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Weaning Advice Index

Just Add Water - A Parent's Guide to First Cups

Weaning is not just about your baby moving on to solid foods. It’s about learning to drink from a cup too. The ideal time to start introducing a first cup is about 4-6 months. Each child is different and will progress onto weaning cups at various ages and stages.

Learning to drink from a cup is a gradual process and can be quite messy at times.  Although it may be difficult and take some perseverance, you should aim to have your baby off the bottle by his first birthday.  Using a cup is much better for his teeth. When choosing a first cup, remember that:

• A cup with handles is easier for your baby to grasp
• A see-through cup will help you see if your baby is drinking well
• Softer spouts are tender on little mouths but ensure they don’t use the spout as a teether. As a child gets older and has more teeth, a harder material spout is better.
• A cup that flows easily like their bottle is an easier transition- many valves that make the cup spill proof also make transitioning harder. Choose a cup with an advance-flo™ value like explora® which is super sensitive and requires less suction.

Sweet Enough

Young babies don’t know the difference between sweetened and unsweetened drinks. Don’t give your baby a ‘sweet tooth’ by offering sweetened versions. Water is the best drink you can give to your baby.

• If he is less than 6 months you should give cooled boiled water
• After 6 months he can have ordinary tap water
• Bottled water is best avoided as it tends to be high in mineral salts, although there are some that are suitable for infant feeding.  Check the label.
• If you must give your baby fruit juice, it is recommended that you do this at mealtimes only and especially not before bed time or during the night.  Use real fruit juice and dilute 1 part juice, to 10 parts water. 

All of these are different names for sugar which can decay your baby’s teeth:

• Glucose - Glucose syrup
• Fructose - Concentrated fruit syrup
• Sucrose - Dextrose
• Honey - Invert sugar
• Maltose - Hydrolysed starch

Healthy Oral Development

Now your baby has started to eat solid food, it's important to begin to establish a teeth cleaning regime Get your baby used to the dentist - if you’re going, take him with you. If your baby is taking a bottle, you should try and make sure he's given it up by the time he's a year old. As your child learns to talk start to discourage use of his soother.