Nursery Food: Drinking Cups - Lifting the lid

Q. It seems like a giant leap to go from a bottle to an open cup. Is a ‘sippy cup’ needed in between?

A. Kate Freeman responds: ‘It’s worth asking why a toddler needs to use a lidded cup when moving from a bottle to an open cup. Often the answer is that it is easier for the parent or carer, it may mean fewer spillages and less wiping up. Although there is some truth in the spillages issue, children don’t need sippy cups and they may even cause difficulties.’

Q. What difficulties might sippy cups cause?

A. ‘Having a cup with a spout that sits in a child’s mouth perpetuates the curved tongue position around the spout. If this is used on an ongoing basis, it may inhibit the development of the muscles in the tongue for speech. In addition, the sucking action that occurs with a bottle or sippy cup involves the tongue in a forward motion which can potentially have an impact on speech sound development.

‘In addition, research suggests that continuous sucking can increase the likelihood of ear infections; this has also been identified in children who use dummies extensively.

‘The final concern is for those children who hold sippy cups in their mouths while moving around often at the same age as learning to walk. Children are at risk of injury if they fall over with objects (such as sippy cups) in their mouths, according to a 2012 study.’

Q. But open-top cups are so messy and spillages could be a health hazard in a busy nursery setting?

A. Joe Corcoran responds: ‘Our practitioners report back to us that the process can be quite messy during the first stages of transition to an open cup.

‘So we recommend trying it with water, rather than milk, which can be messy. We also encourage parents to practise drinking water out of a cup in the bath, as it’s a good way to practise the motion and regulation. We appreciate that washing clothes every time children want to try introducing a cup can be time-consuming and unmanageable in a nursery setting. It is a slow process and does take patience. But we would also recommend having lots of towels and mopping up facilities at hand.’

Q. What cups do you recommend using?

A.‘In Luton, where there is a high level of tooth decay due to the lack of fluoridation of the water, there is a greater emphasis on bottle reduction. We recommend that infants start moving from bottle to open cup at 12 months.

‘In our programme, many nurseries have reported success using the Doidy cup. This open cup has been designed with an angle on one side so that children can see the liquid and regulate the drinking mechanism.

‘But it can be any open-top cup. The Family Food First programme promotes the use of open-top cups and discourages bottle use in the setting. However, during transition from bottle to cup, if parents feel it is necessary we would recommend a non-valved cup, because a valved cup is what creates the pooling around the two front teeth.

‘A non-valved cup has a top but is free-flow, as opposed to a valved cup, where you have to suck, and this creates a pooling effect.’

MORE INFORMATION

Babycup Frist Cups www.babycup.co.uk

Doidy Cup, www.doidycups.com

Family Food First Programme, Luton, http://bit.ly/2jVdqPX

I CAN, www.ican.org.uk

Information about beakers and cups for children, www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/drinks-and-cups-children.aspx

Kate Freeman is lead advisor for the children’s communication charity, I CAN

Joe Corcoran is an assistant dietetic practitioner, who delivers the Family Food First Programme, which promotes good nutrition, oral health and physical activity in early years settings across Luton

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