Sippy cup problems

My 15 mo DD is getting just 1 bottle per day with the rest of her fluids
being taken thru sippy cups. The problem I am running into is the kind of
sippy cups she will or will not drink out of. She does the best with the
kind that has a straw. I've not had a problem with it personally until
lately. My thought is that she is not learning how to tilt the cup up to
get fluids because all she has to do is suck on the straw. So, I've been
giving her the other sippy cups that make you tilt them up to get fluids,
but she hasn't really mastered how to tilt them up. She plays with the cup
more than tries to drink from it. She'll walk around shaking the cup. What
is more important now: her getting in the fluids in whatever means possible
(the cup w/ the straw) or her learning from a cup that she needs to tilt up?
I feel she is not as advanced as other toddlers I see running around with
sippy cups tilted straight up in the air with one hand while drinking from
it.

Hi --

Keeping your daughter hydrated is FAR more important than getting her to
understand the ins and outs of different sippy cups.

If you want her to use a strawless sippy cup, go outside with her and a
strawless sippy cup, and REMOVE THE LID. Add water. Let her play with
it and try drinking with it. When she succeeds in drinking from it
without the lid, then let her watch you put the lid on, and ask her to
drink from it the same way. (Be prepared to drink from it yourself.)
She'll learn.

But honestly, she'll learn eventually anyway. She's only 15 months old!
She's learning LOTS of things all the time. Drinking without a straw
will happen. And I bet a lot of those kids who drink from strawless
sippy cups would be dreadfully confused if they tried TO use a a straw.
My kids were for what seemed like ages.

--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

ChitaShines wrote:

What
is more important now: her getting in the fluids in whatever means possible
(the cup w/ the straw) or her learning from a cup that she needs to tilt up?

Neither. You don't need to cram liquids into her, and she'll
figure out tilting whenever she needs to, now or later. What's
important is that you use a sippy cup that doesn't leak all over
your furniture and carpet ;-)

I feel she is not as advanced as other toddlers I see running around with
sippy cups tilted straight up in the air with one hand while drinking from
it.

Oh, please. And some of them can't drink through a straw
yet. This is really a non-issue. If you want her to learn to tilt
the cup, then you can switch her to those sippy cups and she'll
figure it out pretty quickly. But really, it doesn't matter if
she does it now or later. She's not going to be handicapped for
life for lack of early exposure to sippy cups that need to be
tipped. It's just a matter of experience.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"ChitaShines" wrote in message
om...
more than tries to drink from it. She'll walk around shaking the cup.
What is more important now: her getting in the fluids in whatever means
possible (the cup w/ the straw) or her learning from a cup that she needs
to tilt up? I feel she is not as advanced as other toddlers I see running
around with sippy cups tilted straight up in the air with one hand while
drinking from it.

I agree with everyone else. Don't worry. My DS also learned to sip with a
straw before using a sippy cup. If you really want her to learn to tip the
cup, do what my daycare did. I don't know if they were trying to teach DS
or it was an accident. They took the straw that was inside the sippy cup
out and left the one sticking out the top on. The only way he could use it
was by tipping the cup.

ChitaShines wrote:
My 15 mo DD is getting just 1 bottle per day with the rest of her fluids
being taken thru sippy cups. The problem I am running into is the kind of
sippy cups she will or will not drink out of. She does the best with the
kind that has a straw. I've not had a problem with it personally until
lately. My thought is that she is not learning how to tilt the cup up to
get fluids because all she has to do is suck on the straw. So, I've been
giving her the other sippy cups that make you tilt them up to get fluids,
but she hasn't really mastered how to tilt them up. She plays with the cup
more than tries to drink from it. She'll walk around shaking the cup. What
is more important now: her getting in the fluids in whatever means possible
(the cup w/ the straw) or her learning from a cup that she needs to tilt up?
I feel she is not as advanced as other toddlers I see running around with
sippy cups tilted straight up in the air with one hand while drinking from
it.

I would get rid of the bottle altogether. My DS is 17 mos and won't
tip his cup either. I have tried and tried - he's just a boy and wants
Mama to do it! LOL....So I guess all I am saying is don't worry about
it too much. She will figure it out with time. And knowing how to use
a straw at 15 months is great. I use the Playtex sippy cups and
they work wonderfully - no spills and easy to sip. I start by holding
DS's cup, then make him use his hands. When he can't get any more
liquid, I show him how to tip it, and say "tip it up!" He refuses to
tip it and makes a fuss, but I do it over and over - sooner or later he
will get it. You just have to be patient.

-L.


-L.

ChitaShines wrote:
My 15 mo DD is getting just 1 bottle per day with the rest of her fluids
being taken thru sippy cups. The problem I am running into is the kind of
sippy cups she will or will not drink out of. She does the best with the
kind that has a straw.

We had the opposite problem, our son took a long time to learn how to
drink from a straw. We would be out to dinner and I'd see all these
kids younger than him happily sipping away, but not my kid! I remember
even posting to misc.kids about the problem and people admonishing me
to worry about more important things. He did eventually learn how to
use a straw, so I would say relax. But I know the feeling of "why
can't my kid do this?"

Chris

"ChitaShines" wrote in message
om...
My 15 mo DD is getting just 1 bottle per day with the rest of her fluids
being taken thru sippy cups. The problem I am running into is the kind of
sippy cups she will or will not drink out of. She does the best with the
kind that has a straw. I've not had a problem with it personally until
lately. My thought is that she is not learning how to tilt the cup up to
get fluids because all she has to do is suck on the straw.


If she knows enough to tilt the bottle to drink from the bottle, she'll be
able to figure out that she has to tilt the sippy cup. Really, its not a
huge deal.