So your little one’s reached the year mark and is ready to graduate from the bottle, but may still be learning the intricacies of holding a cup without spilling its contents all over the carpet. The advent of the sippy cup seemed to be a stroke of genius in protecting carpets and cutting back on paper towel usage, but it comes at a cost.
Sippy cups filled with milk or juice allow sugar to stay in the mouth longer and increase the risk of tooth decay. Also, because children tend to suck on sippy cups, it can change the position of the tongue and teeth, potentially causing lisps and articulation problems.
Follow these tips from your Gilbert Dentist to help wean your child away from the sippy cup:
- Make a big deal out of drinking from a regular cup. “See? This is how Mommy drinks.” Toddlers want to do what their parents are doing, so if you point out that you’re drinking from an open cup, your tot will soon follow suit.
- Take your toddler shopping to pick out his own big kid cup. If he has control over which cup he chooses, he’ll be more likely to take the matter (or cup) into his own hands. Find new cups with your toddler’s favorite characters and he may be so excited by them that he’ll want to give up his old sippy cups.
- Have them toss out the “baby cups” themselves. This gesture will help him understand that he’s a big boy now who deserves big boy cups.
- Allow for some leeway. If your child’s preschool requires sippy cups in the classroom, explain that there are “school” cups and “home” cups, and at home he drinks from the big-kid cups.
- Serve your child’s favorite drink in an open cup only. If your toddler is reluctant to give up the sippy cup, go ahead and let him use it for water. But reserve the open cup for his favorite drink. When he really, really wants that drink, he’ll start using the open cup.
Don’t overreact when he does spill. Part of growing up is learning how to clean up after ourselves. When the inevitable occurs, hand them the rag or the mop and put them to work! Believe it or not, toddlers actually like playing with mops and brooms.