Teaching Them To Hold A Bottle At 1 Yrs Old

[MunchkinWrangler]

I must not be cut out for this job!

[Annalee]

I must not be cut out for this job!

Some of my kids use sippy cups, too....it just depends on when I am ready to make that transition. Some kids mature more than others and I do not necessarily go by age...just when I am ready to transition the issue.

[LysesKids]

Some of my kids use sippy cups, too....it just depends on when I am ready to make that transition. Some kids mature more than others and I do not necessarily go by age...just when I am ready to transition the issue.

Around here it's Monkey see Monkey do... right now 3 of the four babies I have sit at the table in their special boosters (11, 12 & 14 months) and all do well eating off plates though one occasionally ends up on the floor after a particular child is finished ; we are working on the skills of holding glasses with very little water at the moment... for actual meals they get small plastic cups to drink from

[Annalee]

Around here it's Monkey see Monkey do... right now 3 of the four babies I have sit at the table in their special boosters (11, 12 & 14 months) and all do well eating off plates though one occasionally ends up on the floor after a particular child is finished ; we are working on the skills of holding glasses with very little water at the moment... for actual meals they get small plastic cups to drink from

my kids get utensils and plates at an early age, but I am pickier when I transition from a sippy to a regular cup....not saying it is the right/only way, just something I choose to do.

[LysesKids]

my kids get utensils and plates at an early age, but I am pickier when I transition from a sippy to a regular cup....not saying it is the right/only way, just something I choose to do.

Oh I get that...

[ColorfulSunburst]

I agree but I clean up enough spills throughout the day. Parents are more than welcome to do it at home!!

I have 12 kids
2-18mo
1 - 3yo
1- 3.2yo
2 - 3.6yo
3 - 3.9yo
1 - 3.11yo
2 - 4.2 yo
and I clean up no more than 2-3 spills throughout a month.

[MunchkinWrangler]

I have 12 kids
2-18mo
1 - 3yo
1- 3.2yo
2 - 3.6yo
3 - 3.9yo
1 - 3.11yo
2 - 4.2 yo
and I clean up no more than 2-3 spills throughout a month.

I have considerably less...5
1 - 16 mo
1 - 17 mo
1 - 2.9 yo
1 - 3 yo
1 infant who is 4 mo
My 2 and 3 yo have regular cups. I didn't do sippys with either of them. The 2 yo is my child and he had sippys but only outside or when we were out and about. They do fairly well except for once in a while. My toddlers have a bad habit of tossing their "cups" leading to spills which lead me to the Munchkin cups above. When they drop them or decide to throw them there is very little spillage, which I appreciate. I just don't think they are ready for a regular cup yet. And they have been completely off of bottles very soon after their first bdays. Food is another topic altogether.

[Blackcat31]

I have 12 kids
2-18mo
1 - 3yo
1- 3.2yo
2 - 3.6yo
3 - 3.9yo
1 - 3.11yo
2 - 4.2 yo
and I clean up no more than 2-3 spills throughout a month.

I also have 12 kids

2 - 19 month olds
3 - 2 yr olds
3 - 3 yr olds
2 - 4 yr olds
2 - 5 yr olds

My kiddos all get small plastic cups the same size as a Dixie cup. (I bought them on Amazon) I start by just adding one sip at a time to their cups.

Like PP said, it's always Monkey see-Monkey do around here too so I use that to my advantage. I place older kids at the table between younger kids so they can role model proper table manners and utensil use etc.

I try to have as many things be child sized as possible so that kids can easily maneuver items in their hands.

Once they've mastered a sip or two, I add more and more until they're drinking a regularly filled cup. It really takes no more than a few days for them to become pretty good at it.

My kiddos (ALL of them) also bus their own dishes when they are finished eating too. I teach them how to put their silverware and their cups on their plates, get down off their chairs and then pick up their plates and carry them to the sink.

They put their cups in a stack, their plates in another stack and their silverware in the sink. Then they go push their chairs back in and go to the bathroom to wash hands and use the toilet before rest time.

Oh, and the last spill I cleaned up was from me. I was refilling someone's cup and didn't lift the milk carton high enough and tipped someone's cup right over so the biggest mess maker is usually me. ::

[Annalee]

I also have 12 kids

2 - 19 month olds
3 - 2 yr olds
3 - 3 yr olds
2 - 4 yr olds
2 - 5 yr olds

My kiddos all get small plastic cups the same size as a Dixie cup. (I bought them on Amazon) I start by just adding one sip at a time to their cups.

Like PP said, it's always Monkey see-Monkey do around here too so I use that to my advantage. I place older kids at the table between younger kids so they can role model proper table manners and utensil use etc.

I try to have as many things be child sized as possible so that kids can easily maneuver items in their hands.

Once they've mastered a sip or two, I add more and more until they're drinking a regularly filled cup. It really takes no more than a few days for them to become pretty good at it.

My kiddos (ALL of them) also bus their own dishes when they are finished eating too. I teach them how to put their silverware and their cups on their plates, get down off their chairs and then pick up their plates and carry them to the sink.

They put their cups in a stack, their plates in another stack and their silverware in the sink. Then they go push their chairs back in and go to the bathroom to wash hands and use the toilet before rest time.

Oh, and the last spill I cleaned up was from me. I was refilling someone's cup and didn't lift the milk carton high enough and tipped someone's cup right over so the biggest mess maker is usually me. ::

When we are outside I have these cups for everyone with water. I like the idea of a small sip in the cup.....but our food program makes us put a certain amount in each cup at meals.....I never know when they will show up so I am always prepared.....I don't want to put that much liquid in a cup of someone that is "learning".

[Cozy_Kids_Childcare]

I have twins that are almost 14 months and neither can hold a bottle or a cup. I've been working on it but with the cup they just let it run out their mouth.

[happymom]

Blackcat,
What state are you in? If you're near me, I'd like to be put on your waiting list please

[Blackcat31]

Blackcat,
What state are you in? If you're near me, I'd like to be put on your waiting list please

Lol! I'm about 1400 miles NE of you

I'm in northern MN about a 100 miles south of the Canadian border.

But you are certainly welcome to be on my waitlist!
It might be a long commute

[happymom]

Oh yes, that is quite far.
I figured it was a longshot. I know there's a few people on this forum that are in reasonable distance to me, but haven't found anyone close enough to seriously consider.
Whomp whomp.
Haha!

[Pestle]

When you go to Montessori they assume the littles can or will learn quickly to drink without lids and use silverware on real plates

Yes! My husband collects shot glasses. They just sat in the cabinet until we had our daughter. They're just the right size for a baby--you have to refill them a couple of times, but there's less to spill. We also gave her espresso mugs and tiny creamer pitchers. Of course, we have large glasses now that she's a toddler, but we use appetizer forks/spoons/plates instead of chunky plastic.

When she was in someone else's day care, she was holding her own bottle at home but not at the day care . . . until the care giver caught her at it, and realized she was faking not being able to hold it. ::