Sippy Cups-> bad habit

Lindsey - posted on 03/11/2010

yeah we tried water last night which my kids are made to drink water during the day time so it wasnt a reality shock for them... Lucas (my oldest) did pretty well did not even fuss over the fact it was water and actually slept pretty well for the first time in a month.... no getting up two hours which was nice. He actually complained that Reyna and I woke him up when we were playing this morning.
Reyna..... was fussing over the whole situation but did fall asleep with water, but i sent her dad in to get her a refill at one this morning and he put part juice and part water instead of sticking with my plan. She still slept better than she has in a long time too.
I think taking the juice away for now well be the best thing to do. Then has time goes on make it only one cup of water for the whole night so if they chug it right away they just have to deal.

Shelly - posted on 03/11/2010

I don't see a big problem with the sippy cup either as long as it is just water. We have a routine that the kids (3 and 4) get a cup with milk while we watch a 20 minute show (Dora, Diego, etc.) then we brush their teeth and give them water in their cups for bed. If they get thirsty, they can get a drink without getting out of bed and everyone is happy!

Kimberly - posted on 03/10/2010

My 3 year old goes to bed with a sippy cup as well and I don't have a problem with it. However, I only ever give him water in it. I don't want his teeth rotting out of his head. He gets a sippy cup at bedtime mostly because of the convenience for me. He is a genuinely thirsty kid and if I put a cup on the table for him he gets out of bed a million times for a drink. If his cup is on his dresser we get to clean up spills at 2am. So, sippy cup in bed it is. He is fully night trained so I don't have that problem to deal with. I don't know how he doesn't have accidents considering how much he drinks. If you don't want to take away the cups all together then only give them water. I'm sure they will end up drinking less which will help with your sons accidents. If they have a problem with the water ask them if they would rather if you just took the cup away.

Jen - posted on 03/10/2010

Sounds just like my friend's problem only she's not trying to get them to stop taking the cup to bed. My suggestion is to only give them water in the cup when they lay down and go in and take the cups away before you go to bed. If they wake up, try to let them put themselves back to sleep. If they're not back to sleep in 10 mins. go in and remind them they there are no more cuppies at bed time. If your husband continues to give in then I would hide the cups from your husband and teach your children to use the regular cup during the day. Teaching them to use a regular cup would probably solve all your problems. :) Good luck. It sounds like you could use it.

Janice - posted on 03/10/2010

Hi, i never had a problem with cups and needing a drink at night with my oldest. but i would start to prepare them 30 mins before bed time that they are not going to have their cup at bedtime. and just give them amall amount of water and nothing else and if they say no i want.... tell them its water or nothing, u pick because ur not going to have ur cup at bedtime. good luck

Lindsey - posted on 03/10/2010

I think that is what im going to do is start giving them water tonight and starting sat wean them off even more cuz i actually have three days off so i can make up for sleep in cat naps

Leanne - posted on 03/10/2010

Hi Lindsey, I think the best thing to do is to just give them water. My son is 2 and he would drink a whole beaker/sippy sup full of juice before he went to sleep. Now we give him about 2oz of milk in his beaker to go to bed with, and that usually lasts until the morning! We gave him milk because he doesn't usually drink it but he likes water. My son drinks his juice because he likes the taste - not because he's thirsty!
What about giving them a cup with some water instead of a beaker/sippy cup? Sorry that this is a bit muddled,. hope it makes sense!

Lindsey - posted on 03/10/2010

yeah i know the reason he wets the bed is because of the sippy and i never punish him for it.... the doc said he is to young to worry about accidents at night anyway.... I just need to get them back on the right foot.... every night i feel like im a horrible mom because i let this bad habit start and now i have to take it away and i feel like im punishing them

Meghan - posted on 03/10/2010

hmm, I am not doing the potty training thing but I had a g/f that would give her 3 year old daughter chocolate milk right before bed then wonder why she was up and having so many accidents (not saying you are doing that) If it where me, and I know it's easy to say when I am not there yet-I would cold turkey it and stop letting them drink anything past a certain time. Watch, a year an half from now I may be eating my words lol

Lindsey - posted on 03/10/2010

both of my kids drink out of big kid cups during the day.... they only want sippy cups for bedtime....

Lindsey - posted on 03/10/2010

yeah im worried because of my 2 yr old teeth plus my son is potty trained except at night. He drinks so much and once he is out he sleeps soundly. I mean an accident here and there wouldnt be a big deal but he pees through at night which means i have to wash his bedding EVERY day

Meghan - posted on 03/10/2010

my son is 17 months and does this with his bottle. He knows when I allow him to have it (in the morn. and before bed) but he asks for it like 100 times between then and refuses his sippy cup. Although I understand the being exhausted part (I am a single mom and there are times that I have thought about putting him to bed with a bottle so I can sleep) cold turkey at bed might do it. It will take a few nites but hopefully they will get it! Also, when my son refuses a sippy cup I take the lid off and let him drink like a big boy. It is messy and I have to watch that he doesn't just play or dump it but for the most part he responds well and drinks! Hope this helps and good luck

Lindsey - posted on 03/10/2010

Thank you ... and yeah we usually put milk or juice. I think i will try just water tonight and see what it does. I have tomorrow off so it wont be so bad tonight to try something. The days I work I have to be at work at 5 in the morning. I have offered my son an award for sleeping in his big boy bed all night, but I did not think about doing it for sippy cup

Ashley - posted on 03/10/2010

mine is two and i still give him his sippy cup and a cup when he eats his meals i dont think its ready to stop him from him yet but i might be wrong

Clare - posted on 03/10/2010

Hi there. I can sympathise, it's hard to cope when you're not getting much sleep. I'm sure all the professional advice would be to set aside a few days, accept that you will have some terrible nights, and just stick to your guns. If you explain what you're going to do and offer a reward like a nice family day out or something then they might feel there's something to aim for. Also, do you put anything nice in their cups? I would just offer water and nothing else after bedtime - it they're genuinely thirsty they'll drink it, otherwise they may give up through boredom of plain water? Good luck, whatever happens, it won't last forever.