Problem with Sippy Cups

Two year olds are very smart. The sippy cups seem more like they are dictating to you what you will and will not do. If it were my 2.5 year old, I have a strong minded one too, I would throw them out and by ones from Walmart that aren't soft but are harder plastic. If they bite them they are done with them. Kids shouldn't have a sippy cup all day long so carrying it around and biting it is not acceptable. I know it's not easy having to deal with strong minded two year old but allowing them to tell you what will or will not be difficult later on.

Good luck !

Throw away these cups forever. Never give them anyhthing they want when they pitch a temper fit. It will only get worse. They must learn how to ask properly forsomething and how to behave when you say no. Get hard nosed now about their behaviour as it will get more difficult the older they get. I would advise you to get some of Dr. John Rosemonds books on child rearing as has a no nonsense approach and it works great. He has a website and you can order what you want there. My daughter learned the hard way about giving in to temper fits and had a 12 year old that was horrible to bearound. She did take Dr Rosemond's advice finally and it definitely turned around this fit pitching child. V.

K.,
I have an inhome daycare and also grandparent to that age.....I too use the nuby cups b/c I love them.....best cup to transition from bottle. The best thing nuby did aside from making the cup was to sell replacement spouts!!! You can buy a pack of 2 replacement spouts (for almost the price of 1 new cup) and just replace them when they bite holes in them. Also, the newer spouts are a little harder so they don't seem to bite through so quickly. I have only found these replacement packs at BabiesRUs. I use the same color cup over and over for each child (so we can keep it straight) and make them keep their cups in the kitchen. They have a certain place on my table or bench they keep their cups and go back and fourth all day drinking when they want and leave their cups in the kitchen. I know it's much harder to start that when they have already been drinking all over the house but, at that age you can reason a bit with them and if you stand your ground (it's hard!) for about a week or so you can have them trained to doing it. Possibly a special little table or bench that is just for them? Hope this helps. God bless you for being there for your grandsons.

C. L.

I may sound cruel but... throw them out in front of them and do not give them the option of going back to the cups you hate. Kids will eat when their hungry and drink when their thirsty. It might be a couple of rough days for you but at some point when they see you won't give in they will have to. You are the adult and make the rules and enforce them. BTW this is how I potty trained the first son and will potty train the second. I could NOT give PJ the option of going back to the diapers or he would have never started going pee pee potty. Good luck!

Those sippy cups are great when transitioning from the bottle or even teaching a 6 month old to drink from it. But these little cuties are too old to be using those cups. I'd would buy other cups, playtex or munchkin with cute designs...diego or whatever you can find and then throw away those other ones, so you won't be tempted to give it to them when they have a temper tantrum. If you give in to those tantrums, then they know that all they need to do is to do that and then they'll get what they want....so it's working for them.

They will drink out of the new cups. They will...they'll be thirsty and they will eventually do it. I wouldn't worry about it. Their bodies will eventually drive them to drink out of the new cups.

There is a possibility that they don't know how to drink out of the new cups because they have to use more suction. You can always try leaving the spillproof thing out of the cup until they do learn. But if you know they already know how, then don't do that. Good luck!

D.
Mother of 4

I know it is hard, trust me, we are facing our own issues with temper tantrums from my 2 and 4 year old, but the most important thing is to stand your ground. If you have decided to be done with the sippy cups, then through them all away and only give them big cups. It is really hard to do, especially when you are tired and have been fighting battles all day, but in the end you have to establish your leadership over your grandsons. I will be praying for you as you raise your grandsons.

Children are so strong willed and seem to see through us. I felt weak when I took the bottle from my 1 year old. She refused to drink for 2 days. When she realized I wasn't giving in then she changed her tune. Number one should be to start using small plastic or paper cups without a lid. In preschool in the 2 year old classes, they use small paper cups and only put water in them. Number two put water in them and make them sit at the table to drink. No more drinking in the family room. Those are the rules we follow at our house, it make not work for yours but it helps keep our house clean and teaches our children respect (on a few levels). Good luck! Oh and you're awesome for raising two 2 1/2 year old grandsons!

My suggestion is to just not give them the Nuby cups at all and give them a different cup. You are the grown up, they are the children. Or start them off learning how to drink in a regular cup with small amounts at a time. The size of the small tuperware ones are great and you can find a similar size at walmart as well.

