When Is Too Old for a Sippy Cup?

My two year old still drinks from a sippy cup at times because of spills too. I have found that the take n toss or the cups with the straws work quite well especially at meal time to try to wean from a sippy cup with the stopper.

My daughter is 4 1/2 and only used a sippy cup until she was 2 1/2. Then the speech therapist said she was ok to switch to a cup with a straw (since she needed the sucking motion to stimilate her speech) and that it is common to start using things like that when they can really suck from a straw. She went to a regular cup at about 3 1/2, but we still use spill proof cups or cups with lids and straws a lot since I know she CAN drink from a regular cup, but I don't want to risk her dropping the cup by accident (I even do this sometimes) and it spilling everywhere.

Both of my girls (now 5 and 7) used sippy cups until recently. The disposable (although we don't dispose them) cups with straws have been their replacement except at the dinner table.

I was curious about this too and scrolled down to read what people were saying. I've seen people/educators very adamant about weaning kids from sippy cups but could never understand "why."

I have no advice, but a thought came to mind as I sip my coffee while reading this column. My coffee is in a spill-proof container with a spout on it that I half drink, half "suck" from. Plus, the SIGG bottle for my water also has a spill-proof spout. In other words, adults have their own forms of sippy cups. In my busy life, I need those on-the-go beverage containers. Perhaps someday I could wean myself from coffee...but not until my daughter has gone to college!

Made me laugh at myself!

I still have my 4 1/2 year old daughter use one when I want to save my furniture and carpeting. She has been drinking from a cup for a long time, but depending on the circumstances I will hand her a sippy cup.
I know she can drink out of a regular cup and will do so the rest of her life. Does it matter that she does a while longer now?
Good luck!
J.

my son is 22 months and he still has his sippy. same thing, half and half! :D

what ive thought of doing, since the cups are starting to be leaky anyway, is only water in sippies, and only juice or milk in a cup at the table and mostly at mealtimes. theres no reason a kid needs juice or milk other times than meals or snacks anyway, so dont worry that you will be keeping your child from anything. water is much more important and its easier when they are older to drink more water if they do it now as kids!

i havent started this yet with my son, but i hope to soon. he does pretty well, but i just dont like having to change his outfit every time he takes a drink. :P

My youngest is 21-months-old and loves his sippy. We give him a big boy cup at meals, but a sippy the rest of the time. It's a lot easier for bedtime, around the house, and when we go out.
My oldest kept his sippy for stuff like that until he was about 2 1/2 and then only had it for bedtime until he was almost 4 (bedtime drinks are very important to my boys).
If she can drink out of a cup at the table, even if it's imperfectly, I don't see a problem with keeping a sippy around for other times when she is not quite so focused and kept in one spot.

Hi B.,
My daughter is 20 months also and I don't think there really should be any reason to try to wean her off the sippy cup. I don't know how your daughter is but mine wouldn't be able to handle a regular cup yet without tons of spills. I'm not willing to try that until she's a little bit more advanced with her motor/balancing skills.

B.,

I have seen 18 month olds drink well from an open cup, but not all can. I would get her off the sippy cup by age 2 because they can cause teeth problems like binkies and bottles do. If you are in a car or someplace else you need a lid, you can get her one of the cups with the straw or a water bottle.

The easiest way is to start with a small cup and fill it with about 1/2" to 1" of water. Work your way up slowly and help her hold the cup if she needs you to. And just remember that spills are a part of life. I like to get my kids off the sippy early for two reasons. First, at our church, the nursery program gives them open cups at 18 months and I want them prepared. (Even the ones who aren't only spill for a month or two.) Second, and most importantly, this is one of those developmental milestones that tends to encourage maturity in other areas, at least that has been my experience.

Good luck,
S.

I used to think my nephew was too old for a sippie at one point... until I had kids of my own. I guess each kid is different. My just not wanting to deal with the spills, just got different types of spill proof cups as my kids got older. I don't like my older child to be sipping on a baby type sippie when he is perfectly capable of drinking from a cup. Yet, he can be clumsy - so he has these neat tumbler cups (from Wal-Mart) that look like usual cups, but spill proof... much like our travel mugs we adults use. This way, it's like a sippie... but big kid/no spill -- and we're all happy :)
Hope that helps you out.
~SR

My son is 22 months old and he uses a sippy cup all the time or a cup with a straw at times. Even at meal times he uses a sippy cup still. He knows how to use a regular cup w/o a lid we introduced that when he was a baby still giving him drinks here and there of water but he hasnt drank out of a regular cup very much at all when he does he does ok for awhile but then goes to fast and it all goes down his front and its like he drowns himself cause he tips it so fast cause its not like a sippy cup with a lid. I agree with other moms by saying as adults we still drink out of cups with lids so there is no hurry to get rid of the sippy cups just try a regular cup at meal times and keep the sippy cups while out and about so you dont have the messes. At least until your child is much older drinks from a water bottle ect... but for now she is fine having a sippy cup as long as you try out the cup w/o a lid also so she knows how to drink out of it. Im going to work with my son on that more also. Good luck! L.

We continue to use water bottles with sport spouts for our 5 year old, and if they are all dirty, he's happy to use one of his brother's sippy cups. The way I see it, I appreciate that my boys can keep water at hand wherever they're playing, without me worrying about spilling or things getting into their water. I know that for us personally, they'd be getting much less water if we had to stop for a "water break." So my thought is, as long as they're not sipping on juice all day (so the sugar is sitting on their teeth), it should be fine. I love what some of other posters said--even adults have sippy cups!

