Ideal Cups for Babies and Toddlers

Starting at 6 months, babies can start to drink from an open cup. Here are my recommendations as a speech language pathologist and mom of three on my preferred cups and why (and which one's I'm not inclined to use).

If this has never crossed your mind, why should you care? Great question! Some cups and sippys perpetuate habits that we don't ultimately want. The end goal is to independently hold and drink from an open cup without spilling all over themselves. Not all sippy cups support this goal and there have even been questions raised on whether overuse and prolonged use of sippy cups can contribute to speech delays.

Open cups and straw cups are the most all around recommendation by SLPs and feeding therapists.

Traditional sippy cups can be tricky bc they don't support learning how to drink from an open cup. They tend to promote biting and clenching of the jaw. The tongue is also prevented from lifting the way it does when doing a traditional open cup swallow since it is blocked by the sippy spout. The problem I have found (coming from someone who still has two Munchkin 360 cups in the back of my cupboard) is that once a child masters drinking from a sippy cup, the second they go to an open cup they are going to completely dump it all over themselves when they throw their head way back to take a drink. That's a shock your child probably wasn't expecting! When the end goal (remember open cups are the end goal here) is to drink from an open cup, the cups we use should help support that- not make it harder to learn. If you use these, (and I still use the 360s at times, because they are convenient, so I get it!) consider adding in other cup options to change up what your child is using for drinking.

If you aren't ready for exclusively using an open cup but still want some spill proof protection, I would suggest skipping sippy cups all together and going straight to a straw cup.

If you have a child over the age of two and you're thinking, well, I'd actually prefer to just keep using bottles because its working, here's why you might consider switching.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends weaning off bottles at 12 months and be fully off by 15 months at the latest. They also recommend that child be fully transitioned to an open cup by age 2. Mastering open cups is a a skill that is going to take lots of practice.

So what's the issue with bottles around age 2? They can contribute to tooth decay, impact a child's oral musculature and the way their teeth are coming in. No thanks!

Introducing cup skills to your baby around 6 months (based on their readiness) gives your child plenty of time to practice this skill before they are off the bottle or breast.

You might be thinking, " this all sounds fine but my child doesn't know how to suck from a straw... what then?" Maybe you've heard that a using a sippy cup can provide a helpful bridge from a bottle because there is sucking happening to get the liquid out.

Kids often bite on the end of the sippy cup so that's not super helpful. Clenching their jaw while swallowing is not the goal. Do you bite the rim of the cup while drinking? Doubtful.

Start with either an open cup or straw drinking. Both skills are great to work on and you can see if your child takes more easily to one initially.

While training on an open cup, think small. Ideally the size of a shot glass or something similar. Smaller is definitely better. Your child will get wet when teaching them to drink, so let's not flood the little darlings, okay?

ezpz Tiny Cup

I love using the ezpz Tiny Cup for new and learning open cup drinkers. This weighted cup is designed by an SLP and is easy to grip. It only holds 2 ounces, the perfect amount for a new drinker. Why should you care about it being weighted? Well you shouldn't necessarily but it allows the cup to be more likely to stay upright and less likely to spill (over a regular non-weighted cup) It's just enough for a baby to take a few sips and they don't have to tilt their head way back to get liquid.

If you're interested in open cup training but not sure where to begin, check out this post on How To Train Your Baby to Drink from an Open Cup.

If your child is struggling to know what to do with a straw this honey bear is created to help kids who are weak straw suckers. It works by the adult (initially) gently squeezing the bear to send liquid up the straw to aid the child in sucking/drinking. The straws are soft and flexible, which is a plus for new straw drinkers.

Munchkin Weighted Straw Training Cup

My middle daughter had some swallowing concerns and ongoing upper respiratory infections that seemed related as an infant/early toddler. As an 18-month old we did our first swallow study and this is the cup that was recommended we start using with her (although it can be used with children much younger than 18 months). The straw is weighted and requires some effort to suck and get liquid out, so a child is less likely to take a sip and get a mouthful of liquid they can't coordinate to swallow. Is it annoying to clean the straw? Yes. But it does it's job really well.

Munchkin Weighted Toddler Straw Cup

This cup is the toddler version of the training up. It provides the same concept but holds more liquid and doesn't have the handles.

Other good options:

ezpz Mini Cup + Straw Training system If you want to use the same product to teach open cup drinking and straw training, this is a great option.

Reusable Plastic Cups These hold 8 ounces and are great for little hands, no lip at the top! When you are ready for a little more liquid in the cup but still kid friendly in size, something like this is great.

Regardless of which option you pick, just know that open cup training and straw cup training are the only options you need to help your child learn valuable skills!