Quite often when parents are thinking about transitioning their young child from breast/bottle to a cup for drinking, there seems to be an assumption that using a traditional sippy cup is essentially a rite of passage. It’s certainly unreasonable to just hand a toddler a nice tall glass from the kitchen cabinet, but today I’d like to spend some time talking about the pros and cons of your everyday sippy cups.
Why a sippy cup might be enticing
Without tapping into my professional knowledge, I could see why a sippy cup might appear to be a logical move. These types of cups are designed to minimize leaks, spills, and messes at a time when children are just learning to better coordinate their movements. The cups are also typically made out of plastic or silicone which are not super easy to break.
The sippy cup might also feel like a perfect “transition” cup as the spout is similar to a bottle and may therefore be familiar to a young child. Jumping right into a “regular” cup may feel like too big of a jump for many parents, especially for children who have grown attached to their bottles.
Because of its design, sippy cups can be used independently without requiring constant assistance from caregivers. Some may advocate that this independence promotes self-feeding skills and encourages autonomy.
Further, because of their design, sippy cups are portable and convenient for use outside the home, such as during travel, outings, or daycare. They can be easily thrown into diaper bags and purses when on the go.
But let’s be honest - who is the sippy cup actually benefiting?
In reviewing some of the “positives” listed above, let’s truly evaluate who these cups benefit the most - the parents! Less spills and messes, easy for travel, less supervision required. What a dream, right?
Here are some of my concerns:
While the perks described above may be enticing, there are some definite drawbacks to giving children sippy cups.
In order to explain some very important drawbacks, allow me to first explain a bit about sucking and swallowing patterns. While breastfeeding or drinking from a bottle, babies use an immature sucking pattern or “suckle” with an anterior-posterior tongue movement (from the front to the back of the tongue) before swallowing.
At around 1 year of age, children typically begin to develop a mature swallow pattern during which time the tip of their tongue touches the roof of their mouth (just behind the top teeth) and makes the motion of a wave to propel liquids back into their throat.
If we take a moment to think about the spout of a sippy cup, one may recognize that it does NOT allow a child to put his or her tongue on the roof of the mouth and it, in fact, blocks the tongue from reaching this spot. Conversely, when the spout of the sippy cup is resting on the top front portion of the child’s tongue, it forces the tongue to rest on the bottom of the mouth. When this pattern is repeated over and over, a child’s brain becomes hardwired to swallow this way and to also maintain this tongue positioning overall. This tongue positioning results in a variety of issues related to not just drinking and eating different textures but also breathing (only the most important thing we need to do to survive)! This is a huge concern.
Extending this swallowing pattern can also lead to problems with jaw development and teeth alignment. To put it simply, the sucking action required to use sippy cups can lead to malocclusion (imperfect positioning of the teeth when the jaws are closed) or improper bite alignment.
Lastly, extended use of this immature swallowing pattern can interfere with speech development. If a child’s tongue cannot make contact with the mentioned spot behind their front teeth, this may lead to issues with the production of alveolar sounds (/t,d,n,s,z,l/). Also, sippy cups can encourage a tongue-thrusting motion, where the tongue pushes against the front teeth instead of resting on the roof of the mouth, potentially affecting speech sound production (often referred to as a “lisp”).
Knowing the negative impact they can have, I’m hoping the sippy cups don’t seem so appealing anymore!
What types of cups are recommended?
Similar to many other medical and dental professionals, I recommend transitioning children to regular open cups as early as possible. Learning to drink from an open cup promotes better lip control and tongue movement, supporting overall oral development.
Parents and caregivers can offer small amounts of water in open cups during meal and snack times and gradually increase the amount as children develop their drinking skills. (My children started with tiny sips of water from open cups when they began to eat more solids, and this ranged anywhere from 6 months to closer to a year.) Practicing with these cups during supervised times such as when in the bathtub or outside can help to make this experience not quite so messy.
Another option is a straw cup. Drinking from a straw encourages a child to develop the more advanced way of sucking and swallowing. When using a straw to drink, one is strengthening the lip, tongue, and cheek muscles. Instead of using a “suckling” method of drinking (like with traditional sippy cups), children can practice using the mature pattern of swallowing that will allow him or her to safely drink and eat. This same oral strengthening proves to be beneficial as babies begin to use their mouths to speak as well as with tongue positioning for optimal breathing.
When first teaching straw usage to my children, I’ve had success with placing my finger at one end of a straw to hold a small amount of water in the straw. I would place the other end of the straw near my baby’s mouth and release my finger once they began to suck on their end. Once sucking more on their own, I started allowing them to hold and manipulate their own straw cups.
Shop smart!
Because children are placing these products in and around their mouths, I prefer cups made with less toxic materials such as silicone and glass (typically inside of other child-safe materials). Check out some of my favorite non-sippy cup options:
At Latch on to Language, I specialize in working with moms, moms-to-be, and babies for lactation concerns. I also specialize in working with children from toddler-age to teenage and most frequently service those with deficits in articulation/phonology and language. I offer in-home services to clients in Cecil County, MD, and nearby towns/cities in MD, PA, and DE. Additional travel fees apply to locations beyond this area. Virtual sessions are also effective and can be provided to address many lactation, speech, and language concerns.
If you're struggling or you’d simply like more information, please reach out to see if Latch on to Language may be a good fit! I look forward to working with you! 🌟
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