Five Simple Steps From Bottle to Cup

When babies are born they often find a lot of comfort in sucking, hence the reason pacifiers and thumb sucking are so effective for soothing them. However, if they suck for too long it can have poor effects on their mouth. The following is a look at five tips for how you can help your child transition from bottle to cup more easily:

Tip one: Wait until they are ready physically. Before you start to make the transition, be sure that your child’s sucking need has slowed down or stopped. In addition make sure that they have the hand and mouth coordination that will allow them to drink from the cup. If you start before they are ready, it will be a battle, and one you will lose and find constant frustration in. They will be sad, they will make messes, and they will not eat or sleep as well. So, watch for signs of decreased sucking need, and increased coordination before making the transition.

Tip two: Plan ahead. One of the best ways to make the transition easy is to plan early. Do not give your child a bottle for comfort, or at bed, only for meals. If you do this they will not attach to it as a comfort device, and thus replacing it with something else that also feeds them, will be easier.

Tip three: Start slow. Kids need to adjust when you make a big change in their life, and changing from a bottle to a cup can be significant for kids. So, start out by having them drink small amounts from a cup, but get a bottle as well. Slowly increase how much is in the cup and decrease how much is in the bottle. Soon, they will feel confident and secure with using a cup, and you can eliminate the bottle all together.

Tip four: Use some in between tools. One of the most effective ways to help your child transition is to go from a bottle to a similar mouth shape sippy cup, then to a more grown up sippy, then even more grown up, and so on until you get to just a cup. This way they get to be weaned, not taken off cold turkey, and you still get the benefits of lids and spill proof containers.

Tip five: Think positive reinforcement. One great way to get rid of bottles is to do the whole “you are so big” thing. Reinforce the idea with your child, and make it a pride thing that they are so big and do not need bottles any more., The more you reinforce how proud you are that they do not use bottles, the easier it will be for them to give them up. You can also try other forms of positive reinforcement such as trading each bottle for a new toy, or for a different item or thing that interests them. This way they are not losing out on their bottles, rather gaining something new.

Transitioning from bottle to cup is a big milestone, so be patient with your child, and do what you can to make it easy for them so that they can feel good about using a cup.