten) further and eventually a chunk could end up getting swallowed, or choking him.

I agree with the person who said take out the piece that makes a cup "spill-proof." Even if you get a different type of cup. You may have some leaks but he will learn faster how to drink properly without having to suck.

Teach him how to drink out of a regular cup. He can drink in the kitchen or sitting at the table.
Sippies are great, but kind of give kids the idea they need to have a cup with liquids in it all over the house. He's biting the sippies more than drinking from them anyway.
Take the lid off completely and offer him drinks that way.
Kids do outgrow sippy cups. Maybe it's time.

Best wishes.