Sippy cup, 10 months old, too young?

[OX Jess]

Hi, I am trying to put my 10-month-old on a sippy cup but it seems not very 'successful'. Instead of sucking, my son bites on the spout (which is made by plastic, quite soft but still a lot harder than a feeding bottle teat). He seems like treating the spout as his 'teething ring'. I have tried 3 different cups but made no difference. Any tips? Is it a sign showing that he is not ready for a sippy cup and I should wait a bit longer? Is 10 months too early to start on a sippy cup?!

 

[FutureHKmom]

I don't think 10 months is too early. My son, who just turned 1, loves biting on the spout too...biting doesn't necessarily mean he's not drinking. Does he drink at all from the cup? Just give him a bit of time and he'll get it eventually.

 

[OX Jess]

Thanks for your advice, FutureHKmom. I can't see he has taken any water from the cup. He enjoys biting the spout for a minute then push it away! I'm thinking of putting something other than water in to make him like his sippy cup.

 

[carang]

my 3 year old still bites anything in her cup... straw, stir stick...ice (ick!)... you name it.

give it time, he'll catch on eventually.

 

[AmyH]

I have just introduced my daughter (7 months) to a sippy cup. She likes to use it like a teething ring at the minute but I am hoping that the more I leave it with her the more used to it she will get. At the moment, when she gets some liquid from it, it shocks her!

 

[OX Jess]

good. thanks all ladies!

 

[nicolejoy]

Our daughter is 17 months and STILL can't figure out a sippy cup unless we're helping her lift it. I think because she was never bottle fed, she doesn't "get" that you need to tip the cup back. I ended up giving her a straw cup (one without the valve - that just makes it impossible to drink from) when she was about 9 months old and she figured that out right away. She's only ever really drunk from a straw cup. I'm waiting til it gets warm to teach her how to drink from a regular cup, that way if/when she gets saturated, it won't matter as much since it's warm anyway... we'll just bypass the sippy cup altogether...

 

[Shenzhennifer]

I introduced one at 6 months though it took months for my son to understand how to suck it. One day he just did. I found that with the sippy cups, too much sucking action is needed and my son wasn`t drinking enough. When I gave him a straw cup, like nicolejoy`s baby, he got it right away and has been using them ever since. He also has an old style sippy cup where the liquid just flows form the holes and he really likes that one too...but I still really need to sueprvise.

 

[newbiekt]

My son will only drink from a cup with a straw too - he is now 11 months and never got the hang of the ones with spouts. My son was just like yours and loved gnawing on the spout. I tried a few and gave up. I now also give him the doidy cup (open but with an angle) a lot and he is getting pretty good with that too.

 

[Suv]

My son could not figure out the sippy cup or the straw till 14 months too- he kept biting it and thought they were very funny. But he was comfortable drinking from a regular glass as young as 11 months- go figure!