Choosing a first cup: an honest guide

Walk down any baby aisle and you’ll find a wall of cups — spouted, weighted, 360-degree, straw, open. It’s a lot. Here’s the honest version of what matters.

Skills first, cup second

Drinking from a cup is a skill, and like any skill it develops with practice. From around six months, babies can begin practising with a small open cup, with a grown-up holding and tilting it. It’s messy — that’s part of the learning.

Straw drinking is another valuable skill, usually achievable from around nine months with the right cup. Straws encourage a mature swallowing pattern and are wonderfully portable.

What about spouts?

Hard-spouted sippy cups are convenient and spill-proof, and there’s a place for that in real family life. They just shouldn’t be the only cup your child ever drinks from, because the sucking pattern they encourage is closer to bottle drinking than cup drinking. Think of them as an occasional travel option rather than the everyday cup.

A simple approach

Offer a small open cup at the table from when solids start, add a straw cup for out and about, and let skill — not spill-proofing — guide your choices. If drinking seems consistently hard for your child, or they cough or splutter often, a feeding professional such as a speech pathologist can help you work out what’s going on.

Every cup at Olaware earned its place with these principles in mind — browse our drinking support range whenever you’re ready.