Sippy Cups

The time comes in every baby’s life when he must leave the bottle behind and start drinking out of a cup. The perfect transitional tool to make this change happen is the sippy cup. Child sippy cups are plastic cups that have a lid with a spout or a straw for drinking. The unique feature of today’s sippy cups is the plastic valve in the lid that makes spills virtually impossible. The plastic valves in child sippy cups prevent spills and dribbles even when the sippy cup is help upside down.

Sometimes the plastic valves make sippy cups a little harder to clean because the area around the valve can get sticky. Every mom wants to know ho to clean stained sippy cups. Ask around with other moms to get some cleaning advice. Some moms swear by using toothbrushes and detergent for cleaning stained sippy cups. Other moms just stick them in the dishwasher. Whatever method you use, just make sure that your sippy cups are clean.

Choosing The Right Sippy Cup For Your Baby

Getting a sippy cup that your baby will use can be a challenge. Babies have definite ideas about what they want, and they might be hesitant to switch to drinking from a sippy cup. Your baby may even act like he hates the sippy cup. Do not despair….your baby will eventually get the hang of drinking from his sippy cup.

Sometimes you may have to try juice or water instead of milk to get your baby to drink out of sippy cups. Sometimes you may even have to try several brands of sippy cups before you find the one that your baby likes best. Gerber sippy cups, Playtex sippy cups, Nuby sippy cups, and Luv n Care sippy cups are all common brands of durable sippy cups. Sometimes your baby will definitely prefer one brand over the other, even though they might look the same to you.

For example, some babies who reject sippy cups will take the Gerber soft straw sippy cup because it uses a straw rather than a spout. Other babies only like the Nuby sippy cup. Some moms at their wits end have even discovered that their babies prefer a disposable sippy cup. Disposable sippy cups are great because they are inexpensive and are made to be discarded before you have to clean them. You can even look for a sippy cup holder to hold your baby’s sippy cup in the car and other places.

Issues With Sippy Cups

You may have heard that some experts believe that the use of sippy cups impairs speech development in babies. Sippy cups and speech development are related, but most experts today agree that the use of sippy cups does not delay speech development in most children. The sucking motion needed to drink out of sippy cups can delay oral motor skills, especially in children already showing delays. If your baby is already showing signs of a speech delay, it might be wise to err on the side of caution and restrict the use of sippy cups.