How to Teach a Child to Drink Out of a Cup

Unless you plan on sending your little one off to her first day of kindergarten with a bottle tucked into her lunchbox, transitioning her to a cup is a must. According to the pediatric pros at the KidsHealth website, you should start the bottle-to-cup journey during the latter part of your baby's 1st year. Although you can begin to introduce a sippy cup well before the 12-month mark, KidsHealth notes that babies about 6 months old don't have the fine-motor skills to drink from a cup without assistance, until they are close to 1 year of age.

Things You'll Need

  • Sippy cup

Instructions

    • 1

      Gradually transition from bottle or breast to cup. Avoid taking the bottle or breast away, at first. Eliminate one bottle a day, such as his breakfast bottle, and switch it for a sippy cup. Continue to swap the bottle for the cup more frequently, as he becomes more accustomed to using the sippy cup.

    • 2

      Provide plenty of encouragement and praise. Talk up the benefits of drinking form a cup -- such as the cup makes her look more like her big sister or say to her, "Mommy and daddy drink from big-people cups." Praise her efforts to drink from a cup, and tell her how proud you are of her efforts.

    • 3

      Use a spill-and shatter-proof cup such as a sippy cup with a soft, nipple-like spout, at first, to mimic the feel of a bottle and also to ease the transition.

    • 4

      Fill your child's cup with milk. Ease the change from bottle or breast to drinking cup with a liquid that mimics formula or breast milk.

    • 5

      Swap out the spill-proof cup for a training cup without a valve to truly let him "sip" from the cup. Choose a training cup that has a snap-on or screw-on lid to keep the contents mostly inside as your child drinks.

    • 6

      Give your child a training cup with handles on the sides. Gripping the handles will help your child hold the cup, making it easier for him to drink. Transition your child from a handle-cup to a training cup without handles, as his fine motor skills develop and he can hold onto a cup without it sliding out of his hands.

    • 7

      Remove the lid from the training cup when your child is able to drink without spilling the liquid that is inside. Test your child's ability by adding a few splashes of milk or juice into the cup, barely filling it up, and assessing how much spills during drinking. Encourage your child to sip from the cup just as you do or as his big sister does.

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