When do you think the earliest is you can introduce a sippy cup to a baby?

Question

I have a 5 month old and I want to avoid the HUGE problems I had with my oldest child when I took her off the bottle. I took her bottle away at 14 months and it was a HUGE problem after a week of screaming I let her have a soother that she found somewhere in the house. I don't want to have to go through this again and though if I could introduce a sippy cup earlier this might help, what do you think?

Answer 1

I DID IT WHEN MY DAUGHTER WAS 7 MONTHS. WHEN SHE WOULD EAT IS HOW I STARTED IT.

Answer 2

It really depends on the child.....I started introducing the sippy cup to all 3 of my girls at the age of 6 months.

My oldest was 7 months when she started taking it and 10 months when the bottle was totally gone.
My middle daughter was 8 months when she started taking it but was 14 months before she totally gave up the bottle.
My youngest would not even touch a cup until after she was 15 months old but still would not give up the bottle until she was 20 months.

Just repeatedly offer the cup to them...even if it is a couple times a day....give them the option. When they are ready they will drink from one.

Answer 3

We started both of our children on a sippy cup when they started drinking juice; 4-5 mo. That way they never got used to juice from the bottle. By 8-9 mo they also were drinking their formula from the sippy as well. I learned this at the home day care my kids went to. They did this with all the kids there and it worked great for all of them...even the stubborn ones got on board!

Answer 4

I took my 3 year old off the bottle at 9 months old. But now I am having the problem of getting him to go from sippy cup to big boy cup. But for my 2 year old I waited longer because she was a preemie and it took us so long to actually get her to take a bottle but she was off the bottle by 13 months old. I put chocolate milk in both their cups so it was better tasting for them.

Answer 5

The earliest I did was 5 months and they were bottle-fed. My last two were breast-fed so I waited a bit longer - 6 months on one 7 on the other. I had better luck with the straw sippies since they didn't have to be held up. I just put the bottle to their mouth then slipped the sippie in so they would suck on it.

Answer 6

I went straight from the breast to a sippy cup at 7- 8 months old.

Answer 7

If they can hold their own bottle and drink it, give them a cup with two handles. Let them play with it. I don't think I had a problem with 2 of my kids. My daughter did not want to give up the bottle-but eventually I said if she is hungry she will take it. She learned to use it-but did not want to. So, eventually I made it her only option during the day. At night, right before bed I let her have the bottle-but as she got more used to the cup-I switched.

Answer 8

You can start now. What I did was wherever the baby was sitting (in the exercise saucer, etc) - I'd put a small sippy cup wtih a small amount of water in it (you don't want it to be too heavy) in front of the baby. They'd play with it and eventually start drinking out of it. I'd help them out with it as well (putting it into their mouths, etc.) All my kids mastered sippy cups between 7-8 months.

Answer 9

As soon as the child has the motor skills required to hold the cup. If the child can feed itself with a bottle, then they can use a sippy.

Answer 10

When your baby can hold it without needing help. I think my daughter was 7 to 8 months. P.S. Get the Gerber sippy cups. Stay away from the "Nuby" they leak bad! Good luck!

Answer 11

i started with juice in a cup at 5 months. at 10 months i started giving him one cup of milk a day. at 11 months he no longer wanted the bottle he wanted the cup