Picking the Right Sippy Cup

Parents pick sippy cups like they pick pacifiers: How cute they are and how spill proof they are. There is actually more to it than that.

Why use a sippy cup?

Sippy cups were designed for parents’ convenience by making drinking less messy. Less mess and convenient is very attractive in our fast paced lives. Keep in mind that sippy cups are really made and designed with parents (not kids) in mind.

What you put in your mouth affects function.

Everything that a child puts in their mouth influences oral function (the way they use their mouth). So a sippy cup can positively or negatively influence oral development that can positively or negatively impact feeding and speech development.

Problems & Complications

• Speech problems

• Feeding problems

• Poor teeth alignment

• Dental carries

Anterior-posterior tongue patterns similar to the infant suckle patterns are used during sippy cup drinking. Continued use of this pattern beyond infancy, can slow or inhibit the transition towards more mature swallow patterns. Children can get “stuck” in this anterior-posterior tongue pattern. This pattern keeps the tongue low in the mouth, encourages tongue protrusion and reduces tongue tip elevation. Tongue tip elevation is necessary for all mature swallows and many speech sounds.

When to start using a Sippy Cup?

When your child is 6-10 months of age When he is demonstrating independence and desire to self-feed or hold bottle

What about Straw Cups?

Avoid the “spill-proof” kind Keep the straw short: between the teeth and lips (you may want to cut it) Contraindicated if ”sucking” with straw placed on the middle of the tongue

When to stop using a Sippy cup?

Transition off between 15-18 months Use a straw cup until 2 years

How to pick Sippy Cups to promote good oral development

• Pick cups that look like regular cups

• There are new ones on the market that are spill resistant and look like a regular cups

• Avoid sippy cups with spouts– especially hard spouts

• Avoid ones that require “sucking”