Sippy cups seem to be the standard right of passage for most young children as they move from a bottle to an ordinary drinking cup. But, according to the Oral Health Program conducted by the South Dakota Department of Health, you don't need sippy cups for your child's development.
They can be handy, but teaching children to drink from an open cup is best. Sippy cups can lead to cavities or early childhood tooth decay if filled with anything but water. A sippy cup with formula, juice, soda pop, and other sweetened drinks can produce acid that causes tooth decay.
Untreated tooth decay can cause your child pain and infection. Some may believe baby teeth are expendable because they will come out anyway, but baby teeth help guide permanent teeth into the correct spot. If baby teeth have cavities or are pulled early, it could affect a child's speech, chewing, and growth of permanent teeth.
The South Dakota Department of Health offers these tips for parents:
- No juice under age one.
- If you use a sippy cup, use it for water only as a halfway step between a bottle and an open cup.
- Never put your child to bed with a sippy cup filled with milk, juice, or sugary beverages.
- At about six months, begin teaching your child to use an open cup each day at meal or snack time.
- Wean your child from the bottle by age one.
- To protect against tooth decay, sippy cups that are not spill-proof or have rubber straws that fold down are best. Take the spill-proof part (the valve) out of the cup if it has one.
For more information on child nutrition or dental health, see: