Refusing to drink from a cup at 2 1/2?

Hi all,

It has been ages and ages since I've posted here, so forgive me for jumping back in so abruptly, but I need help. One of my boys absolutely refuses to learn to drink from a regular cup. He'll use any type of sippie or straw cup, but starts to cry if he's thirsty and I offer him a regular cup with water. His brother loves the cup and has been drinking from a "big boy" cup for longer than I can remember. Has this happened with anyone else? I feel like he's so behind on this skill. I don't pressure him, but I always offer Ben a cup when I give one to Owen. Sometimes he'll play with it or hold it but he won't drink. I've tried putting special treats like juice or chocolate milk in the cup to entice him and still nothing. I think it has something to do with the fact that the first few times he tried to do it, he spilled on himself and got REALLY upset about it, crying and saying "look what I did!"

I'm just at a loss at this point. I mean, he's not going to be drinking out of a sippy cup when he's 16 right? Should I just stop worrying about it? It's just becoming kind of awkward and difficult when we're at a playdate, out to dinner etc. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
-Tracy

 

Yep, I would stop worrying about it. He's only 2.5 -- it will come! I don't think I ever even offered a regular cup by that age...in fact, yeah, I think the first time Nadia had a real cup was at preschool, when she was 2.5. They used to give the kids little paper Dixie cups to practice.

I haven't tried regular cups with my twins yet -- and they'll be 2 next week. They drink just fine from a straw...so I see no reason to mess with it.

You could try a regular cup with a straw...or, you could try practicing in the bath, and making a game of it. (A little bathwater won't hurt him.)

Either way, really don't fret. My 5-year-old drinks completely normally now. (And she had a bottle until she was 2!)

 

Don't worry about it. He'll learn eventually. I had my girls practicing for a little while at age 2 and then I asked myself "Why bother?" and I put it away. One day a year or so later they just did it without me worrying about it or any practice. I have found that there are some "skills" that you shouldn't even bother with because, if you just wait a year or so, they'll pick it up on their own.

 

I agree with everyone else and wouldn't worry! Mine can drink from a cup right now, but I rarely give them one. Only when we are out and about and I don't have a sippy. The way I figure it, why give them stress about trying not to spill unless necessary. Especially since their little hands are still pretty uncoordinated, but like pp said, they will be able to do it with no worries in a year.

 

I agree! We bought a bunch of the first years take n toss straw cups when the twins were not quite two. The way I view it, those cups are exactly like any cups we would get at McD's, etc. They still use them alot and are almost 4! They can use open cups at the table but half the time I don't want the added stress so they get the straw cups with lids. When we first started with open cups, I did put bendy straws in them to sort of help the transtion. But they were three before we even tried that!

 

My kids still get sippies. Simply because I don't want them out of the kitchen with an open cup. So sometimes we have open and sometimes sippy.

I wouldn't worry about it at all!!

 

My DD Sarah still prefers to drink from a sippy cup (or water bottle) at age 3.5. She is quite capable of using an open cup because that's what they use at daycare, but I think (like your DS) she's afraid of spilling, and prefers not to run the risk. And I actually prefer the sippies too, for the same reason! Amy always wants an open cup these days, and knocks it over at least once per meal.

So, I wouldn't push it. But I also wouldn't bend over backwards to carry a sippy everywhere. He is old enough to understand (especially if you explain it to him before the next time you'll be eating out somewhere) that when there is no sippy available, he can choose to use a regular cup or choose not to drink anything.