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on a table." width="4000" height="2667" />Straws, spouts, and more types of sippy cups for any skill level.
Updated on August 19, 2024 In This Article In This Articleon a table." width="4000" height="2667" />
The transition from a bottle to a sippy cup can happen in the blink of an eye. Children can start using sippy cups when they start eating solid foods, which may occur as young as 6 months old. The goal of shifting away from a bottle to a regular cup is to encourage sipping over sucking.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), children can use a sippy cup (also called a training cup) with a spouted lid or a cup with a straw. There’s also the option for kids to drink from an open cup without a straw—the best choice for kids by the time they turn 2 years old. Sippy cups are a good go-between for transitioning from the bottle to mastering an open cup; they’re durable and often help reduce spills or leaks. Some come with straws, soft or hard spouts, and handles; others transform into an open cup for versatility—and we’ve tested them all.
To help parents find the best sippy cups—and get down to business about the effects of sippy cups on kids—we spoke with several experts, including a pediatrician, pediatric feeding therapists, and speech-language pathologists. We also tested various types of cups, such as straw sippy cups and open cups, in our lab and the real world with our parenting editors and their children, ages 9 months to 2 years old. We evaluated each cup on its design, leak resistance, durability, ease of use, cleaning, and value. Whether your child is just beginning to use a sippy cup or needs a new option, we dropped, shook, and tossed these cups to find the best—and most durable—ones for your family.
Sippy cups with valves encourage a sucking motion over sipping—the opposite of how a child should learn to drink from a cup. There are several popular sippy cups on the market with valves, but you won't find them on our list because they're not recommended by experts and can do more harm than good.
Most experts agree that open cups, with or without a straw, are the best options for children, which you can incorporate while using a sippy cup. “If a child is drinking exclusively from a sippy cup, they’re using an infant swallowing pattern. If a child continues to use an infant swallowing pattern, it can impact the way they’re able to chew and swallow solid foods,” explains Kate Marble, MA, CCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist at Akron Children’s. “In turn, if [you’re] offering a sippy cup, it is best practice to offer the sippy cup in conjunction with an open cup or straw.”
Stefanie LaManna, MS, CCC-SLP, CNT, Associate Director, Health Care Services in Speech-Language Pathology at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association agrees that you should use sippy cups in moderation. “Issues can arise when a child only drinks from one type of cup and doesn’t have opportunities to learn how to drink from things like a straw or an open cup,” she says. “A sippy cup of any kind, used in moderation with a lot of practice with straws and open cups, is a good goal for families to help their child develop the skills they need.”
Ultimately, you may have a lot of trial and error to determine what your kid will use, what’s easiest to clean, and what won’t leak or spill all over the house and car. That’s why we’ve included options for different types of sippy cups, including some with spouts, handles, and more.
