Won't Drink Milk from a Cup

Updated on October 01, 2008
A. asks from Mukwonago, WI
21 answers

My 13-month old daughter will not drink milk from a sippy cup...only a bottle. Her doctor said she doesn't need to drink much milk as long as she's getting dairy from other sources during meal times. Any advice to get her to drink milk from a cup? I've tried many different brands (including Playtex, Nuby, and First Years).

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K.T.

answers from Minneapolis on

I would just say to keep offering it and she will get used to it. Is she drinking other things from a sippy cup besides milk? If she is ok drinking water or something else from a sippy cup then she will just get used to drinking milk too. Or you could try to just go strieght to regular cups. My friends 1 1/2 yr old drinks from regular cups not sippy cups. He just prefers them. So you could just use a small plastic cup and only put a very small amout at a time and maybe she will like that better. Some children are odd with what they like or don't like. Good luck!

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J.F.

answers from Minneapolis on

We've been stuggling with my 10 month old to try different sippy cups period. She has shown interest in straws when we drink from one, so we tried that. Who knew that the cup she now drinks from is the one we got for free from Chili's! It is a plastic cup with a plastic lid that has a hole big enough for a straw. We bought a large bag of straws with the bendable necks. This might work for you, too!

Good luck!

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L.D.

answers from Minneapolis on

She just holding out for the bottle. As long as she gets milk in the bottle, she won't from a cup. Throw away all the bottles and in a few days she'll want milk bad enough to take it from a cup. In the mean time offer yogurt and cheese.

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K.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

It took our 12-13 month old a full month of repeatedly trying before he would take milk from a sippy. But we never gave him the bottle again. Our doctor had suggested using a sippy with a soft spout...the Nuby brand worked the best for him. Some people also go straight to a regular cup, but that can be very messy for a long time, so you may not want to go that route. Good luck!

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K.S.

answers from Milwaukee on

Our daughter wouldn't either. I figured it was just an association thing and since she is crazy about yogurt and cottage cheese we just let her go that route. If it's okay with your doctor I guess I don't understand the problem to just let it go. Maybe when our kids move to regular cups then we can force the milk issue.

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H.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

A.,
I had the same problem with my 14 mo old until I tried a sippy cup that didn't have handles. She took to it immediately - I too had tried many brands of sippy cups and then one day wondered if the handles were a problem. I use it only at the times she used to get a bottle - and I bought the Munchkin one with the silicone tip - but there are many out there! Hope this helps!
Good luck!

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D.D.

answers from Minneapolis on

My 2 year old son didn't like drinking milk from a sippy and still doesn't... some things that helped a little were switching from whole to 2%, adding a little bit of chocolate for flavor, and warming the milk some (if they are used to room temp)... A friend of mine tried soy milk and her daughter took to that. Maybe you could experiment a little...

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E.C.

answers from Minneapolis on

We also removed the valves from the sippy cups. The take and toss brand cups work the best for my son. At 12-13 months, we also removed the lids and assisted with sips from the cup to ease into using a cup. I would pick a cup or two and try to stick with it for a couple of weeks.

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D.S.

answers from Grand Rapids on

A.; its ok she wont take a sippy cup, if she wants something to drink she will just have to use a regular cup, and sit and drink it at the table, sippy cups are really for travel use, i was raised where you did not walk around with drinks, its a good way to make a mess, or food for that matter, its ok to have a child progress faster than others, if she wants a regular cup, why not, just set limits of its use, you drink from a cup, and dont need sippy lids, she wants to be like you and maybe she can handle the cup, its ok, just tell her ok if you need a drink, come sit at the table, and she can have a drink , they dont need drinks all the time, like the dr said, its ok, just enjoy life and dont sweat the small stuff, enjoy life, D. s

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K.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

There are a couple of things you can try. There is a "gripper cup" that is kind of an "in between" nipple that you can try as a transition to a straw sippy. Or, you can find a straw sippy that allows you to squeeze the bottle to get the liquid up the straw. Once she figures out that the milk will come up the straw, she should pick it up fairly quickly to be able to go to a straw sippy. I carry both the gripper and straw sippy cups in my store. You can email me if you would like more information at ____@____.com.

Otherwise, it could be that she is just being stubborn in not wanting to give up the bottle. You may try just being more adamant that she not have a bottle during the day and work toward getting rid of it.

Good luck,
K.

