Q. It seems like a giant leap to go from a bottle to an open cup. Is a ‘sippy cup’ needed in between?
A. Kate Freeman responds: ‘It’s worth asking why a toddler needs to use a lidded cup when moving from a bottle to an open cup. Often the answer is that it is easier for the parent or carer, it may mean fewer spillages and less wiping up. Although there is some truth in the spillages issue, children don’t need sippy cups and they may even cause difficulties.’
Q. What difficulties might sippy cups cause?
A. ‘Having a cup with a spout that sits in a child’s mouth perpetuates the curved tongue position around the spout. If this is used on an ongoing basis, it may inhibit the development of the muscles in the tongue for speech. In addition, the sucking action that occurs with a bottle or sippy cup involves the tongue in a forward motion which can potentially have an impact on speech sound development.
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