Sippy Cup — a step-by-step lesson for grown-up and child
This lesson teaches "sippy cup" with the two-hand lift — the child’s first owned drink — and the park-it finish that gives the cup (and the meal) an ending.
What is this?
The sippy cup is the blue cup with the green lid and two handles — the bridge between bottle and open cup, and the first drink the child runs alone.
What does it mean?
Drinking is a full skill stack: grip, lift, tip, swallow, park. Naming the cup claims it — MY cup — and ownership is what makes practice self-driven.
What does the child need to know?
You need the cup at every meal and the script: "two hands… lift… sip sip sip… put it down." The park is real: the cup has a spot, and parking it ends the sip.
Why this matters
Two hands before one: the two-hand grip is the training wheels of drinking. Mastered here, the open cup arrives months earlier — and the floor stays drier.
What it teaches
Two-hand grip and lift, tip control (the difference between a sip and a shower), swallowing coordination, and object-parking (a place for everything).
Words to learn
sippy cuptwo handsliftsipput downmy cup
Say this to your child
“"Sippy cup! Here is YOUR cup. Two hands… lift… sip sip sip. Tiny tips! …All done? Put it down — park it in its spot. Good drinking, my friend!"”
Step by step
- Present at mealtime: "sippy cup! YOUR cup."
- Script the lift: "two hands… one, two… LIFT… sip sip sip."
- Coach the tip small: "tiny tips — just a little! …perfect."
- The park: "all done sipping? Put it DOWN — in its spot." Point to the spot; parking becomes automatic.
- Fade the script word by word over weeks until "cup!" triggers the whole routine solo.
Look closer at the picture
On this card the words "sippy cup" sit under a blue cup with a green lid and two handles — gripped exactly the way two small hands will grip it.
Ask your child
"Where is your cup?" "How many hands?" (two!) "Where does the cup go after?" (in its spot)
What your child can say or do
Your child might say "my cup!", lift with exaggerated two-handed care, or park it unprompted — independence, one sip at a time.
Out in the real world
Cups are everywhere: the café’s lid cup, grandma’s special cup, the big people’s mugs. "Someday, a cup like that — first, master THIS one." The ladder is visible.
Try it together
Cup Picnic: every teddy has a cup, the toddler serves each one — "teddy’s cup… bunny’s cup!" — then drinks their own with the two-hand script. Hosting and hydration, together.
Understanding check
Ask: "What is this?" (sippy cup) "How many hands lift it?" (two) "Where does it park?" — grip, sip, park: the drink is owned.
This lesson pairs with the Sippy Cup flashcard in the library — print it, show it, keep it on the fridge. Back to Toddler Room.