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A.H.

answers from Appleton on

My daughter is now almost 14 months old, and up until last week, she refused to drink milk out of the sippy too! I had worried about it for a while, especially since so many people tell you kids should be weaned off the bottle before their first birthday, they could get baby bottle tooth decay, etc.
Anyway, we would offer my daughter the sippy cup at every meal and snacktime in her high chair (daycare did this too). Her typical response was to scream until we broke down and poured the milk into a bottle, or she would just throw the cup on the floor. We would try to "help" her drink from the cup by putting it up to her lips and tilting the cup and placing her hands around the cup to hold it. We also used a variety of cup types, including a cup with a straw. She did not get the whole straw thing...she would just chew on the straw, or pull it out and play with the straw, abandoning the cup.
I finally just relaxed about the whole thing...well, gave up in frustration is a more accurate description.
We went on a camping trip around her 13 month birthday, and I didn't even pack any cups. We gave her bottles for the whole three and a half days.
After we returned, I gave her a sippy cup on a morning when we were both in a fairly good mood, me with absolutely no expectations. AND, she picked it up and just started drinking out of it!! I was amazed. I cheered and made a big deal, mostly because I was genuinely excited. She had one more bottle that afternoon at daycare, but after that, she never had another. It was like a switch just went off in her head.
She didn't drink much at first out of the cup...but, I made up for that with other dairy like yogurt and cheese. Now in a matter of a couple weeks, she is a pro and will chug a whole cup if she's thirsty.
I think every kid has their own developmental timeline and there is a broad range of what's normal, even within a family. So, try not to worry too much...maybe you'll hand her a cup next week and she'll surprise you too!

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J.

answers from Minneapolis on

our son went on a milk strike when we took the bottle away. Our doctor gave us the same advice. It took a good month or so and then he started drinking out of a cup.

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K.B.

answers from Waterloo on

our son didn't want milk in the sippy cup either just keep trying and don't switch between at the same feeding. if they are thirsty they will drink. the take and toss cups are what have worked best for us.

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L.M.

answers from Minneapolis on

You could try only putting water in her bottle, and put milk in the sippy cup. Then just give her both and let her choose the cup. She might get mad at first, but will not take long to adjust.

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C.

answers from Lincoln on

I would try a sippy cup with a straw. They worked for me with both of my kids. I think they are evenflo or playtex. Be careful the ones I had leaked easy so I would not have her use it in the car. Good luck!

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M.F.

answers from St. Cloud on

I babysit for my 4-year-old and almost 12-month-old granddaughters and the little one has been watching her sister drink out of a glass and now will have nothing to do with a sippy cup, which is fine by me. I just put a little milk in a small plastic glass I can see through and give her a little at a time while feeding her. She loves it and is almost to the point of doing it all by herself. She has worn some juice and milk, but not choked and the clothes are washable. I say more power to her and the less breaking of a sippy cup her Mom will have.

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K.L.

answers from Des Moines on

Have you tried using a cup with a straw? It is not spill proof like a sippy cup, but maybe she will be willing to try that. There are kids cups you can buy with lids and straws to match. Maybe your 4 yr old will like that, too, and little sister will want to be like big sibling? :) Keep trying the sippy cup, however. They are so convenient when on the road. Good luck-I found that anything new in a child's life just takes time!

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S.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

I took out the valves in the sippy cups. They have to suck really hard to get anything from the "no-spill" ones. Warming the milk a litle might help. Also, if you wait another month or two, you can go right to a regular cup, with no lid or a lid with a spout. In the meantime, there's nothing wrong with a bottle, if you want her to consume more milk. My daughter drank milk from a bottle, once or twice a day until she was three, and drank from a regular glass at mealtimes.

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T.N.

answers from Minneapolis on

Try a cup with a straw. Make a big deal out of her "big girl cup". You'd be surprised at how fun straws can be! My daughter didn't do sippy cups either, and honestly, they are hard to drink out of. Maybe even the old fashioned bendy straw, not the "spill proof kind", in case she is just frustrated with how difficult it all is. Good luck!

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C.L.

answers from Cedar Rapids on

My girls were the same way when I switched them from formula to milk and we were able to get both of them to start drinking it after it wasn't ice cold anymore. While this would taste super gross to me...they both would drink it afer it sat out for 10 minutes or so or if I nuked it quickly in the microwave. I think it's because of the transition from warm bottles to cold milk in a cup.

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E.I.

answers from Duluth on

well just start watering down the milk in the bottle, until there is only water in the bottle. no more milk bottles. and hopefully for her teeth, you arent giving her milk in a bottle at bedtime.... rots teeth... i knew a 3 year old that had major tooth issues, and had to have ... .a dental procedure done!!

anyway, just gradually do it.

and yes, milk is not necessary, in fact it may hurt more than it helps... www.thechinastudy.com

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