Put only water in the nuby cups and juice/milk in a different sippy cup. I really love the playtex ones. They are insulated, easy to clean and they also make a great straw cup too.

Good luck!
S.

Hello K.! I can't imagine your situation, raising your grandchildren. But I do commend you for doing it!
This may not be what you want to hear, but I consider this no different than breaking a child from a bottle or a pacifier. You simply don't give them a choice (in a sense). Take the boys to the store that has the kind of sippy cups you prefer (but note that none of the sippy cups are 100% leak proof), then let the boys pick out their favorite design if there are options. After that, you get rid of the other cups and don't go back. Their resistance will be short term, although it may seem longer than it truly is. Good luck in this and throughout!

Hey there! I never had a transition from the bottle. I went straight from breastfeeding to tippy cups, so I don't know if that makes any difference. However, I did switch from nuby cups to harder plastic one. I put drinks that were considered treats in them first and would let hime see me do it. That way he knew what was in it. For example chocolate milk worked great. The key for me was getting him to see that the "special" (chocolate) milk was getting put in there. Maybe that will help with yours. My son just turned two this week, so he's around the same age. I don't have any problems with it now. I hope that helps!

Good Luck,
T. N

I had the same issue with the Nuby cups. I was so tired of cleaning up all the spills all over my house & car! The only thing that worked was buying several other brands of sippy cups, filling them up and only offering drinks out of those 3 cups for a day. Once my son realized he wasn't getting the Nuby back, he picked one up and downed the whole thing. Once they're thirsty enough, they'll drink out of whatever you have made available. It is hard, more so for you because you hate to see your child upset. But my son's tantrum lasted 30 minutes, and then he was over it. At the time I didn't know whether to laugh or cry with him - he was growling, screaming, crying, etc... Then it just clicked for him, and he drank out of the other cup, which was a Playtex soft spout, 2 handle cup. Hope this helps - Good luck!

I agree with the 'cold turkey' advice for transition to regular cups. At 2-1/2 years I'm sure your kids can certainly handle regular cups.

When my twins transitioned from bottles to sippy cups we made an event out of saying 'good bye' to the bottles one night then I packed them all up after they went to bed so when they got up in the morning all they saw were sippy cups. There was a little complaining but once they realized they only way they were going to get something to drink was to use the sippy cups they did.

They transitioned to regular cups when they started day care - that went well and they actually prefer to use 'big kid' cups now. I recommend starting with paper cups also Ikea sells great sets of brightly colored cups, plates, bowls and silverware - really cheap!

I started giving sippy cups to my now 2.5 yr. old daughter when she was lil less than 2. I use Gerber sippy cups. THey are small in size, but serve purpose of one-time milk. They have locks inside the holes, which is good and makes them really spill-proof. I don't need to use these locks inside the house, but use them when we go out. Its pack of 2, comes in colors green and pink.Got them at Walmart for some 8/9 bucks. Also, the spout is nice, soft pointed and biting them wont put holes in them.

Hope this helps...

I have four kids. Everyone of them had sippy cups...everyone used a slightly different kind and everyone of them had issues with drips eventually. The boys are probably getting old enough to switch to actual cups, and be taught not to carry their cups all over the house anyway. I think of it like nursing or bottles....eventually they outgrow the need...about the time it becomes a huge hassle. I would transition them to only having drinks in the kitchen--in their cups that they are biting and ruining--and then switch them to regular cups, or lidded cups with straws--only when they are thirsty and only in the kitchen .

Yeah those Nuby soft spout cups are great- My kids loved them and did the same thing as your grandsons- chewed up the valve so they leaked. My two thoughts are: only give them water in the Nuby cups. If they want juice or milk they have to have it in a leak proof cup. (My favorite is Gerbers.) So fix a water in the Nuby and milk in another cup then let them decide. Walk away from the fit- this is a great beginning in making choices for the boys- with little downside. Do not engage in their fit- it is the only way they know to communicate at this time and if you respond it trains them to have fits. (I need to remind myself of this at stressful times!)
You also might get a paint pen and "monogram" the new sippy cups to make them more interesting to the boys. One of my go to gifts is those thermos type water bottles that they sell at Toys r Us, and other retailers, that have the kids name on it, or a Pirate or Dinosaur theme on them. I am not sure they can open the snap top at age 2 1/2 but it's a thought.
Good luck!