Hard spouted sippy cups: good, bad, or plain old ugly?
For generations hard spouted sippy cups have been marketed as an essential piece of feeding/drinking equipment for baby development.
Now, time to get real… this is all just very good marketing from the makers of sippy cups, sorry!
Oral health professionals, speech pathologists, feeding specialists and myofunctional professionals are all in agreement that hard spouted sippy cups should be avoided.
*DISCLAIMER: Hard spouted sippy cups can be used in certain situations as recommended by health professionals to suit individual needs such as those with specific disabilities etc. but for the majority they should be avoided as much as possible.
Hard spouted sippy cups were invented by an engineer who got fed up with their child spilling beverages all over their floor. To be fair, as a parent, you can’t argue with that! But this in turn led to the sippy cup being invented more so with parents in mind, to reduce mess, rather than the child and their development.
So why are they so bad?
Well lets look at the natural progression of swallowing techniques through infancy into adulthood and how hard spouted sippy cups prevent this progression.
As a baby grows and matures, so does their swallowing pattern. This is to accommodate for swallowing more complex textures as we age. Think milks to mashed foods, then to raw carrots or crackers, significant difference in texture.
In the first year of life a baby primarily uses the infant ‘suckle-swallow’ pattern (pictured below), where a front to back tongue movement is used to propel liquids and soft solids to the back of the mouth so they can be swallowed.
Around the child’s first birthday is when they start to develop a mature swallowing pattern, like the one we use as adults. This is where the tongue rises to the palate (like how we make a ‘d’ sound) and sets off a wave-like movement of the tongue (pictured).
Hard spouted sippy cups can delay this development as the hard spout rests over the front of the tongue, preventing its elevation, seen in this mature swallowing pattern. This elevation of the tongue is the proper resting position also.
Don’t believe me? Turn your mind to where your tongue is in your mouth right now. If it is resting on your palate, just behind but not touching your front teeth, ready to make the ‘d’ sound, well done, you have the correct resting position of your tongue.
When the tongue is blocked from this elevation it tends to rest forward and/or down in the mouth, which can impede on oral development, tooth and jaw positioning, breathing, and speech and language development. Children can also develop the flared front teeth look.
This improper resting position of the tongue can create a situation where the mouth tends to stay open, which can alter proper facial development, increases mouth breathing and breathing issues, which in turn can impact oral development, tooth decay, ENT issues, and later on sleep, concentration and behavioural issues.
So, what is a better alternative to the hard spouted sippy cup?
Well, straw cups are great and come in many different options, such as pop-up straw bottles and inbuild straw cups, now they can be either hard or soft straws. But soft is better to help that natural swallowing pattern. They can be used from 6 months of age and are a great option because of their enclosed design, making them mess free.
Open cups (normal cups that you or I would drink from) are naturally the best options and most recommended to encourage that mature swallowing pattern, however they’re also the messiest. Children can begin using an open cup from 6 months of age with help and should be able to use one independently by around 18 months.
For our recommendations and further information on open cups, please read our blog post by clicking on the link below.
We hope this helps give a better insight as to why hard spouted sippy cups are not recommended and guide your decision on which cups/bottles are suitable for your little one.
Teaching Teeth x
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