5 Things Parents Should Know About Starting and Stopping Sippy Cups in Children
by MARYANN TOMOVICH JACOBSEN, MS, RD on JUNE 15, 2011
Post image for 5 Things Parents Should Know About Starting and Stopping Sippy Cups in Children
Thanks for visiting Raise Healthy Eaters. If you subscribe to my blog via email updates or RSS feed, you'll get expert tips, free nutrition downloads and family-friendly recipes sent to you, for free!
I recently wrote about my 4-year old who only drinks milk from her straw sippy cup wondering when to give them up. A number of you mentioned you had no idea either. So I asked around, did some investigative work and discovered 5 important things parents need to know about starting, using and stopping sippy cups.
1. Start them early: Babies usually start solids by the time they’re 6 months. This is also the time it is okay to introduce sips of water and (diluted) juice, although the AAP recommends waiting on juice introduction. It’s a good idea to get a few starter sippy cups, with handles, lids and a hard spout, to get your child used to the idea that liquids (including milk) can come in something other than a bottle or breast.
While babies will have fun throwing these cups for a while, by 9 months many will start drinking from it. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends phasing out the bottle between 12 and 24 months of age and if possible, breastfeeding for at least one year.
dreamstime_16057003
2. Use sippy cups wisely: Once your child is using a sippy cup you need to use them wisely. According Healthy Children, a website powered by the AAP, avoid using sippy cups as a pacifier or allowing kids to sip on them throughout the day unless its filled with water. Sprout sippy cups filled with milk, juice or juice drinks, allow sugar (even natural sources) to stay in the mouth longer and increase the risk of tooth decay.
This may be why cavities have increased by 15 percent from 1994 to 2002 in children 2-5 years old according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
3. Drop the sprout cups ASAP: Traditional sippy cups are only supposed to be used as a short transition to real cups. Overuse of sippy cups can cause more than dental caries, they can also contribute to speech difficulties.
Because children suck on sippy cups the way they do bottles, if used too long, it can change the position of the tongue and teeth, potentially causing lisps and articulation problems. According to this Web MD article, the traditional sippy should only be used for about a month. Using cups with a straw are much better for speech development and dental health.
Bottom line: switch to a straw cup as soon as you can.
dreamstime_18035571
4. Encourage kids to drink from regular cups: The AAP recommends teaching children to start drinking from regular cups between 12 and 15 months. Once children master this, you might want to use regular cups at meals and straw cups for water on the go.
Another drawback to young children sucking for too long is something called Oral Myofunctional Disorder (OMD). According to the International Association of Orofacial Myology’s website, the symptoms include one of the following:
1. abnormal thumb, finger, lip, and tongue sucking habits
2. an inappropriate mouth-open lips-open resting posture problem
3. a forward interdental rest posture of the tongue problem
4. a forward rest position of the tongue against the maxillary incisors problem
5. a lateral, posterior interdental tongue rest posture problem
6. inappropriate thrusting of the tongue in speaking and/or swallowing.
These abnormal habit patterns, functional activities, and postures can open the dental bite beyond the normal rest position. This can result in a disruption of dental development in children and over-eruption of selected teeth in adults.
A prime example of an OMD, familiar to all pediatricians and dentists, is a retained sucking habit or use of a sippy cup. While it is tempting to ignore such habits since some children do outgrow them, many children do not spontaneously discontinue noxious habits and will need help in eliminating the habits.
5. Part with sippy cups between 2 and 3 years: According to the AAP Pediatric Nutrition Manual, children are developmentally ready to give up sippy cups by 2 to 3 years of age. Will it hurt to use them to prevent spills once and awhile? Probably not. If your child uses an open cup and some sippy cups with straws it is probably okay.
But just like we advance textures with our babies and let toddlers use utensils, we have to do the same with drinking. It’s an important and overlooked part of development.
Anyone having trouble getting your child to give up the sippy cup habit?
评论
好在我们家的不爱鸭嘴杯，6个月开始直接用bbox
评论
这里说的是吸管杯straw sippy cup。bbox不也是吸管杯吗？
评论
Sippy cup不是鸭嘴杯吗。。。。。。啊，没看到后面的straw sippy cup。。。。这也要戒啊。。。。。。。。。。。
评论
我的家直接用的bbox 现在喜欢用杯子 喝汤也是用碗。ikea那种便宜的彩色塑料杯就不错 宝宝容易喝到
评论
我记得社区护士那时候说是一岁之后就要开始给大人喝水那样的杯子了，起码在家的时候用杯子，出去才用吸管水壶。
评论
我怎么觉得这文章说的那么极端呢？
总结一下就是少用鸭嘴杯和吸管杯，多用早用大人的杯子呗。难道是avent 那款模仿大人杯子的隐形广告？
评论
那请问啥时候开始锻炼用水杯喝水啊？
评论
同问，2岁了还在用吸管喝水
评论
我记得去社区护士那里上solids课的时候，护士特别提出过虽然sippy cups很popular，但是还是要鼓励大家用水杯喂宝宝。原因基本就是上面的那些。
我家宝宝四个半月开始出牙，上辅食，就introduce了sippy cup。一开始用不会喝，后来会了。但是都是渴才给喝，喝够了开始咬嚼就拿开了。五个多月就用水杯子喂。一开始大杯子太大了，水容易太多不好掌握，后来发现shot g la s s 挺好的，小，一次少倒一些水在里面，分几次喝。现在宝宝超级喜欢从杯子里喝水，看到我拿杯子喝都要往自己嘴里捞我的杯子。
还是尽早introduce cup吧，宝宝学习能力很强的。我现在慢慢觉得很多时候可能我们妈妈都从自己的想法想了，其实宝宝很厉害的，我们得给他们机会学习表现。
以上，供参考。
澳洲中文论坛热点
- 悉尼部份城铁将封闭一年，华人区受影响！只能乘巴士（组图）
- 据《逐日电讯报》报导，从明年年中开始，因为从Bankstown和Sydenham的城铁将因Metro South West革新名目而
- 联邦政客们具有多少房产？
- 据本月早些时分报导，绿党副首领、参议员Mehreen Faruqi已获准在Port Macquarie联系其房产并建造三栋投资联