Introducing a cup be done as early as 3 or 4 months. You will probably prefer to wean to a sippy cup – simply for reasons of “spillage”. It is absolutely feasible, however, to introduce a child to a regular cup- even at the age of 1.
Sippy Cup:
- Start off by filling a sippy cup as full as you can without it becoming too heavy for your child.
-or-
Regular Cup
Choose a BPA-free, small, plastic cup
- Start off by filling the cup with a small amount of liquid.
NEXT:
- Help your child to take a few sips and then allow him to try on his own.
- Do not expect your child to drink much at first – this is a new experience
- If your child resists, you can put it away & try another time, or you may try the “hard-line” approach of offering only the cup.
- For the first while of “cup-only, your child will drink less than usual until she gets used to it.
- Experiment with different times of day to offer the cup- perhaps when she is hungrier she will be more willing- but if she is too hungry she may frustrate easily.
- Once she is able to drink from the cup, it is preferable not to go back to the bottle. Some prefer to still offer the bottle at night, as the sucking offers comfort. This is a matter of personal choice- just be aware that the weaning of the bedtime feed will need to happen at some point and your child will be even more set in his ways later than he is now.
- If the child spills- don’t make a big deal of it. Be ready, washcloth in hand “oops we had an accident. Should we try again?” and do.
Enjoy the journey 🙂
Tanya
