at what age did your kids-

[chozen]

drink from an open cup on there own at meals etc.?

[SnuggleBuggles]

2.5 is when we started offering. Probably could have done it sooner.

Beth

[BeccaB-D]

Somewhere between 12 & 18 months here in our house.
Our kids always hated bottles and sippy cups, I own a few bottles for DD7, but their still in their original box.

[ljackson]

Before 12 months but I don't remember exactly when.

[Seitvonzu]

this is an issue of when she "could" vs. when we DID in our house.... toddlers will be toddlers- so you need to be ready for spills and in our home "experiments" (our 2-3 year old could NOT RESIST TRYING TO TIP HER CUP-- urgh!). i finally put my foot down about straw cups at sit down meals when we were at a playdate and i was the only one keeping up with a sippy. (my child is three... i know , i know)

we still do a sippy of water in bed. i bought a kleen kanteen for her easter basket. but at meals i put the drink in a cup now and let the chips fall where they may. lu's been "able" to do a cup since before one (she wouldn't drink out of a bottle EVER...so the pedi suggested trying a cup very early)-- it was just one of those extra messes for mommy that we were avoiding. also-- toddlers are not always aware of their bodies, so accidents happen alot. darn those toddler elbows! :)

[wendibird22]

DD2 is 16mos and can drink from a cup. But, letting her just have an open cup is a recipe for a wet child and wet floor since she gets great enjoyment from throwing things on the floor, so she uses a straw cup. DD2 is 3.5yo and has been drinking from a cup at all meals since about 2.5yo w/out frequent spilling.

[Gena]

DS worked on drinking from an open cup in Early Intervention and mastered that skill before he aged out at 3.

[brittone2]

We intro'd it before age 1 with all 3 kids. DS2 still gets a little overly excited sometimes and will dump it down his front, but most of the time he does pretty well. I started DS1 and DD off with a shot glass (LOL) which is a nice size for tiny hands and minimizes how much they can spill at a time. With DS2 I've been using a small stainless steel espresso cup from ikea.

[chozen]

Before 12 months but I don't remember exactly when.

wow your one yr. old drinks on her own , do you hold it for her? our 3 yro can easily drink from an open cup but she will dump it at times.

[mom2binsd]

They could at about age 2-3, but with a younger sibling, we have continued to use sippy cups for both kids (age 3 years apart) until the older one was 6.

The 5 year old still uses a sippy as he is too distracted at the table and I'm not interested in cleaning up at every meal.

[Katigre]

We skipped sippy cups in the house for the mose part, so our kids were able to drink out of open cups before 2 years old (that did mean more spills but I didn't mind).

[maestramommy]

Dora - 3? 3.5?
Arwyn - 2.5
Laurel - 18 mo

But only Dora and Arwyn can use an open cup at meals. Laurel only gets to use an open cup when brushing her teeth. It's just nice to know she can do it when we're out.

[chozen]

i really should just give our 3yo. an open cup at every meal and just let her go for it, she does know how to drink from one but she will dump it and play with the liquid if she gets a chance to. i have been giving her a straw cup looks like she might be getting to old for this.

[georgiegirl]

My 20 month old is a pro. We only use sippys for the car or stroller. He refuses to drink from a sippy at home. He became good with the open cup around 18 months. My DD was probably around 2.

[WatchingThemGrow]

"could" and "were permitted to" are different here. Because our breakfasts and lunches are with of the time one adult with 3 babies, we let the oldest start using a regular cup full time at 4.5. She could, but it was (and still is) easier if we just have 3 milk sippies and 3 water sippies ready to go in our fridge each day. If we take milk and a snack outside, we don't have to think about pouring milk or water to take with us. We just grab and go.

When we do use 3 open cups at a meal, at least one person knocks theirs over, so we give them a chance when we are feeling patient.

[brittone2]

We intro'd it before age 1 with all 3 kids. DS2 still gets a little overly excited sometimes and will dump it down his front, but most of the time he does pretty well. I started DS1 and DD off with a shot glass (LOL) which is a nice size for tiny hands and minimizes how much they can spill at a time. With DS2 I've been using a small stainless steel espresso cup from ikea.

eta: DS1 and DD were definitely 2 or under when they were primarily using an open cup at home the majority of the time. Sippies/sports bottle caps are pretty much an out of the house thing for us, but not used much at home.

[belovedgandp]

I was offering and they were drinking from open cups between 12 and 18 months. Never used sippy cups; but did do lidded straw cups at home. Moved to full-time open cups around 3. Little earlier for DS1; little later for DS2.

[Myira]

We skipped sippy cups and DD transitioned from the bottle to a regular cup when she started at a Montessori based daycare at 15 months. Initially we used shot glasses to make it easier for her and within a week she got the hang of drinking from a cup.

[kerridean]

Early, before 2. I do not allow sippy cups as they increase the incidence of ear infections due to the suction (I am an audiologist).

We obviously use straw cups with lids at restaurants or when in the car.

[HIU8]

Take this with a grain of salt. DS has motor planning issues. He started using a cup that had a base on it (but open top) around 18 months. DD who is 3 has been drinking from an open cup ONLY at the table for about a year. She still spills and/or turns it upside down etc... If she wants a drink to take downstairs we still have her using a cup with a bladder of sorts b/c she is sort of careless with it. We monitor her closely at the table also. She does this in preschool as well. She has no motor planning issues. Can't figure out why she is more careless in her cup handling (she drinks from it fine, it's the picking up and putting down).

[wencit]

I am lazy and anal about having clean floors, so with DS1, I didn't let him drink from an open top cup until he was probably around 3 1/2. DS2 at 20 months is showing signs of wanting his own cup like his big brother, so I might be fighting a losing battle with him soon.

[blue]

"could" and "were permitted to" are different here.

:yeahthat: DS was able to drink from and open cup at around 18 months (pick it up himself, drink, and set down). However, he likes to "play" with the milk in his cup and dip food into it. After a few days of him not eating much because he was to distracted by the open cup, I stopped and went to back to sippys at meals.

Now at 21 months I allow DS an open cup with 2 of his meals (most days ;)). He "plays" with it less now and will eat his food. He still spills or makes a mess a couple times a week, but I am really tired of hand washing his sippy cups so it works for me :).