drinking from a cup
why do this?
Giving a baby an open drinking cup might seem like a strange idea, but there are many reasons why open cups are a better choice than sippy bottles. Speech pathologists and dentists prefer babies to use open cups whenever possible because open cups help babies build the muscles in their mouths that are used to form sounds (and lessen drooling).
how to do this?
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Consider introducing an open cup during seated mealtimes, once your baby is eating finger foods.
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Start with a small amount of water—no more than an inch—and model drinking from the cup for your baby.
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At first, your baby may just pour the water out, bang the cup on the table, or drop the cup on the floor. They’re learning about pouring, real-life cause and effect, containment, and gravity
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Over the next few months, your baby will start to understand how to tilt the cup and drink the water that ends up in their mouth.
