My 3 year old son won't drink from a cup

[alisa]

Hi everyone,

Is it just me or does anyone else have this problem, my 3 year old still drinks from a cup with a spout, we tried him on just a cup last year which he didn't mind but he was spilling 90% of it so he wasn't getting much fluids in him.  But now he just refuses to even try drinking from a cup he goes to nursery this September and I am really worrying now - is he going to be the only one who can't drink from a cup?

Alisa   xxx

[Lan]

He might be refusing because he feels like a failure, because he kept spilling it before.... What we did with our son when he was learning to use a cup was to give him a cup to play with in the bath. That way he could spill it and it wouldn't matter.  I know some people dont't like their kids drinking bathwater though, but if it doesn't have any bubbles or soap in it I think  it's OK.

I've known other people whose kids wouldn't use an open cup until they were 4! But if you have a cup to practice with in the bath, he might decide to use it on his own once he gets to school and sees the other kids using an open cup.

[carolyn]

Playtex and Gerber both make transition cups that are helpful for learning to drink from the rim instead of a sippy valve.  They each have a regular rim to drink from and a center piece to help prevent spills.  They allow for free flow of liquid so the child learns to control how much he can get by tipping the cup up.  It is really difficul to explain how they look and work.  But we had great luck with them.  They are a good transition from sippy to glass.

We have used both and I really prefer the Playtex DrinkUp cup.  It doesn't leak.  The Playtex cup has a rubber center valve.  The child pushes it with his top lip to make it flow.  It will not leak when knocked over.   The Gerber Little Trainer cup has a plastic "dial" in the center.  You turn it to open or close the cup.  It will leak when knocked over.

Here are links to each

http://www.playtexbaby.com/cupsandmealtime/products/stage4.asp
http://www.gerber.com/prodcat?catid=566


Another great cup is also made by Playtex.  I couldn't find a picture of it but it looks like an insulated coffe cup like you get from Starbucks.  John loves this one because it looks like mine.  I take the valve out of it so it free flows and he doesn't suck on it.  It spills without the valve, but not much.

I have found all of these cups at Target or the grocery store.  I couldn't find them on Target's website though.