1 yr old spills more than he drinks

[catyc]

My ds is just coming up to one. He's drinking milk morning & night using a trainer spout & water during the day in a spouted cup (no valve). The trainer spout works fine & I can leave him to feed himself with this. But the cup can be a bit of a disaster area. He will drink from it (though not very much) but he loves to hold it upside down so the water runs down his back, or spill it in front of him and splash his hands in it.

Wondered if other people have had this problem? Are the trainer spouts still officially bottles or can I carry on with these for a few months longer (if so, I think that's my problem solved)? I have got a cup with a valve, which I'm probably going to start using when we're not at home, but remember my hv saying not to use these too much.

One more question - he's not a great water drinker, but going by his nappy he's getting plenty of liquid! Am I safe to assume he'll drink enough safely without me having to tempt him with diluted fruit juice?

Thanks.

I use Tommee Tipee spouts with a valve. They're branded as toddler spouts, 6m+ (the green ones). My DD uses them very happily and she is 14mo. She will use a straw for drinking (but not for milk) but to be honest I thought they were fine for older babies, what with the 'toddler spout' branding.

Why did your hv say not to use a cup with a valve too often? Ds drinks from one of these all the time.

Apparently, I think, there was some concern that because babies have to suck much harder with a valve, it can damage the shape of their mouths & affect their speech. This was advice from when he was born & I haven't seen anything about it since, so maybe it was yet another scare story.

He doesn't sound like he needs juice to me - if he gets thirsty ( and this will be less in cooler weather) persist with water. Don't know what your hv is on about regarding the spouts. dd is 2 and still uses Avent bottles with spouts for milk (and the occasional teat if she gets through too many in ine day, bad mother!)and various lidded cups when we are out and about - Anyway-up, sports type flask with valve, Magic cup etc.

Catyc

My ds used an anyway-up cup (valve type), from he earliest, and at 4 years old still does for his last drink of chocolate milk. He always used it, and from his being about 2 years people have commented about how well he speaks.

I suspect this was just another scare by your HV. I'm convinced they gather in the staff room to make up new scares to frighten us mums.