Sippy Cups vs. Straw Cups

Introduction

When transitioning from a bottle to a cup, so many questions come to mind. Which cup will be the easiest to switch to? Which style cup best supports intra-oral development? Display areas in cup aisles are often loaded with sippy cups and straw cups that vary in size, shape, color, and more. So, which one is right for your little one?

Sippy Cups

Many parents choose to begin with a sippy cup because of their convenience. They are easy to pack to take on-the-go and are considered “no-spill.” Sippy cups can have a hard spout, soft spout, or are spoutless (e.g., Munchkin Miracle 360 cup).

Hard Spout Sippy Cups

A sippy cup with a hard spout has a drinking piece made of hard plastic from which your baby drinks. The hard spout can withstand teeth. The cup has to be turned up in order for the liquid to come out.

Soft Spout Sippy Cups

A soft spout sippy cup has a drinking piece that is made of soft silicone or plastic, and is similar in texture to a bottle nipple. A child has to turn the soft spout cup up to make the drink come out.

Spoutless Sippy Cups

A newer category of sippy cup is the spoutless cup. It looks like a regular cup with a lid on it, and it has handles. The design of this cup allows for the cup to be turned upside down to drink, but once the cup is turned right side up, it seals up so there’s no spilling.

It is important to remember that sippy cups are very similar to bottles with the exception of their shape and design. With sippy cups, your baby has to suck the same way they did with a bottle rather than sip, in order to get the liquid out, and promotes continued use of an immature suck and swallow. This encourages a forward tongue resting position, which can result in a frontal lingual lisp (the child’s tongue coming between their teeth when producing some sounds) and can also affect dentition which may eventually result in the need for braces. A forward tongue resting position can also impact a child’s breathing (it doesn’t promote optimized oxygen intake) and sleep. Since our overall goal is to have the child transition from sucking or suckling, such as with bottle or breastfeeding, to sipping, such as with a cup, we typically do not recommend sippy cups.

Straw Cups

Drinking from a straw encourages your child to develop a more advanced way of sucking and swallowing. A straw cup will allow your child to exercise their face muscles, tongue, and soft palate, all of which are connected to speech and feeding. When a child drinks from a straw, he or she develops strong lip, cheek, and jaw muscles by sealing them around the straw and using them to sip. Straw cups also promote an appropriate resting position of the tongue for future speech development, a proper swallow pattern, and are a helpful step in the transition to open cup drinking.

We highly recommend the use of straw cups to help your child’s continued speech and feeding development. We also recommend searching for a cup with a shorter straw, otherwise your child may try sticking their tongue out and on the straw, which continues to promote a sucking motion in order to get liquid through the straw.

Making the transition to cup drinking can be an exciting, yet overwhelming time. With so many choices available, it can be hard to know which cup will be best for your child. If you are unsure of what will be best for your child, your child’s pediatrician, pediatric dentist, or speech language pathologist can help guide you in your decision. Reach out to us if you have any questions or need additional help.