Sometime around the 6th month when you decide to wean
your baby, it will also be a good time to introduce
a cup. This trial and error phase will be messy and
time consuming for sure. However the concept of drinking
from a cup should be initiated early on and doesn't
matter if she's breastfed or bottle-fed. Since she's
starting to take solids now, water becomes an important
supplementary drink so the quicker she learns this
skill the better. In addition to that babies are encouraged
to drop bottle feeds altogether by the time they turn
one.
The Cup before Baby's first
birthday
• Your baby may be ready to try the cup when he is
able to sit without aid or support and hold objects
• Your baby is ready for a cup when he/she can be
spoon-fed.
• Babies with a more or less regular feeding routine
and pronounced interest in foods may be willing to
try drinking fluids from a cup.
Benefits of starting Early
• Experts feel that prolonged bottle use impairs speech
and gives rise to language issues.
• It also promotes dental headaches. Drinking from
the teat takes longer and any drink with sugar in
it will mean prolonged contact with baby's growing
teeth, resulting in possible tooth decay.
• Weaning to a cup encourages two handed development.
Beginner cups are generally two-handled.
• As with eating more solids, drinking from a cup
will stimulate the mouth muscles to work harder and
consequently help in the development of speech.
• Introducing your baby to a cup early on will reduce
the chance of bottle attachment. Generally babies
can be encouraged to use the cup from 6 months onwards
and can be weaned off the bottle when they are around
one and one half years of age.
• Some babies take on to the cup without much hassles
while others are quite resistant; therefore offering
the cup as early as six months is worth trying.
Drinking milk - transition
to a Cup
Ideal time for making
the switch: If baby's growth is normal the ideal time
for this transition to take place would be water sips
when baby is around 7-8 months and formula in a cup
when baby is around 12 months old or slightly thereafter.
• It is advisable for parents to introduce milk in
the cup early on because once babies get accustomed
to drinking milk from the teat, refusal to drink milk
in any other way is highly possible. Consequently
when you remove the bottle you will find yourself
inadvertently removing the child's milk away too,
and we wouldn't want that to happen.
• On the flipside if your baby is drinking fluids
and eating more solid food well, the amount of milk
she is taking in is going to gradually dip. Don't
push the panic button provided your baby is doing
well.
Don't worry about the Mess!
• For starters, use the cap on a baby bottle as a
drinking cup. Short cups will mean the liquid is filled
to the brim and this allows for the child to sip while
sitting upright.
• The trainer cup resembles a bottle which your baby
is used to and may thus appeal to some babies who
prefer the familiar over something totally new. The
flexible spout is very much like the teat and will
feel pliable in baby's mouth.
• Many mothers seem to prefer the sippy cup because
of its non-spill feature. Though spill-proof the downside
is your child will have to suck harder and may end
up being frustrated with so little liquid coming out.
• Training systems come with a few types of tops including
teat, straw and spout. This makes transition to a
cup easier
• Then you have the open cup where the liquid is very
accessible. Cups without lids also look like the type
everyone else in the family is using. Offer cup without
lids as early as possible especially if your baby
has the chance to copy and learn. Otherwise, once
in a while especially in the start, encourage your
child to sip from an open cup. Undoubtedly messy but
it will help your child to exercise mouth muscles
and promote movements of the tongue, lips and jaw.
• Having decided on the cup be it trainer, spill-proof
or lidless, be prepared for the mess that will come
along as your baby makes her attempts. The important
thing is your baby has to learn to get her fluids
out of a cup, never mind the spillages along the way.
• Finally babies have to learn using a cup and letting
go of the bottle before reaching toddlerhood and this
takes time, so why not introduce a cup before she
turns one!
