Drinks All Day Long In Sippy Cups Or Just During Meals?

[MaritimeMummy]

All my kids expect to have their sippies full of SOMETHING and access to it all day long.

I give milk with morning snack, juice with lunch, and milk with afternoon snack. I have no kids on bottles at this point. But for instance, when they get up from the table from their lunch, they grab their cup and take it in the play area (my living room). I have one kid that looses her mind if she doesn't have her cup in her hand all the time. I just managed to get her off her soother and stop her from carrying her bottle around all day long. Her comfort's been replaced by her cup. But, every child here has access all the time to their own cups, and it's kind of an expectation of the parents for me to do it.

But I don't know, I'm thinking, at a day care centre, they don't do this, so why should I? Is not giving a cup to drink from all day long common?

[SilverSabre25]

I have cups available all day, but those just have water. Actually my bigger kids just go to the table when they're thirsty and I leave their cups there all day getting refilled as needed.

I let my DS carry his sippy of water around because he's little and I'm, uh, kinda lazy...and I don't care. And he can't get into the kitchen any time he wants because of the gate and his ability to open the fridge, the oven, and all the cabinets...

I'll probably let DCB do the same thing if/when he starts wanting to.

I just really don't care until they're old enough to understand why it has to stay in one place. And if DD even now asks for a lid and carries her cup (only of water!) around, then I still just don't really care very much.

[Country Kids]

I'm not even allowing sippy's anymore. They can sit at the table with a big cup. I'm getting to the mind set of how it was before all this stuff was invented to the ease of life. We don't need sippy's, pacifiers above 1, they can be potty trained with consistency before 5 years old, etc.

I'm love these kids and have them the majority of the day. Some have two of their three main meals here. They should be able to learn how to do things in the 10 hours I have them a day.

[Blackcat31]

My DC kids only get milk or water at meal and snack times. If they want a drink other times during the day, they ask and I get them a cup and they sit at the table and drink it and that is that.

Nothing in a sippy cup and I surely do NOT ever allow kids to simply roam free with a sippy filled with anything. No wonder kids are potty trained at older and older ages....we gotta break them of their "drinking" habits first. LOL!

I don't even let babies have bottles filled with anything all day. I make them a bottle, hold and feed them and take the bottle back.

I also don't allow sippy cups or food to come into my house or leave my home. (Can you tell I hate sippy cups )

[youretooloud]

We don't use sippies, but their cups have water in them all the time, and they are always lined up in the same spot so they always have access. I do not fill them with anything but water.

[MaritimeMummy]

I don't expect my age group to use cups...I mean, my 3 year old DD can, and my 2.5 year old DCG, but not my 23 month old DCG, 19 month old DCB, and certainly not my 14 month old DS. If I put the cups out for the older kids, the younger kids get into them and spill them, I've tried that before (my 14 month old DS is notorious for this, and he's too young to "talk to" about not doing it).

[MaritimeMummy]

The cups are supplied by me, they don't leave my home either. :-)

[Blackcat31]

I don't expect my age group to use cups...I mean, my 3 year old DD can, and my 2.5 year old DCG, but not my 23 month old DCG, 19 month old DCB, and certainly not my 14 month old DS. If I put the cups out for the older kids, the younger kids get into them and spill them, I've tried that before (my 14 month old DS is notorious for this, and he's too young to "talk to" about not doing it).

I am not flaming you are trying to sound critical but why wouldn't you expect your group to use cups?

Children ARE capable of so much more than we think......they also will only do what is expected and honestly you have what I would call an older group of kids.

I teach every single kid I ave to use an un-lidded cup (I use 5 oz Dixie cups) by the time they are weaned off a bottle. Kids can tip their own bottles by 12 months, they understand the concept of tipping to get the liquid so with a bit of encouragement, support and on-going help they can transistion to a regular cup easily by 1 year old.

I don't have a problem with other kids "getting into" cups because I don't leave them out but as far as the use of one in general, kids as young as your 14 month old can easily be taught how to use a cup. They do have the ability. We just have to support it...even though it is and can be a messy process...LOL!!

[laundrymom]

Milk w meals and snacks ( we chew our fruit here) water in between meals. Bottles to a yr, sippers to 14 mo. Cups starting @ 15 mo @ table w big kids. No high chairs after 15 mo.

[Country Kids]

I don't expect my age group to use cups...I mean, my 3 year old DD can, and my 2.5 year old DCG, but not my 23 month old DCG, 19 month old DCB, and certainly not my 14 month old DS. If I put the cups out for the older kids, the younger kids get into them and spill them, I've tried that before (my 14 month old DS is notorious for this, and he's too young to "talk to" about not doing it).

Oh, I would defenitly be letting all of them (maybe not the 14 month old) use a regular cup. 3 of them are more then ready!

Make them know they are big kids and can handle this. Then its easier to me to break them of other things.

[itlw8]

there is NO difference in a child carrying a bottle around or a sippy cup

If it has anything in it besides water the parents are asking for major dental problems. It is refered to bottle mouth decay because the milk or juice bathes the teeth constantly.

I would insist the cups be kept on the table and that they only contain water. Then I would find an article about the hazard of allowing access to a bottle or cup all day... by the way people who snack all day have the same problem except it is not under the front lip.


by the way usually to take care of it they do it as an outpatient in the hospital .

[Crazy8]

I require them to have non-spill cups, my group is usually 2 and under, I have little ones who drink their cups outside of normal meal times (they nap 2x a day so aren't awake at our normal snack times) but the 1x/day nappers just get them at meals and when we come in from outside. I only give milk at lunch - water the rest of the time.

[MaritimeMummy]

I appreciate every bit of advice here. I really do. I don't consider anyone to be flaming. :-)

So you think I'm not allowing these kids to do what they are capable of doing? I guess I just see my kids as really young...my 23 month old is pretty young acting still so I just never really considered HER old enough to do it. It's all I can do to get her to sit down and eat her meals without running all over the place with food in her mouth. The 19 month old likely could. The kids that you guys have drinking from cups at a younger age (younger than 2), do the parents do anything at home to help out with it? Or do they get cups at your daycare, sippies at their home?

[Country Kids]

I appreciate every bit of advice here. I really do. I don't consider anyone to be flaming. :-)

So you think I'm not allowing these kids to do what they are capable of doing? I guess I just see my kids as really young...my 23 month old is pretty young acting still so I just never really considered HER old enough to do it. It's all I can do to get her to sit down and eat her meals without running all over the place with food in her mouth. The 19 month old likely could. The kids that you guys have drinking from cups at a younger age (younger than 2), do the parents do anything at home to help out with it? Or do they get cups at your daycare, sippies at their home?

You know I'm not really sure what they do at home but I know they all know how to drink out of a cup without any help. Maybe they do or they just know from watching others. I haven't had a spill yet from any of them (stop to knock on wooden desk-:.

[MyAngels]

My DC kids only get milk or water at meal and snack times. If they want a drink other times during the day, they ask and I get them a cup and they sit at the table and drink it and that is that.

Nothing in a sippy cup and I surely do NOT ever allow kids to simply roam free with a sippy filled with anything. No wonder kids are potty trained at older and older ages....we gotta break them of their "drinking" habits first. LOL!

I don't even let babies have bottles filled with anything all day. I make them a bottle, hold and feed them and take the bottle back.

I also don't allow sippy cups or food to come into my house or leave my home. (Can you tell I hate sippy cups )

I agree with this, especially after I saw the article about how unsanitary those cups with the valve type things are. Even after thorough washing there was still some very ewwww stuff in there.