Open Cup Drinking

Food experts, dieticians, and language pathologists suggest open cup drinking start as early as 6 months! Claiming that the early exposure helps babies to build a more mature swallow pattern through exposure and lots and lots of practice. Now, I did not start this early with Yumi. We started when she was 12 months. However, I do think she definitely could have benefited had we started a bit sooner. It’s a good idea to make sure the rim is soft, as glass and stainless steel are hard and can hurt or damage babies teeth. Also, making sure the cup is small enough for them to get a good grip. The larger the cup, the harder it is to maneuver to their mouths, and requires more tilting, making it harder not to spill. Imagine if someone gave you a large bucket to drink from. I purchased an EzPz cup for Yumi when she was about 9 months old, and then forgot about it. Whoops. They sell both baby and toddler sizes, and of course here she is using the baby size and can fully grip it with one hand, but I still use it for practice sake, and she has other cups we use with her as well!