what age for transitong to a regular cup? tips?

[debo620]

Just wondering, as the sippy lids are just about ruined!

Noah had been doing really well with taking anywhere from 4-7oz of milk with each meal (amounts average out) from a tupperware sippy cup fitted with those old style tupperware lids.
Over the last week, he has taken to chewing and totally disforming the spout on the sippy lids.

So I thought, ok --no lid! He does ok with drinking from the open cup but as soon as I turn my back he flips the cup over!. so usually I put about 2oz in and hand him the cup when he asks for it. He doesn't like this though. 

am I trying this too young?  hes just about 17 months, or will it just take some time.

we do use a straw sippy for water during the day but would prefer to not use them for milk as they are difficult to clean and I only have two of them...

any tips?

[taygensmom]

Hmmm...so he does fine when drinking from the open cup with you watching, but "flips" it when you turn away? Does it appear he is doing this purposefully to get a reaction or just experimenting? Does he not try this when you are sitting with him/watching? Just trying to figure out if the cup "flipping" is experimentation or behavioral, as I would handle each differently. If he is just palying/experimenting then I think you just need to give him the open cup when you are around. You could also let him practice somewhere where he can get messy, like in the bathtub. If it is meant to get a response from you I would personally just remove the cup every time it happens with a quiet "no spilling" or "no playing with your drink" and then wait a few minutes and try again.

As far as chewing the sippy cups, does he just get them for meals? If so, you could simply try removing the sippy cup for a short period every time you see him chewing on it. He will likely get the message that he can hold his milk as long as he is not chewing on the cup. HTH

[debo620]

Thanks!

He definately likes to flip the cup and play with the liquid. He actually does this with all of his cups, straw sippys and regular sippys. He sometimes does this near the end of the meal, so I take it as meaning that he is done drinking and now just getting bored/tired of drinking. by then the meal is over and we move on. I try not to really react, I just move on. I guess he can't spill as much or as quickly, so its not a big deal.
the problem is with the open cups, he can dump it so quicky, rather then it just dribbling out....so if he does this at the begining of the meal, its very frustrating.
maybe he'll just get used to it and the novely will wear off. he definately gets lots of play water time, but seems a bit obsessed with any water/liquid at the moment.
I think I'll just slowly add to his open cup, he can have a couple oz at a time and se how he does.