Teaching your baby to drink from a cup and straw

When to start

Offer your baby a cup from about 6 months, when they start solid food. The AAP, the CDC and the NHS all agree on this. Your baby won’t drink much at first, and that’s fine: breast milk or formula is still their main drink. At this stage, the cup is about learning a new skill.

Learning to sip from a cup also helps your baby move away from the bottle later. The AAP suggests starting the switch around 6 months and finishing it sometime between 12 and 18 months.

Which cup to choose

There’s no single right cup. What matters most is that your baby learns to sip, not suck.

• Open cup. A small, regular cup with no lid. It’s messy, but it’s the skill your child will use for life. Both the AAP and the NHS are happy for babies to start with an open cup.
• Straw cup. The AAP and CDC both list a cup with a straw as an option from about 6 months.
• Free-flow cup. A lidded cup or beaker with a spout and no valve, so liquid flows out when tipped. The NHS recommends an open cup or a free-flow cup, and says this is better for your baby’s teeth.
• Skip non-spill valves. The AAP explains that cups with a valve under the spout make your child suck to get any liquid out, just like a bottle. If you use a spouted cup, choose one without a valve. Two handles can help small hands grip.

The AAP calls the spouted “sippy” cup an optional step: many children go straight from breast or bottle to a regular cup.

What to put in the cup

• From 6 months: small sips of water with meals. The AAP’s guide is up to 4–8 oz (120–240 ml) a day in total from 6 to 12 months. You can also put breast milk or formula in the cup. The AAP says starting with the milk your baby already drinks can feel more natural.
• From 12 months: water, plus plain pasteurized milk. See cow’s milk at 12 months.
• Not as a main drink before 12 months: cow’s, goat’s or sheep’s milk, or plant drinks like soy, oat or almond (NHS). Never rice drinks under 5 years, because of arsenic, and never unpasteurized milk (NHS).
• Not in the cup: juice before 12 months (AAP), sugary drinks, sweetened or flavored drinks, tea or coffee. The NHS says not to put anything other than breast milk, formula or water in a bottle or trainer cup. More in water for babies and juice for babies.

How to teach an open cup

• Start tiny. Pour in just a little water, so spills don’t matter and your baby isn’t overwhelmed. The CDC suggests letting your baby practice with a small amount of water.
• Hold it for them at first. Bring the cup to their lips and tip it just enough for a small sip to reach them. Let them stop when they want.
• Let them help. As your baby gets more control, let them put their hands on the cup with yours.
• Drink alongside them. The AAP suggests modeling: drink water yourself when you eat together.
• Expect spills. The CDC, AAP and NHS all say it will be messy at first. That’s part of learning.

What to expect, month by month

• About 6 months: a spouted cup without a valve, a straw cup or an open cup you hold (CDC, AAP, NHS).
• From about 9 months: the CDC says children can start learning to use a cup without a lid.
• 10–12 months: the NHS says babies use a cup with more confidence around this age.
• By 12 months: most babies can drink from a cup without a lid while you hold it, according to the CDC’s milestones.
• By 18 months: most toddlers drink from an open cup on their own, and may still spill sometimes (CDC).
• By about 2 years: the AAP says it’s healthiest for children to drink from an open cup, with sippy cups used only while they’re learning.

Every child is different. CDC milestones describe what most children (75% or more) can do by a certain age.

Good habits for teeth

• Offer cups mainly at meals and snacks. The AAP suggests setting the cup aside between meals rather than letting your child carry it around all day.
• Water between meals. If a sippy cup is used, the AAP says to fill it only with plain water, without juice or sugar.
• No bottles in bed. The AAP says not to put your child to bed with a bottle, and if you do, it should hold only water, to help prevent tooth decay. The NHS says never leave a baby alone in bed with a bottle, because they may choke.
• Move off the bottle. The AAP says that sipping on bottles during the day can mean toddlers skip meals, and that long-term bottle use is linked to cavities. Start by keeping the bottle for mealtimes only, and gradually drop the other bottle feeds, especially at naps and bedtime.

If your baby refuses the cup

Protests are normal, the AAP says. Try at a meal when your baby is thirsty, try a different type of cup, and keep it relaxed. Praise any sip. Make sure other caregivers follow the same routine.

Talk to your pediatrician if it turns into a power struggle, or if your child has a health condition, physical difference or developmental delay that affects drinking (AAP). In the US, your pediatrician can help.In the UK, your health visitor or GP can help.Your doctor or child health nurse can help.

Where US and UK advice differs

• Type of cup. The AAP and CDC are happy with an open cup, a straw cup, or a spouted sippy cup without a valve. The NHS recommends an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve, and encourages moving from a lidded beaker to an open cup as soon as your child is ready.
• Ending the bottle. The AAP suggests finishing the move from bottle to cup between 12 and 18 months. The NHS says bottle feeding should be discouraged once your baby is 1 year old.
• Juice under 12 months. The AAP says babies under 12 months should not have juice. The NHS says they don’t need it, and if you do give it, to dilute it (1 part juice to 10 parts water) and only at mealtimes. This site follows the stricter advice: skip juice under 12 months.

For how drinks fit into the day, see the baby feeding schedule.