Sippy-Cups

[familyschoolcare]

So on the radio here in California this morning I heard that NY (I think it was NY) is trying to pass a law making it illegal to sell sippy-cups with-out a warning on them that they can contribute to the rotting of children’s teeth. As I get ready to interview a 2 year old tomorrow, this got me thinking, and I have a few questions.

1. Is this true the making of the law and the contributing to the rotting of children’s teeth.
2. If the sippy-cup does contribute to the rotting of children’s teeth is it more, less or the same as giving a child of the same age a bottle?
3. At what age should a child be taken of the sippy-cup

[squareone]

Everything in moderation

Bottles and sippy cups at appropriate feeding/meal times are not the real problem. One problem is that many children are allowed to carry a bottle/sippy cup with them all day every day including bed time and nap time. The other problem is what the parents put IN the sippy cup. Sippy cups and bottles, like many other convenience items, have to be used responsibly. If you feel your child MUST carry around a sippy cup, then it should be filled with water unless it is a designated meal time.

I think that once a child is walking, bottles and sippys should be limited to meal/snack times and water breaks. Here, all food and drink is restricted to the kitchen - no exceptions. We transition to a regular cup at 18 months.

[Meyou]

I transition to regular cups between 18 months and 2 years old. I agree that it's not the sippies themselves, it's how they're used.

[e.j.]

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP9eeb13936caf49a19eade4b115734801.html

Apparently, it is true that someone is trying to pass such a law.

I'm just shaking my head. It seems as though we, as a society, are losing our grip on common sense.

Like squareone stated, allowing your kids to walk around all day with a sippy cup in their mouths or putting them to bed with one is the problem - not using the sippy cup itself. It's especially harmful when they're filled with juice and soda and other sugary drinks. My own kids used sippy cups for years and I use them in my daycare for meals and snacks. Once the meal or snack is done, the cups are put away until the next meal. Neither of my kids had cavities or needed braces. None of my day care kids seem to have any dental problems either.

[rhymia1]

Bottles and sippy cups at appropriate feeding/meal times are not the real problem. One problem is that many children are allowed to carry a bottle/sippy cup with them all day every day including bed time and nap time. The other problem is what the parents put IN the sippy cup. Sippy cups and bottles, like many other convenience items, have to be used responsibly. If you feel your child MUST carry around a sippy cup, then it should be filled with water unless it is a designated meal time.

I think that once a child is walking, bottles and sippys should be limited to meal/snack times and water breaks. Here, all food and drink is restricted to the kitchen - no exceptions. We transition to a regular cup at 18 months.

This.
The only thing DCK's drink in my house is skim milk at meals and water for all snacks (per CACFP rules), no one ever has a cup away from the table.

That said, I'm in NY and I haven't heard anything about it. I really wish they would do more to educate parents about proper child nutrition instead of passing silly laws.

[Cat Herder]

Nothing surprises me anymore.....

Two things I know for sure:

You can't mandate common sense.

You can't fix stupid.

Is it Friday, yet???????????

[AnneCordelia]

Agreed that it's what's IN the sippy that is the problem.

I got a bunch of 'Doidy cups' a few years back and use those to transition the 12mo's to regular cups. They work and I love them for the young ones.

http://connectmommies.com/doidy-cup/

[familyschoolcare]

Thank you for all the great information that is about what I thought in-regards to them adding in the rotting of teeth just thought I would ask since I have not interacted with a sippy-cup in 10 years my youngest child is 12.

[youretooloud]

Sippy cups are my most hated item in childhood. Kids now need to have a flavored liquid in a duckbilled sippy cup at all times. Along with a container of Goldfish crackers.

No child should ever be allowed to, or expected to go without a snack and a flavored drink for more than 20 minutes. If the parent notices the child hasn't had a drink for more than 30 minutes, and heaven forbid they not eat a fishy cracker it's possible that their blood sugar could crash to a dangerous level, and they could go into a coma. Most parents can even tell you a story they heard on the internet about a child of someone someone else knew who remained in a coma for 3 years after driving 18 blocks without a baggie of snacks and a sippy cup with juice. The parents had all the other children removed from the home as a result.

http://community.advanceweb.com/blogs/ot_4/archive/2008/02/08/sippy-cup-syndrome.aspx

What about sippy cups?

I don’t recommend sippy cups because sippy cups can prevent the tongue from moving into a more natural position for speech development. Children ****le the sippy cup just like they would a pacifier or bottle. When it comes time to ween off the bottle try moving to a straw cup instead.

[sharlan]

I don't have an issue with sippy cups. Yes, I am one of those who gives a child a sippy cup in the car if we are going to be gone for more than 30-45 mins. I also keep bottles of water in the car in case they get thirsty while we're out.

I leave sippy cups on the table during the day. The kids know who's is who's and they can grab their's. It beats the kids playing with the water cooler or fridge water.

I use plastic cups for meals once they get past the spilling stage.

(I was one of those kids that was hospitalized for dehydration at 5. I've had to go to the ER twice as an adult for IVs due to dehydration.)

[youretooloud]

I leave cups out all day, and it's full of water for the kids. I refill them during the day, and I leave a small pitcher of water for the older kids. But, I don't think I need to chase down a child to make sure he's had a drink from a no leak duck billed cup every 20 minutes. I'm not filling it with juice, and I don't serve food every half hour.

For a child to be hospitalized for dehydration, it would take much more than a car ride to Wal mart without a ****y cup.

[sharlan]

I don't take sippy cups for a trip to the market, but if we're headed out for an outing I do. If we go to the park, 20 mins walk, I grab the sippies. Grabbing sippy cups just isn't a big deal to me.

In the grand scheme of things, it's just not an issue for me. If my kids had them in their mouths 24/7 it might be a different story.

None of my daycare kids have had dental issues.

[youretooloud]

I don't take sippy cups for a trip to the market, but if we're headed out for an outing I do. If we go to the park, 20 mins walk, I grab the sippies. Grabbing sippy cups just isn't a big deal to me.

I absolutely take water on any walking trips. Especially to the park. I'd rather stand on an ant hill than let myself or anybody in my care drink from a public fountain. (germaphobe) I'm not saying kids shouldn't drink. But, they don't need to have a sippy cup with juice or milk all day. A sports bottle, a straw cup, a normal cup... but, no four year old should be ****ing on a sippy cup all day long, and if they need something, it should mostly be water.

No leak cups are fine for the night stand, or the car. But, to have one ALL day is not good for the child.

[mom2many]

I have used sippy cups for years and years and never seen a child with any detrimental issues. It helps prevents spills tremendously...especially for the 1 and 2 year olds! They get water when they want it through out the day and milk at meal times. The cups always stay in the kitchen.

[Country Kids]

Gosh it makes you wonder what kids did before sippy cups!!!!! I know when I was little they were called Tommy Tippy cups but you never, never saw a child past the age of two with one. My own children were drinking out of regular cups by the age of two and sure there were spills but they learned how to do it.

It is funny how our society rarely drinks out of normal cups! Every thing you see is sold with a lid and straw or comes out of a bottle. Even in restaurants they come with lids! When did we become soooo lazy that we can't take the time to clean up a spill if it happens?