On this Page:

• What is a Sippy Cup?
• When to transition from bottles with a teat to sippy cups?
• Types of Sippy Spouts
• When to transition from sippy cups to straw cups?
• When to transition to a normal cup?

Your Guide To Straw & Sippy Cups 

Feeding a baby is both a pleasurable and stressful experience for most parents. Especially for the first-time parent who has little knowledge about bottle feeding. In most cases breastfeeding comes naturally for both mother and baby. However, it may not be the case with bottle feeding. It requires a lot of effort and patience on the part of the mother to start bottle feeding a baby. But once the baby gets the hang of a bottle, the next stage is to transition the baby to a sippy cup slowly, followed by a straw cup. In this article, we offer a guide to help with this transition!

What is a Sippy Cup?

A sippy cup is a small cup, usually made of plastic, and comes with a lid and a spout that lets your baby drink the fluid without spilling it. The spout and bottle come in various sizes to suit babies of all age groups. Most sippy cups are non-breakable and hence can be handled easily by babies.

When to transition from bottles with a teat to sippy cups?

There is no particular age to wean a baby from a bottle to a sippy cup. However, the American Dental Association recommends transitioning from a bottle to a sippy cup by your child’s first birthday to prevent tooth decay.

The more your baby is attached to the bottle the more it becomes difficult to wean. Before weaning, make sure that there are no major changes happening in the house like the birth of a sibling or house relocation. Such events can upset your baby and make weaning more difficult. Also introduce your baby to the cup beforehand so that he/she gets the hang of things.

Types of Sippy Spouts

While purchasing a sippy cup, there are two types of sippy spouts to choose from – hard spouts and soft spouts. It is advisable to start with a soft spout as this texture is what your baby is used to. It’s also much more gentle on your baby’s gums which are still growing and forming. If you find after a while that your baby is chewing through the soft spout you may try a harder spout. Most babies love trying to tip the cup upside down or drop it as a game!  For this reason, we do recommend purchasing a non-spill sippy cup.

You can find our range of non-spill soft spout sippy cups here.

When to transition from sippy cups to straw cups?

Using a straw cup is the first step towards introducing the baby to a normal cup. The sucking pattern of both a straw cup and a normal cup is the same. Only when the baby starts to use a straw cup does the tongue placement becomes correct and it becomes easy to use a normal cup. The best age to transition to a straw cup is between 9 and 15 months of age though it may vary depending on the baby. Just like introducing sippy cups, there should be no major changes taking place in your baby’s life while introducing a straw cup.

Straw cups normally come with flexible and hard straws. The best straw cup to use is the one with a flexible straw and weighted ball. This allows the liquid to flow smoothly, and the baby does not have to tip the cup to drink. Moreover, since the straw is relatively soft, your baby can even chew on it to relieve teething irritation.

You can find our range of non-spill soft spout straw cups with a weighted ball and straw here.

When to transition to a normal cup?

Just like a sippy cup, there is no particular age to transition to a normal cup. But it is best to introduce your toddler to a normal cup by the time he/she is two years old. There are babies who start using the normal cup before 12 months of age, and more time is required for others to transition to a normal cup. Either way, using a normal cup helps the child to exercise better control over their mouth muscles.

If you are a first-time parent, then making a right decision can be very confusing as there are different varieties of sippy and straw cups available in the market. That's why we have put together this guide to sippy and straw cups.

The best sippy cup and straw cup to choose are the ones made of glass. They are not only BPA and chemical free but also easy to clean and manage. Since high tempered borosilicate glass is used to manufacture them, they are durable and safe and can withstand high temperatures. Hence, they are safe to use in both a dishwasher and sterilizer. Moreover, the inbuilt shock absorber in the Cherub Baby models makes them resistant to breakage.

You can find our range of non-spill and break-resistant glass sippy and straw cups here.