This is a caution about sippy cups from a speech pathologist that is
part of a web site on Early Childhood Caries by Dr. Dan Peterson,
Family Gentle Dental Care, in Gering, Nebraska, USA at http://
www.dentalgentlecare.com/baby_bottle_decay.htm
(Does not mention breastfeeding)
"Sippy Cups Alert
The increased caries risk for toddlers who use the duck-billed
cups, often carrying with them and sipping throughout the day can
cause cavities. Spill-proof cups are more like a bottle than a cup.
These cups are an effective tool for shifting children from baby
bottles to regular cups, but parents should use the cups only as a
transitional device because tooth decay remains the most common
chronic childhood disease-five times as
common as asthma.
Prolonged use of the cup also inhibits the development of
muscles needed for proper speech. You should not to allow your child
to suck on the cups throughout the day. "Sippy cups are great;
however a traditional cup is even better."
In response to the “sippy cup dilemma”…..
As a licensed practicing Speech Language Pathologist, I have observed
the damaging impact on oral-motor musculature, swallowing patterns,
dentition, and speech/articulation development as a result of chronic
sippy cup use. This is especially true with the "new" totally spill
proof sippy cups that have a stopper and the only way to drink is to
suck. Maintaining a sucking pattern while drinking interferes with
the development of adult swallow patterns and directly impacts on
oral-motor muscle development, speech, and articulation development.
Sippy cups were/are meant to TRANSITION a child from bottle to
regular cup. A child is transitioned from a bottle at a certain age
to encourage proper oral-motor musculature development and
development of an adult swallow pattern. In my opinion, chronic use
of a pacifier, bottle, and/or sippy cup during this time FREQUENTLY
results in oral-motor and/or speech disorders, malocclusion, and
"tongue thrust" swallowing patterns. I also agree that chronic use
of a sippy cup may be one of several contributing factors for a
particular child with speech/articulation delays. Once a child has
been identified as having oral-motor/speech/articulation deficits,
removing pacifiers, sippy cups, and/or thumbs will at least
contribute to increased rate of progress in therapy. Many parents
continue chronic use of sippy cups until age 3 to 4 (or later). It
is not the sippy cup that is the problem, but in how it is used, and
how parents are not informed as to the dangers and risks of not using
it properly: as a transitioning tool rather than as a "pacifier for
the carpet or car".
Lori Johnston, M.A., CCC-SLP ; Licensed Speech Language Pathologist '
New Jersey, USA"
Anne Altshuler, RN, MS, IBCLC, LLLL
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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