TL;DR: With the number of baby cup designs out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Straw cups and 360-style cups are generally better learning tools than the classic sippy cup. We’d recommend mixing and matching a few different styles rather than sticking to just one. Ultimately, the best choice is the one that gives your baby regular practice.
Deciding on your baby’s first cup is a choice that can feel unexpectedly high-stakes…
If you’ve ever panic-googled ‘straw cups vs sippy cups’ at 3am, well, let’s just say you’re definitely not the only one! Should you go down the classic sippy cup route or try out a straw instead? On second thoughts, maybe it’s better to embrace the 360-style…
With so many designs on offer, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
Not to fear! In this guide, we’ve broken down each cup style, so you can make an informed decision as to which is the best choice for your little one’s journey. Let’s dive in!
Sippy cups
We have to address the elephant in the room: ‘Are sippy cups bad?’ The honest answer: not at all, but equally they shouldn’t be your go-to cup in the long run.
They work similarly to a bottle, so a lot of babies do take to them quickly. The downside is that the sucking motion means that long-term use encourages the tongue to stay low and forward rather than lifting for the more mature swallowing we want to see develop.
Although there won’t be any ‘cup police’ coming to confiscate sippy cups, we’d recommend just thinking of them as your training wheels. Great in the early stages or as an emergency helper, but best avoided as the everyday go-to.
360-style cups
The 360-style cups are a great alternative! With its dentist-approved, spoutless design, the 360 allows your child to drink from any point around the rim, giving it much more of a real cup feel.
There’s nothing complicated about using a Munchkin 360 cup: just offer it like any normal cup and let your baby press their lips to the rim to sip. It’s also available in colourful handled and handle-free designs, so you can choose what suits your child best!
Straw cups
Straw cups are really where it’s at! They are great for developing some seriously impressive drinking skills, encouraging your baby to seal their lips, use their cheek muscles, lift and retract the tongue, and start swallowing in a much more grown-up way. In short, it’s basically a mini workout for their mouth!
They also support the same muscles used later on for chewing and important speech sounds like m, p and b. That’s why straw cups are so good for oral development, and what makes them a much better option than the classic sippy cup.
For getting started, look no further than the weighted straw cup or trainer straw option. They’re wonderfully practical, complete with a click-lock that makes them great for those ‘please don’t spill on Grandpa’s white sofa’ moments!
What cup actually helps a baby learn to drink?
Rather than sticking to just one, we’d recommend mixing and matching a few different styles. For the day-to-day adventures, a straw cup, like the Simple Clean straw cup, is the way to go, with a sippy cup or 360 ready as an emergency back-up.
For mealtimes, the 360 is a good beginner choice. The catch? Once your little one feels confident drinking, the best strategy is demoting the 360 to the role of sidekick and introducing an open cup early on. It helps get them used to the weight and feel of an actual cup, making your job teaching a whole lot easier later on!
For more detail on how to go about introducing cups and water to your little one, check out our deep dive for all you need to get started.
Practice is key!
Teaching your baby to use a cup is really less about choosing the ‘perfect’ cup and more about ensuring consistent practice. Just keep that in mind and don’t worry about getting it all right. A few spills (more like a lot) and some unhappy expressions later, and suddenly you’ll have an expert on your hands. There’ll be no stopping them now!
To check out more baby products, head on over to our site to take a look at the full collection. For more parenting advice and reassurance, check out our blog for all you need to know on a whole range of topics.
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