Help with Sippy Cup

There is no deadline for transitioning away from a bottle. And drinking from a bottle does not hurt their teeth. Putting them down to sleep with a bottle in their mouth hurts their teeth because the milk pools around the teeth and stays there. Just as constantly drinking from a sippy cup can hurt their teeth.

My daughter hated sippy cups - the only way she would drink from them is if we took out the valve (you have to suck really hard to get anything out of most of them). At 14 months, she learned how to drink out of a regular glass. All the kids in her daycare class did (at 14-16 months old) and hardly ever spilled. So we used bottles for milk, and regular cups at mealtime.

When I was a child, sippy cups didn't exist, they are a fairly recent invention, and they are not necessary.

My son took himself off his bottle at a year and we used sippy cups because he refused the bottle (he's 5 now and still likes sippy cups!) My daughter (now 15 months) kept her bottle exclusively until about 12-13 months) Then she got interested in sippy cups. Your child may just not be ready yet as they acclimate to different things at different times. The best sippy we found to start out with was a soft silicone top that functions like a bottle so when you sip from it the silicone parts to let liquid thru. (Not the ones that have the valve thing inside them) And not the straw kind...they don't get how to use those very easily! The same cup also has handles so it can be held easily by baby. I would try the Nuby Sippy Cup, or Pampers. I've found the most success w/ these two brands. You can change over to the hard top cups when she gets used to the soft ones.
I also put something like juice into her cup. She was much more interested in using the cup because it had juice instead of boring milk, water, or cereal like her bottle did. She will still take a bottle if I give it to her, but she's fine w/ a cup now.

Put a yogurt drink into the sippy cup and suck a little bit out so it's on the spout when she puts it in her mouth. That's what worked for my little guy. Either Earth's Best or Danimals is good.
My son also loves Tummy Tickler bottles which are spill proof. They come filled with juice but once it's gone you can throw the bottle and the topper in the dishwasher and fill it with whatever you want. I love the Tummy Ticklers so much more than sippy's and there are no extra pieces. We have at least 10 of them now. They are very cute too - every kid has tried to take it from my son.
My son still does a wake up bottle and one before bed - he's 26 months and just fine! Kids are not textbook - so don't worry too much.

Well, while my (almost) 9 month DD uses a sippy cup with no problem, she also drinks from a regular cup if I hold it for her... she's starting to figure out how to control it herself. She got pretty wet when I was teaching her how to use it, but I usually just use a regular cup of water with her 'solid' meals, and the sippy with water (or expressed BM) is available for her to randomly drink during the day. Maybe your DD will just bypass the sippy altogether.

my DD is also just playing with the sippies and Im pretty baffled. My middle DD had no problem at 6 months using a cup, never touched a bottle. This one has breast and then juice from a bottle b/c she just chews the nuby cup. The sippies these days have little valves, and it seems to make it harder for baby, i pulled them out of her cup, and she sort of drinks, but also makes a huge mess b/c it drips. Im worried b/c they say juice in bottle causes tooth decay, and frankly i just hate bottles and really dont want her hooked on one at 2, especially after I BF!!! Maybe try taking out the valve so she gets the juice and the idea, and then put it back when shes used to the cup. Thats what Im attempting.

I do home childcare and have never had a child have issues with a sippy. I do have my own methods tho!

For many years I have used the snack size cups you can get that lids fit on..they are really just a half size cup. Now they have the take and toss ones. As long as the lid fits on. I find for the younger ones, the smaller cup size is just easier for them to hold and to tip back. No valve tops. If you need to you can put just a small amount in the cup and they can still tip it up and get some out.

Good luck!