To teach a baby to drink from an open cup, start around 6 months with a small, soft cup holding just a splash of water, hold it to their lips, and tilt slowly so they can sip. Over weeks, gradually hand over control until your baby can lift, tip, and set the cup down alone, which many children manage between 9 and 15 months. Small amounts, short practice sessions, and tolerance for spills are the whole secret.

Open cup drinking is a skill worth teaching early. It supports mature swallowing patterns, and both the AAP and many feeding professionals encourage moving away from bottles around 12 to 18 months, which is much easier when cup skills are already in place. Here is exactly how to do it.

When to Start Open Cup Practice

Around 6 months, when your baby starts solids and can sit with support, is a natural time to begin. At this age babies can start taking small sips of water from a cup you hold. You are not aiming for hydration; breast milk or formula still does that job in the first year. You are building a skill, a few sips at a time.

Step 1: Choose the Right Cup

The cup matters more than most parents expect. Look for:

• Small size: a cup scaled to baby hands, holding only 2 to 4 ounces
• Soft rim: silicone is gentle on gums and gives sensory feedback on the lips
• Slight squeezability: a flexible cup lets you shape the rim slightly for a better seal
• Transparency or a low profile: so your baby can see the water coming

For the youngest beginners, a tiny cup like the First Cup 2oz is ideal because there is simply less liquid available to dump. As skills grow, a slightly larger open cup like the Silicone Training Cup gives more room to practice independent lifting and tipping.

Step 2: You Hold, Baby Sips

Pour in a very small amount of water, roughly a tablespoon. With your baby seated upright in a high chair, bring the cup to their lower lip, rest the rim gently on it, and tilt slowly until the water just touches their lips. Pause. Let them decide to sip. Expect coughing, sputtering, dribbling, and surprised faces at first; those are normal parts of learning, not signs of failure. Keep sessions short, a few sips at one or two meals a day.

Step 3: Hands on the Cup Together

Once your baby anticipates the cup and opens their mouth for it, invite their hands onto the cup while yours stay in control underneath. This teaches the feel of tilting. Narrate simply: up, sip, down. Many babies start grabbing for the cup on their own, which is exactly what you want.

Step 4: Baby Holds, You Spot

Next, let your baby hold the cup while you hover, correcting the angle when the tilt gets too enthusiastic. This stage is messy by design. Strategies that help:

• Practice with water only, so spills are no big deal
• Do cup practice in the high chair, at bath time, or with a towel underneath
• Refill tiny amounts often instead of pouring more at once

Step 5: Fully Independent Sipping

With regular practice, many babies can lift, sip, and lower an open cup with reasonable control somewhere between 9 and 15 months. Control keeps improving into the second year. Once your child is steady with water, you can serve milk in the open cup at meals, which is especially useful during the transition away from bottles around the first birthday.

What About Straw Cups and Sippy Cups?

Straw drinking is another excellent skill and pairs well with open cup practice; many families use an open cup at the table and a straw cup on the go. Traditional hard spout sippy cups are the least useful of the three, since they mimic bottle drinking patterns. If you are weaning from bottles, a set designed for that bridge, like the GentleBottle Transitional Set, can smooth the path from bottle to cup.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

• Baby dumps the cup: use less water, a smaller cup, and stay hands on longer
• Baby chews the rim: normal exploration; a soft silicone rim makes this harmless
• Baby refuses the cup: pause a few days, then try again at a calm meal, and let them watch you drink from your own cup
• Frequent coughing on sips: slow your tilt and offer smaller sips; if coughing or choking on liquids happens often or seems severe, check with your pediatrician

FAQ

What age should a baby start drinking from an open cup?

Most babies can begin practicing with a parent held open cup around 6 months, when they start solids and can sit upright with support. Independent open cup drinking typically develops between about 9 and 15 months with regular practice.

How much water should I put in the cup?

Start with about a tablespoon. Tiny amounts keep spills trivial, reduce sputtering, and let your baby practice many repetitions. For babies 6 to 12 months, water at meals is for practice; milk feeds still provide most hydration, so a few sips is plenty.

Do I need to skip sippy cups entirely?

Not necessarily, but they are not required. Open cups and straw cups teach the most mature drinking patterns, so many feeding experts suggest prioritizing those. If you use a spouted cup occasionally for convenience, keeping open cup practice at daily meals still builds the skill.