Open Cup Drinking 101
Did you know that the first type of cup that should be introduced to a baby is an open cup? Not a sippy cup.
The Brunoko Silicone Training Cup was designed to help babies learn to drink out of an open cup. The reason for no (or very limited use) of a sippy cup is because the skills of using a sippy cup are actually the same ones they would use when drinking from a bottle.
Image by Brunoko
Introducing little ones to an open cup and teaching them how to sip rather than suck is the best practice for many reasons.
Firstly, sipping from an open cup means that liquid will not pool around the children’s teeth thus reducing the risk of dental decay. Encouraging babies and toddlers to learn how to sip from an open cup rather than suck seems like a good place to start.
Cup drinking can aid with teething, decrease tooth decay and help babies learn to have a strong swallow.
That’s why feeding experts of all kinds (dietitians, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists) now recommend introducing water via an open cup beginning at 6 months of age.
When small children use an open cup to sip from, they are stimulating their fine motor skills development. With your help and lots of practice, they will be able to drink properly from a cup really well by the year 1.
Learn more here as Miss Kelly Ross, MD, a pediatrician, talk about how and when to make the change.
What to look for in an open cup
There are three main things to look for when looking for the best silicone open cup:
Soft or semi-soft rim
Hard rims such as glass, bamboo and stainless steels tend to hard on your baby’s teeth. Always keep in mind that you should look for a material that is harmless for their delicate gums like a silicone training cup.
Silicone cups have a soft rim, safe for your teething baby. Additionally, it is durable and flexible so you have a perfect training cup for your baby.
Small size
Always consider your baby’s little hands when looking for a training cup. Brunoko Silicone Training Cup has 2 handles on both sides making it easier for your baby to hold and maneuver it to their mouth with ease.
Image by Brunoko
It offers your baby a good grip and steady movement by holding the cup with both handles. You can get one by clicking here!
Shape
Children are still clumsy at the age of training cups so look for a stable cup preferably a wide base so less spill on the table.
Image by Brunoko
A wider base and slimmer rim will help the cup to stand firm and keep the balance when your baby put it down on the table.
HOW TO TEACH YOUR BABY TO DRINK FROM AN OPEN CUP
- You’re going to want to start with only a small amount of water in the open cup so that there is less to spill, especially when they are just learning in the beginning!
- Help guide the cup to their mouth. You can gently place your hands over theirs and help bring it up to their mouth slowly.
- Tilt the open cup up slightly so that the water touches your baby’s lips. We want to promote lip closure around the rim of the cup. You may want to hold the open cup from their mouth and wait for a couple seconds and then take it away.
- Model open cup drinking yourself – pick up an open cup, take a sip of water and say “AHH” at the end to indicate you got your drink! This will signal them that drinking from an open cup is good.
You can watch a video here to see the actual process on how to teach your baby drink from an open cup.
At first, they may not open their mouth or just make “chewing” motions and that’s okay. Later on they will figure out how to open up their mouth when water comes in and will pursue their lips enough to control the water coming into their mouth.
They will also tilt the open cup back too far and spill the water all over them - again, that’s okay! Don’t make your baby feel upset because of that. Instead, just laugh it off and keep trying!