Your baby can learn to drink from a regular open cup at six months when they start eating solid foods. This helps your baby build hand eye coordination, a strong jaw and develop muscles for proper speech and swallowing.
To get started
- Seat your baby in a highchair and offer a small amount of breast milk/chest milk, formula or water in a regular lidless cup.
- Expect messes – it takes practice to learn this new skill.
Parent Tips
- Continue to breastfeed/chestfeed your baby for two years and beyond.
- A breastfed/chestfed baby can go directly from the breast/chest to a cup.
- If your baby is bottle-fed (breast milk/chest milk or formula), continue to use the bottle until they can drink enough from an open cup.
- A bottle-fed baby should be weaned from the bottle by 12 to 14 months
Which kind of cup should I use?
Nowadays, there are many different types of “trainer” cups on the market (e.g. straw cups, sippy cups, 360° cups). The choices are endless and can be confusing. A regular open cup is the best choice for your baby. However, parents may choose a “trainer” cup as an easy, mess-free option.
Open cup is the best choice
Straw Cup
- Straw cups are recommended over sippy cups
- The straw should sit on your baby’s lips at the front of their mouth, not on top of their tongue
Sippy Cup
- Sippy cups are not recommended. Babies drink from a sippy cup the same way they drink from a bottle. Using a bottle or a sippy cup for too long can increase the risk of cavities and cause problems with speech development.
- If you choose to give your baby a sippy cup, only fill it with water and use it occasionally.
- Babies should be weaned from sippy cups by 12 to 14 months of age.
