Many young children develop attachments to their bottles. Bottles signify security and comfort in addition to supplying sustenance.
If your toddler won t drink milk from sippy cup then it can be frustrating. Using a Sippy cup is an important part of your child development and completes a longer transitional period from toddler to child.
However, the Transition From Sippy Cup To Open Cup is not always a simple one.
The sippy cup is traditionally used for a toddler that is incapable of operating and drinking from open cups. However, most 2-year-olds are able to correctly operate open cups so the onerous falls on the parent to help with the swap over.
Some argue that the perfect age to transition between sippy cup and open cup is 1 year of age, but we will review the pros and cons of both below.
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When Should A Toddler Stop Using A Sippy Cup
Learning when should a toddler stop using a sippy cup usually comes down to preference.
The sippy cup advantages allow you to effectively leave your toddler with any liquids’ safe in the knowledge that there will be no spills. (well as long as they don’t throw it down on purpose!)
However, some experts disapprove of sippy cups for toddlers arguing that an open cup can be used from around 6 – 9 months. Whatever your position on sippy cups they will eventually need to be transitioned out.
Learning When Should Toddler Drink From Open Cup involves understanding what choices are available to your toddler.
Sippy cups may not be the most suitable choices for all toddlers as they restrict the ability to learn more advanced motor and swallowing skills.
The function of a sippy cup is to assist in drinking but it is designed for younger children who may not have the necessary skills to use bigger cups.
Furthermore, the spout of the sippy cup prevents the front of your toddler’s tongue from lifting up during swallowing.
Toddler Won t Drink Milk From Sippy Cup
Here are a few ways to help the transition from sippy cup to open cup.
- Exaggerate the awesomeness of drinking from an open cup and show them that all the big kids, including you, drink from open cups all the time
- Give your toddler the opportunity to pick out their own special cup themselves and let them pour there first drink it
- Give them the sippy cup to throw out themselves as a symbolic farewell.
- Don’t be too harsh – if they have sippy cups at school you can remind your toddler that those are school cups and at home, you have home cups.
- Refuse to give them their best drink in a sippy cup and begin to transition it to an open cup.
- Get them involved. They will spill, drop and play with the drink in an open cup, but remind them that if the spill something they have to clear it up as well.
Toddler Stopped Drinking Milk
If your toddler stopped drinking milk then you could face an uphill battle to convince them to go back.
By this stage, they will have developed the coordination and motor skills to pick up, drink from and put down an open cup.
Here’s how to teach a “toddler stopped drinking milk” problem:
- Use a cup that has a wide base so that it can’t tip easily and make sure it has handles for them to grip.
- Try to alternate the sippy cup and the open cup. Use milk in the open cup and water in the sippy cup. However, put a smaller amount of water so your baby will have no choice but to pick u the open cup to drink from
- Demonstrate by sharing your own cup with them first. They will see how you do it and follow. Try not to overfill the open cup as your toddler will have countless failed attempts before they get it right.
The key to your Toddler Won t Drink Milk From Sippy Cup issue is to provide them with the ability to have the choice from as early as possible.
The sooner they learn the motor skills necessary to operate an open cup the easy the Transition From Sippy Cup To Open Cup will be.
Here’s a quick video on How I Encourage My Children To Drink Milk.
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Mo Mulla is a work from home dad who enjoys reading and listening to music, He loves being a dad and husband to a growing family. He also loves writing about his passions and hopes to change the world, 1 blog post at a time!
