In other words, they tend to continue the infantile sucking pattern by protruding and placing their tongue under the hard sippy spout and suckling vs. If a child goes from the breast or bottle to a sippy cup, they tend to drink out of a traditional sippy cup as if it were bottle.

Babies should transition from this suckling reflex to a more mature sucking pattern within the first year of life. The tongue, jaw, lips and palate are all part of this process. The suckling reflex consists of the tongue compressing the nipple and rolling back and forth to obtain milk. When babies begin to feed, whether bottle or by breast, they do so using a suckling reflex. So what’s the big deal with traditional sippy cups? Let’s start with typical child development. A sippy cup is defined as a “training cup-usually plastic-with a screw or snap on lid and a spout that lets your child drink without spilling.” Traditional sippy cups have a hard plastic spout that the child would suck on to retrieve liquid from the cup.

Don’t worry though, we can help you make a better choice for your child’s development. What marketing doesn’t show is that SOME sippy cups are actually harmful, just ask any speech language pathologist (speech therapist). Unfortunately, there’s a lack of information for parents regarding what kind of cups a child should transition to after the bottle but tons of marketing telling our parents they need get a sippy cup for children to learn cup drinking. GASP! I know some parents are having heart palpitations just thinking of getting rid of some of their beloved sippy cups, but let me explain why some cups can be damaging. Unfortunately, as convenient as sippy cups are, some sippy cups can actually be detrimental to your child’s speech and feeding development. Who wants to clean up spills on the floor, in the car, and well….everywhere? As a parent, we totally understand that it’s easy to grab a sippy cup and get out the door. Oh sippy cups, how you have become a parent’s best friend.

Nuk hard spout sippy cup