All Things CUPS: for babies, toddlers, what to look for & what to avoid
- Jan 2, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: May 1
Our Fav Cups
Hack: We replace the plastic straw with these stainless steel one’s to minimize plastic exposure
I know these also work on the Zak and Owala as well
The Brumate Leap is another good option for travel/spill proof since it has a straw that can be turned on and off. It's also not-valved, and has a built in stainless steel straw. The one con is that it can be pretty heavy when filled. But my two year old can still carry it around no problem.
The Issue with Sippy Cups
While sippy cups aren’t inherently bad, a prolonged use can cause malocclusion (crooked teeth), dental decay, and muscle imbalances.
Immature Swallowing and Muscle Development: sippy cups teach incorrect tongue placement and force children into an immature swallow with their tongue being thrusted forward. This is not ideal for proper jaw development or safe feeding. In fact, one of the signs of solid readiness for babies is not having an active tongue thrust - so why would we want to continue promoting such?
When you swallow, your tongue should RISE to the roof of your mouth and behind your teeth. Sippy cups force the tongue to DROP underneath the spout and into the floor od the mouth, encouraging all the wrong muscles.
Sippy cups promote the suckle-like pattern that infants use for breast and bottle feeding, which limits the child’s ability to develop a more mature swallowing pattern, especially with continued use after the first year (Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP). The spout of the sippy cup forces the child to continue to push their tongue forward and back, perpetuating suckling.
Improper Teeth Development: sippy cups push the tongue into a forward position, which puts pressure on the upper teeth. Extended use can cause teeth to move forward and outward, leading to speech delays, chewing difficulties, and more.
Open Mouth Posture: sippy cups promote an open-mouth and relaxed lip posture. This can negatively affect breathing, dentition, sleep, and speech development. This open mouth posture can promote open mouth breathing, which can lead to numerous health issues like:
ADD/ADHD
Bed Wetting
Delayed Speech
Overweight/Obesity
Learning Difficulties
Vertigo/Clumsiness
Restless Legs
Aggression/Defiance
Teeth Grinding
Snoring
Mouth Breathing
Daytime Sleepiness
Nightmares/Night Terrors
Allergies/Asthma
Anxiety
Frequent Illness
Stunted Growth
Crooked Teeth
Swollen Tonsils/Adenoids
Forward Head Posture
Recessed/Stunted Chin
Dark Circles Under the Eyes
The Issue with 360 Cups
Not only do 360 cups also perpetuate biting and suckling, they force the neck and head of the child into extension which puts the airway at risk. They also require over-activation of the top lip and over-use of the jaw to support top lip pressure (Melanie Potock).
The Benefits of Straw Cups
Speech and Lip Development: when children drink through straws they develop strong lip muscles by sealing them around the straw. These muscles are needed for the early consonant sounds m, p, b. Straws improve lip rounding, which is necessary for drinking and swallowing (as well as speech and language development).
Proper Tongue Position and Development: drinking through a straw encourages children to keep their tongue in the correct position, which can help prevent the negative effects of mouth breathing. The retraction and elevation to the roof of the mouth that straws promote is considered a safe and mature swallow.
Teeth Development: drinking through a straw keeps the lips toward the front of the straw, protecting teeth alignment. Proper lip placement decreases suckling, which avoids pressure that could negatively impact teeth development.
What to Look for in Straw Cups
Non-Valved Straw Cups
Valved straw cups encourage a stronger sucking motion rather than the more mature sipping pattern we want children to develop over time. Because many valves require added suction to release liquid, some children may rely more on suckling, jaw bracing, or biting for stability instead of practicing ideal tongue movement, lip rounding, and coordinated swallowing.
As oral motor skills mature, drinking should support proper lip seal, tongue elevation, and facial muscle development. Prolonged reliance on cups that reinforce infant-like sucking patterns may contribute to less optimal oral habits.
Non-valved straws and open cups are often preferred for supporting mature swallow patterns, better oral muscle coordination, and healthy facial development.
When you have a cup with the valve in the tip (like the Owala or Zak) you can just trim the valve off, if you want to keep the cup but make it valveless.
Thin Straws
Thin straws can be especially helpful when babies and toddlers are first learning to drink from a straw. Because they deliver smaller amounts of liquid at a time, they may allow for better control, safer swallowing, and an easier transition as oral motor skills develop.
For very young children, thicker straws can sometimes be more challenging due to their smaller mouths and developing coordination. Larger straw openings may also allow more liquid to flow at once, which can increase the likelihood of gulping, coughing, or consuming liquids too quickly.
When children fill up on liquids too rapidly, it may also reduce hunger for solid foods, which are important for practicing chewing skills, jaw development, and balanced nutrition.
Starting with thinner straws can support better pacing, swallowing control, and confidence while a child builds mature drinking skills. As coordination improves, straw size can gradually progress based on the child’s needs.
Short Straws
Shorter straws can be helpful during early straw training because they encourage better oral control and can promote more ideal tongue positioning. When the straw reaches just to the front of the tongue, children are more likely to practice tongue elevation and coordinated swallowing rather than relying on less mature sucking patterns. Supporting tongue elevation is important because mature swallowing involves proper tongue posture, lip closure, and coordinated facial muscle use. Encouraging these patterns early may help reinforce healthier oral motor development over time.
The Benefits of Open Cups
Open cups activate lip closure and tongue elevation.
Facial Development: drinking from an open cup allows the facial muscles and bone structure to grow normally, promoting proper speech, feeding, and swallowing skills
Swallowing Development: The mature swallow pattern is with the tongue elevated toward the roof of the mouth. Drinking from an open cup helps promote this mature swallow. *when babies/toddlers drink from a sippy cup they are forced into an immature swallow with their tongue being thrusted forward.
Speech Development: drinking from an open cup can promote speech development. It promotes strong lip closure which is needed for producing the m, p, and b sounds in English, Spanish, and other languages. It also promotes proper tongue elevation for the t and d sounds.
What to Look for in Open Cups
Size: if a cup is too big for baby then it’s like drinking out of a huge bucket, which can cause unsafe swallowing. You want a cup that fits easily in baby’s hands and a rim that fits comfortable in the corner of their lips.
Interior Slope: some cups like the ezpz have an interior slope for an even flow for a safer drinking position.
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