I wouldn't worry about taking away the sippy cup. My 5 year old still uses one. Of course, she can use a regular cup, but a sippy cup is just convenient for her to have all day long. She can take it with her and I think it helps her drink more since it's just there. It wouldn't be a bad idea to start introducing a regular cup at mealtimes (where the mess of spilling can at least be somewhat contained,) but I wouldn't push it too much.

My three year old still uses a sippy cup, but that's becasue she wants to take her drinks out of the kitchen and I don't want to constantly get my carpets cleaned. She does get a cup at dinner time, and also when she finds a cup left on the counter will fill it up with water fromt he bathroom sink, but as a typical three year old, she likes to pour it into stuff and makes lots of spills and messes. At least it is just water:)

Try a straw cup with a lid to get her off a sippy cup. We buy the Take and Toss straw cups, I think The First Years brand. They can leak if you tip them but it won't make too much of a mess if tipped over. I still give my 4 year old a straw cup when we go somewhere and I bring my own milk. My 18 month old uses these as well. We mostly use open cups with my 4 year old and we're starting to introduce open cups with my 18 month old.

My 26-mo-old son still uses a sippy cup, and so do most of the kids I know who are still 2 years old. But maybe once they turn 3 they could use a regular cup. I don't think anyone frowns upon it like a 3-yr-old with a pacifier is his/her mouth. As long as it keeps your carpets & furniture spill-free, who cares!

My almost 5 year old still uses a sippy cup. Not because she can't handle a cup, but because we like them.
your child is not too old for one, but being able to use a regular cup is an important skill to start introducing daily when you can be there to supervise and clean up.

There's no need to set a time to wean her. My very accident prone almost 5 yr old still uses one. It makes it much easier on both of us =) And it's nice to have when in the car or out doing errands. He can use a cup and we give him one at meals, but otherwise he uses his sippy.

My almost 3 year old didn't start drinking out of an open cup at meal times until he was at least 2, maybe even a couple of months past his second birthday (I don't remember for sure). My 19 month old is nowhere near ready to drink with an open cup and still uses a sippy all the time. And during the day there are always 2 sippies of water floating around the house for them. When we're eating away from home I always have my oldest still drink out of a sippy just to make sure there aren't any spills while we're out. I think 20 months is fine to still be using sippy cup.

B., this struck me funny and i under stand your concerns of when is too old, but even us adults buy drinks with little sippy things on them, hahahahaha well, if you are out and about , even older ones can have a lid on their drinks, if the child is at the dinner table, they might be able to handle the cup without a lid on it, age does not matter, its how the child handles it, if they are an accident prone and drop things alot, i would say wait, if they can handle it, without it, go for it, but if we give them a cup without a lid and they spill it, its not necessarily all their fault, dont make big issues over spills, any way, each child is different, and does things at different rates, know your child, and just enjoy life, D. s

B.,
I was told by my son's pediatrician that at 10 months we should introduce a regular cup and not use a sippy any longer. That seemed incredibly early, but we tried it, and it worked. We use bibs with a trough, kiddopotamus brand. That saved us from major clean up. Practice makes perfect. I just told him one day, "okay, now we're going to go without the top and see how you do." I encouraged him and we treated it like a grand adventure. He's doing well with it. Good luck with it!

My four year old son is still going strong on the sippie! He can use a cup very well, but he just needs a great deal of fluids, or he gets constipated. Once he can drink the quantity he needs from a regular cup, then I guess we'll switch! (I guess it is my dirty little secret! )

I think you will know when she has the dexterity to drink from a cup with no lid. I wouldn't pressure her into switching if she isn't ready yet.

My 4 year old still loves a sippy cup! At table meals we expect him to use a "big boy" cup, but around the house, in the car, outside, sippy cups are still great. I think it's your own preference when to establish age expectations as long as you can live with them! Good luck...C.

you don't need to wean kids off sippy cups, just make sure they can drink from a regular cup too. The best way to do this is give her drinks of water in the regular cup. When she gets older she will be wanting regular glasses and give up the sippy cups by herself.

We use the take along straw cups, they are very inexpensive and work well. My youngest is almost 3, but he is still not completely ready for an open cup. You will know when your child is ready, nobody can tell you.

Good luck.

My 24 month old will drink from a cup and I only give her water and all other drinks go in a sippy cup. When I'm out and about water or not my youngest and 4 year old drink from a sippy in the car or if they're in the stroller. Kids will drink from a cup fine but it takes practice and early on like this I just let them practice with water. I also have cup toys for bath play and she'll fill it and drink it.

My son is 21 months, he uses a regular cup, no lid. I don't remember when I weaned my older son from the sippy, but I think it was around age 2. My sons get a drink, in the kitchen, when they ask for it (no lid). If we are out and about, we bring a sippy cup (no valve) and I fill it as needed from a fountain or from my bottle of water.

My own personal feeling is that kids use sippy cups way too much, and that they really only need water between meals, milk at meals, and juice as part of a meal (included as a fruit serving).

This philosophy has been reinforced in the ECFE program that we attend.

Good luck to you!
J. (SAHM to a 3 year old boy, 21 month old boy, and baby girl due soon)

The Amercan Dental Association reccomends using sippy cups as a transition from bottles to cups. When your child is able to drink from an open cup is a good time to wean from the sippy. Expect lots of spills at first, but she will learn how to prevent it. I would suggest putting small amounts of liquid in the cup so it's not so messy to clean up. Children really shouldn't be walking around with cups. If you limit her to beverages in the kitchen you won't have to worry about spills on the carpet in the living room.