Getting into the toddler stages is such a fun time in your child's life. For some parents, it can be heartbreaking as they absolutely adore the baby stages and becoming a toddler means your baby is growing up. It's comical how as parents you cannot wait to do more things with your kids when they are babies, but then when they begin growing up you miss them being babies. One major breakthrough is when to take away the sippie cup!
The cup is a big deal for all little kids. It is something they can lean on, something they become dependent on and can get a bit hairy when the time comes to move on from it. Kids enjoy it and parents begin to resent them. They serve their purpose as a means to get away from using the bottles as babies, but when the child is three and still won't let go of their favorite cup, you may be in trouble!
Reasons why to take the cup away:
Your child can suffer from dental issues as a result of using a suction cup too long. Many kids experience "buck teeth" when the teeth push forward and can hang over the lips of the child commonly from thumb sucking or using these cups or bottles too long. Using a pacifier too long can also resort to this ailment.
Your children can become "babyish" over other kids their age. When you take your little on to a birthday party or play date and they are the only ones still using these cups they can be embarrassed. It's better to have your child be alongside their peers when it comes to regular practices such as potty training or cups.
How to take it away? Well, use practices that are effective for your child. Some kids can move on once they have a chat with their parents and understand the reasons why they need to take it. Others may need some inspiration or reward system. Buy them something else to use in place of the cup. Some parents have success by taking their children to the store, and allowing them to purchase a special glass or plastic cups with no lids that they will enjoy using. This is an incentive, but in millions of cases it does work.
Try to keep your cool when adjusting your kids to a new way of life. As they age, there will be hundreds of times when this needs to occur, and these trivial ones with cups and blankets as toddlers are just the beginning! These are the years when you shape what type of boundaries you will be setting with your children for years to come. If you do it correctly you will find helping your child mature is a very easy process.
Fortunately it worked out pretty easy with my kids. They basically ended up losing their sippy cups somewhere in the house I told them instead of buying new ones they would have to use regular cups until we found them. By the time they resurfaced they were unattached.
ReplyDeleteThat's good that you didn't have a difficult time. Question...did they lose the cups on their own, or did you just *happen* to misplace them and be 'unable' to find them? In other words, losing them 'accidentally-on-purpose'? :)
ReplyDeleteMy son made the switch fairly easy also. He kept saying he wanted to drink out of a cup like me, so one day I just let him start trying it (with two hands of course) and he liked being like mommy. So it stuck.
ReplyDeleteI think every child is different. I know this is something I'm going to need to face within the next 6 months or so. My daughter is 1 1/2 now.
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