Help? My baby will not drink from a cup!!!?

Question

My 11-month old refuses to drink ou tof a sippy cup!!! I have tried everyone out there. He is almost a year old and needs to come off the bottle. Anyone have any sugesstions????

i have tried giving him every kind of sippy cup possible.

Answer 1

My first thought... what are you offering in the sippy cup? If he won't take formula from it, will he take water or juice? I've heard of babies that won't take formula or breastmilk from a sippy -- only from a bottle. As you wean him, you could start replacing his bottles with sippies of milk or water and see if that helps.

Have you tried a straw cup? My older daughter was breastfed and had never really taken a bottle, but she didn't take well to sippy cups either. We tried several different ones, and she just didn't get it. Eventually, she figured out a straw cup (I posted the link below), and she drank water from it all the time.

We also tried taking the spill-proof valve out of her sippies so that she'd learn that liquid does come out of them. Yes, it was messy, but we watched her closely. Every once in a while, we'd try putting the valve back in, and one day, she just got it.

Another idea... will he drink from a regular cup? Yes, he'll need help, but it will work to get him the fluids he needs.

Finally, it's not the end of the world if he's still on a bottle at one year old. I know that's the recommended age for getting them off a bottle, but maybe he just needs a little more time. I know plenty of people who didn't start to wean off the bottle until a year, so their child still took an occasional bottle until 18 months or longer. A few years from now, it won't make any difference at all.

Hope this helps a bit!

Answer 2

Are you still giving him a bottle as well? If you are using both then you are probably confusing him. Definetally by a year old all bottles should be thrown out and a child should definetally be using a "big boy cup". We started our son on a sippy cup at around 5 months, once a day. By 11 months they are at the age where they can protest if something doesn't "seem" normal. Try getting the sippy cups with the straws to start out with.

Answer 3

Well, I think this is where a case of "tough love" may be in order.

I went through the exact same issue with my son this year. He would happily drink from his bottle. I offered him the sippy cup and he launched it across the room (think he's going to be a baseball player someday!). So, Mommy got fed up and decided that she wasn't going to play nice anymore.

For about a week, only watery-formula was in the bottle (and I mean VERY watery). However, the sippy cup had yummy fruit juice and yummy whole milk. My little nugget didn't care. He actually LIKED the watery formula! Ok, scratch that idea. We then moved on to the "if-you-want-to-drink-you-will-have-to-do-it-from-a-sippy-cup" routine which left a bunch of tears (not just his mind you; I went into the bathroom because I felt like the worst Mommy in the world and bawled my eyes out!!) and after about 2 days, he happily accepted the sippy cup. Yippeeee! Go team!

Then, Daddy comes home (DUM DUM DUM DUUUUUMMMMM!)The little nugget pitches a temper tantrum (complete with screaming, hair pulling and he turned a lovely nice shade of red!) Daddy freaks and gives him..yep..you guessed it...a bottle.

NOOOOOO!!! All my hard work and it was shot down the tubes!! (Who's the child here?) So, I explained to Daddy that his son was "playing" him. Daddy doesn't believe me until he sees the darling child happily accept a sippy cup from me (because he KNOWS there will be no bottle).

The long and the short of it is that at this age, they are starting to generate a "sense of self." They realize they are individuals who have wants and needs and have very limited ways of expressing those wants and needs. Additionally, they don't have any kind of impulse control, so they want what they want when they want it. It's our job as the parent to set limitations, boundaries and yes, expectations of behavior. I explained to my husband that I EXPECT our son to NOT have a temper tantrum because he is only offered the sippy cup and additionally, I EXPECT him to drink from it. At what point do we draw that line in the sand? When they are 2? 6? 16?

A very wise person once told me not to let my toddler step on my toes because by the time he was 16 he'd be walking all over me. We only have one chance to set that "tone" in the household; if we let them "rule the roost" (so to speak) now at this tender, impressionable age, it will be that much more difficult to wrangle back that control later on. Make no mistake, he IS allowed to be a child and experiment (let me tell you about the peas up his nose!!); I only step in when it's something that is dangerous or when there is a real need to make some behavioral changes (why drink from a sippy cup when a bottle is easier???) Every parent is different; every child is different. You will have to decide what works for you and your child.

Good luck and I hope whatever you decide works for you and your family!

Answer 4

We introduced my 5-month old to a sippy cup about a month ago, but all she did was chew it, until we took the valve out to give her the idea that drink comes out of the spout. Now she'll happily suck water or juice out of it with the valve, because she understands what it's for.

Your son may just not be ready for a cup. My daughter was eager to try something new, and have something she could hold and drink from herself without spilling everywhere. Some babies take to it easily, and some need some time.

Answer 5

Give him some time. I may not be ready or just doesn't want to drink form a cup. Don't push it on him. Try introducing him to other children that are using sippy cups. He will finally come around or just not want to be left out of the sippy cup fun. Keep trying.

Answer 6

my daughter is the same way... she is 18 months and still will not use a sippy cup..but what i found that when we go out to eat she will drink from a regular straw...so they have a cup out there thats by munchkin that is a spill proof cup that has a straw and my daughter loves it..maybe try that...or the sippy cups that look like bottle nipples

Answer 7

If you have a Walmart or Target near you go to the baby section of the store they have NUBY bottles that have nipples that are shaped like a sippy cup spout. My son was a preemie and had a hard time learning how to use one and these worked great. Within a couple of months he was using a sippy cup. The spouts on these are like regular silicone nipples...they are not hard like a sippy cup and they are leak-proof. they are just shaped like the sippy cup spouts and are great for training.

Answer 8

I haven't pushed it with my daughter. I bought her sippy cups from Gerber (the red and blue ones) and put water in it. It took he a while but she's finally used to it and she likes to drink from there. She's 21m and I'm going to wait until she's 2. Then I plan to take away all but the bottle before bedtime for a few weeks. Then I'm going to take that away also, but do it very slowly. Good luck.

Answer 9

I like the Nuk cup and used this kind when "cup training" both of my boys. I removed the stopper from them and put a "tiny" bit of formula or water in the cup. With the stopper out, they don't have to suck on the spout--it just pours out letting them know there's something yummy inside the cup. Both my boys didn't know what to do with the cups since the spout is hard plastic and the bottle nipples were soft rubber. They mainly wanted to chew on the cups. Once I took the stoppers out, they drank like little champions. It was sort of a pain to keep refilling the cup a tablespoon at a time with their formula, but after a day or two of doing this, they caught on and I started putting the stoppers back in them.

Answer 10

have you tried letting him drink from a regular cup, not a sippy cup but a regular cup. just put him in the high chair or somewhere you dont mind spills at first, my daughter loves it. or what about a straw, have you tried that? if he ever takes a sip from any kind of cup cheer him on with enthusiasm so that he wants to do it again.