As parents, many of you out there might be giving your toddlers sippy cups. Many parents are of the view that it is an easy way to make them drink their fluids. But do you all know that toddlers could develop speech problems because of their continued use of these sippy cups? It is advised by most doctors not to use these sippy cups and avoid them as much as we can.
There are many questions on the web asking are hard spout sippy cups bad for your baby’s teeth?
What Happens When You Use a Sippy Cup?
The sucking action on the sippy cups by the toddlers affects the way the teeth and jaws start growing, just like thumb sucking can affect the teeth and jaws.
It can also cause tooth decay. If you are going to be giving only water in the sippy cup, then this won’t be the case. But when it comes to juice or other sugary food the constant sipping action of a baby will cause the acid to react and thus cause tooth decay.
Offering your baby juice or soda in a sippy cup might also cause the enamel to go away and have a demineralizing effect on the baby’s tooth. There are certain children who might require medical needs and thus they should not swallow foodstuff just like that and hence using a sippy cup for them might be necessary.
Alternate For Sippy Cups
It could be a better choice to give straws instead of a sippy cup. A sippy cup and thumb sucking nature of a kid will give the same effect on kid’s teeth and speech. When a child starts drinking from the breast and proceeds to a sippy cup then they will lie down and tip their neck in such a fashion that they are lying down in the usual manner. So it is similar to drinking from a bottle. But when it is from drinking from a hard spout then the body is tipped instead of their neck. This might bring misplacement in the tongue due to the pushing of the hard spout and thus also pushes the teeth. This is similar to the action of thumb sucking as well.
Instead of this, kids could be trained to drink in normal open cups or also with straws in their initial stages and slowing could be transformed to open cups. This is going to train them to drink and not affect their teeth as well.
Use it temporarily
Even though sippy cups can be used as a tool to transit from a bottle, it shouldn’t be used for prolonged periods. It could be used just for a month or so to bring in the habit. The use of sippy cups should be limited as much as possible.
Similarly, we should also nib the thumb sucking habit in the initial stages itself. This is better for the kid. Both these habits are going to spoil the teeth development of the kids. As parents, we are fascinated by the new models and designs of the sippy cups and also they are designed in an attractive fashion that the kids are enthralled also. But it is not right to be used. Let’s be prudent in our choice.
