Believe it or not you can start working on this skill by 5 or 6 months of age. In fact, some people even offer newborns sips of breast milk from an open cup if they are having trouble latching.
Of course you can always hold a glass for your baby and offer them a sip while you hold the cup. But if you want to allow your baby to hold the cup themself, try offering a very small amount in a tiny vessel. You probably already have something in your cabinet that would work. Great options include: A medicine cup, the cap to a baby bottle, a Dixie cup, or even a shot glass.
If you want something special just for your little one, my favorites include:
The Nosey cup
the Ezpz Tiny Cup
or the Spoutless Sippy by Grabease
For older toddlers and children, I really like the Reflo Smart Cup.
Yes, working on this skill will likely involve quite a few messy moments. But it’s a skill that we all need to learn eventually and most kids can be pretty good at it between age 1 to 2 if they have had the opportunity to practice.
Check out our free resource with clickable links for the best cups for oral motor skill development! And check out our Favorite Products page for more recommendations.
To learn how to teach straw drinking, check out our article on Teaching Straw Drinking!
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