Baby drinking from a cup: what age to start?
Your baby can drink from a cup, with help from an adult, from around 6 months, when they start eating foods other than milk and can sit up with support. They drink alone from an open cup, still spilling a lot, between 12 and 18 months, and reliably at around 2 years. An open cup is better than a sippy cup, which keeps up a way of drinking close to sucking. This article covers the stages, choosing a cup, where the bottle fits in and the little things that help.
Why learning to drink from a cup is a real milestone
Suckling and drinking from a cup are two different movements. At the breast or bottle, a baby sucks: the tongue moves forward, the lips close around the teat and the jaw works like a pump. With a cup, they have to keep their lips resting on the rim, sip gently, control the flow with the tongue held low, then swallow without filling their mouth. This lips-tongue-swallowing coordination is the same one they will later use to form sounds.
Moving to a cup is therefore not just about tidiness or washing up. It is motor learning for the mouth, just like eating from a spoon or chewing lumpy food. It builds through repetition, with plenty of spills, and it takes a few months.
The stages, age by age
Around 6 months: first sips, with the adult holding the cup
When weaning begins, offer water in a small cup, held by you, at mealtimes. Tilt it only slightly, until the water touches the upper lip, and let your baby do the rest. They push their lips forward, take a sip, sometimes cough and often spit it back out. The goal is not the amount: at this age, milk covers their fluid needs. It is about discovering a new object and a new way of swallowing. Naître et grandir, the leading Quebec resource on child development, states that children can learn to hold their cup to drink from 6 months.
From 8 to 12 months: baby holds the cup with both hands
With the pincer grasp and two-handed coordination, your baby picks up the cup themselves, brings it to their mouth and happily tips it over. Keep your hand underneath without holding it for them. A narrow cup that they can grip easily, and just a splash of water, keep the mess down. They still drink clumsily, but they understand the movement. This stage closely follows the one where they grab and handle objects, described in our article on grasping.
From 12 to 18 months: drinking alone, with spills
Around their first birthday, many children drink a few sips alone from an open cup, then put it down or knock it over. They misjudge the tilt and fill their mouths. This is the period when you spend the most time mopping up, and that is normal. Progress is clear between 12 and 18 months if an open cup is offered at every meal.
From 18 months to 2 years: the cup becomes reliable
At around 2 years, children drink from a cup without help, put it down without spilling most of the time, and can pour from a small jug if given the chance. Our article on babies feeding themselves with a spoon describes the same progression for the spoon, with the same differences from one child to the next.
Which cup to choose: open cup, sippy cup or straw?
A small, narrow open cup is the best learning tool. It calls for the mature movement: lips on the rim, tongue low, controlled sips. The guidance from Naître et grandir, reviewed by an occupational therapist, points the same way. It advises a small, narrow cup suited to the size of the hands and mouth, with very little water at first. It recommends a glass or cup without a lid.
A sippy cup, or spill-proof beaker, is reassuring because it does not spill. But the child drinks from it as from a bottle, sucking on a spout with the tongue pushed forward. According to the same source, these beakers do not allow children to learn to drink from a cup and delay that learning by keeping up an immature way of drinking. Occasional use when you are out and about is no problem; daily use for two years is.
A beaker with a short, rigid straw is a useful option to alternate with the open cup. Drinking through a straw requires closing the lips and drawing the tongue back, which is good work for the mouth. It does not replace the open cup; it complements it.
Material and shape
A small cup made of thick glass, stainless steel or bisphenol-free plastic works well. A clear cup helps your child see the water level and judge the tilt. Avoid large beakers: the wider the diameter, the more your child fills their mouth. A cup 5 to 6 centimetres in diameter, filled to one or two centimetres, is a good starting point. Some parents like small cups with handles, easy to grip with both hands between 8 and 15 months.
What should go in the cup?
Water, and water only. The Assurance Maladie (French national health insurance) points out that water is the only drink a child needs when thirsty. Juices, squashes and sugary drinks have no place in everyday life, whether in a cup or a bottle. Milk, breast milk or formula, remains the main food in the first year. It too can gradually move to the cup after 12 months, including growing-up milk, which the Assurance Maladie mentions as an option between 1 and 3 years. For choosing the water, our article on which water to use for bottles sets out the official guidance.
Should you stop the bottle once your baby drinks from a cup?
Not overnight, but learning to use a cup paves the way for giving up the bottle. Most child health teams advise cutting down on the bottle between 12 and 18 months. They advise against using it to fall asleep, especially with milk or a sugary drink: the liquid sits against the teeth during sleep. Our article on brushing your baby’s teeth details the official recommendations on this point. A cup at mealtimes and a bottle of milk morning and evening can happily coexist for a few months. What matters is that the cup is offered every day.
How to help your baby drink from a cup without turning it into a battle
- A cup at every meal, from the start of weaning, even if only three sips are taken.
- Very little water in the bottom: spills don’t matter and your child feels confident to try.
- Show them how: drink in front of them from the same kind of cup. Imitation plays a central role at this age.
- Let them do it: holding the cup for them delays learning. Keep a hand underneath, without guiding.
- Accept the mess: a bib with sleeves or a spare T-shirt solves the problem better than a closed beaker.
- Don’t force it: a child who pushes the cup away one day will pick it up again the next.
Mealtimes and seating matter too. A child who is well supported, feet resting on something and arms free, has better control of their hands and mouth. Our guide on choosing a high chair goes over these posture criteria.
Baby spits out, coughs or refuses: is it normal?
Yes, in the vast majority of cases. Spitting out water is part of discovery: your child explores the liquid in their mouth just as they explore objects. Coughing after too big a sip is part of learning to judge the amount, as long as it stays occasional and there is no breathing difficulty. Refusing the cup for a few days often happens around 12 months, when children start asserting their preferences.
See a doctor if your child coughs or chokes with every sip beyond 12 months, or cannot close their lips around the rim. Also seek advice if they drool heavily all the time, or still do not drink from a cup at 2 years despite daily attempts. These signs may point towards an assessment of oral motor skills, by a doctor and then, if needed, a speech and language therapist.
And before the table?
Bringing an object to the mouth, letting go of it, picking it up again, coordinating both hands: all of this develops on the floor, long before the first cup. Our article on babies putting everything in their mouths explains what this exploration prepares for, including precise control of the lips and tongue.
Key takeaways
- Babies drink from a cup from 6 months, held by an adult; alone between 12 and 18 months; reliably at around 2 years.
- A small, narrow open cup with a splash of water: that is the learning tool. A sippy cup keeps up the sucking pattern.
- Water only, at every meal; milk gradually moves to the cup after 1 year.
- Show them, let them do it, accept spills, never force.
- See a doctor if your child chokes with every sip or still does not drink from a cup at 2 years.
Sources
- Naître et grandir, “Apprendre à utiliser des ustensiles et à boire au verre”, scientific review by Josiane Caron Santha, occupational therapist, updated March 2024.
- Assurance Maladie (ameli.fr), “De 8 mois à 3 ans : des repas équilibrés et bien répartis”, updated 4 March 2025.
