Skip the sippy!? Eliminate the crucial and highly marketed step? Why? Because there is something better, something functional, something that promotes the oral movements that I as a feeding therapist want to see every child drinking from.
A Cup! Yes, you heard me a cup. Babies who can sit up independently can begin taking water from a cup and with the right support sometimes earlier.
Most people reading this say, there is no way, cups are too big. Cups are breakable. Cups are heavy. Cups will be way too messy!
There is a way but its not the way you are thinking.
A 1 ounce tumbler, referred commonly to a shot glass. Yes, a plastic or metal 1 ounce tumbler. Why? Because its small and light enough for young children to handle, it is unbreakable and it only holds 1 ounce of fluid. We can handle wiping up a 1 ounce spill, even our toddlers can handle that.
You may be thinking, "Sippy cups are necessary, they come after a bottle." Correction, sippy cups are sold and marketed for children to use after the bottle stage. They are not necessary. In fact many sippy cups can create weaknesses and disordered swallowing skills over time.
Lets regain those drawers full of sippy cup parts and get back to basics!
