What’s the Point of a Sippy Cup?

Apparently, there is no point.  According to Melanie Potock (a pediatric SLP who specializes in feeding disorders), sippy cups were created to keep floors tidy and not to provide any sort of benefit to a child’s developing swallow pattern.

The spout of the sippy cup blocks the tongue from reaching the alveolar ridge (the spot on the roof of your mouth that is right behind your top teeth), which encourages tongue thrusting.  This is not characteristic of a more developed swallow, but is more consistent with that of an infant’s suckle pattern (that is used for breast and bottle feeding).  By the time an infant is 6 months old, suckling is 75% protrusion and 25% retraction.

So, are you doomed if you’ve used a sippy cup for your child?  Not necessarily.  If your child is under 1 year old they likely haven’t been using it very long, but ditch the cup now!

If you’d like to read Melanie’s article, check it out here.

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