3 year old constantly pouring drinks on the floor

[Cherrybakewellflapjacks]

In most respects he’s pretty good but I find this so frustrating and I really don’t know what to do about it as I can’t really deprive him of drinks! Have tried a variety of things to drink from like sports bottles and open cups and they just get spilled on purpose. At a party yesterday he knocked his squash all over the table. I wouldn’t mind if it was an accident, it happens, but it’s so incredibly annoying. Has anyone else had this and how did you deal with it?

he goes back to a baby bottle

Put his drink in a sports bottle and say from now on he can only drink when you hold it. Because only big boys who don’t knock their cups over get to hold their own drinks.

Mine has the tommee tippee sportee bottles cause they just don't spill at all. He has cups when he is in a sensible mood or well supervised so at meal times. The draw to put his hands in the cup or pour the cup is just too much for him.

Try setting up a pouring play area.

My DS is like this. He's almost 3 and does annoying things on purpose. Used to be pouring drinks out on the floor or himself. Lately it's drawing on walls. Any pen/pencil/crayon he gets his mitts on he runs to the nearest wall and draws on it 😤 it's like he can't stop himself

Take him back to no spill sippy cups with the seal round the top and tell him that if he behaves like a big boy with them he can have cups back. Our potty trained 3 year old was having non stop accidents and I told her that if it carried on she would have to go back into nappies at preschool like a baby and it stopped instantly. Sometimes they know perfectly well what they are doing!

Oh, he knows all right, but which ones are no spill? We have a couple of those Tommy Tippee sippy cups but he can still pour some out.

He stops playing and cleans it up. Every time. He might find cleaning fun to begin with but will soon find it boring.

Sorry, there were a few posts that appeared - thanks for that. It’s annoying as I do want him to use cups etc properly but I am getting a bit irritated with it now. I think it’s curiosity driven rather than a deliberate attempt to wind me up (although it does wind me up!) water isn’t too bad but milk is such a pain to clear up.

That works if it’s on the floor but if he’s poured it on himself that’s harder!

Not really - 'oh no, we've got to stop playing and go upstairs to sort that out.' make him wipe himself with a flannel or something, get his own clothes out etc. basically apply a consequence so he sees why chucking fluids around is a bad idea. Let him play with them in appropriate places like bath or garden.

We have/had the munchkin 360 cups. I can’t even drink out of them, much less spill!

Yes I know what you mean, but for example just now he’s poured a drink over himself in the car seat, so that doesn’t work. I’m not totally sure it would work anyway as it takes seconds to wipe up water or milk from the floor, so I don’t know it would stop him doing it.

It’s a pain, I hope it stops soon as it feels like he’s been doing it forever and can’t be let loose with ‘normal’ cups as a result. There’s another birthday party soon and I’m dreading the inevitable squash all over the table scenario again.

Pouring is a developmental schema that is part of early ears development. Make sure he has lots of opportunities for pouring, sand, rice, water, uncooked pasta. It will pass. In the meantime small amounts of drink in a cup so much less to spill.

Why did you give him a drink in his car seat if you knew he would pour it?? Sports bottle, if he wants a drink he has to ask and you hold it for him. Job done. Then try again with a cup in a few months and warn him it’s back to the sports bottle if he does it again. He certainly can’t be doing this at other peoples houses and parties.

Thanks @HairyMaclary , it’s a long schema - any hope as to when it will end? He does love pouring water in the bath which is obviously fine!

I didn’t know he’d pour it - he asked for a drink, and this is the problem, I can’t really deprive him of fluids especially as I don’t think he drinks enough anyway (probably because he’s pouring it away!)

It’s a schema development, as others say. You could get lots of pouring toys for the bath, in the summer tubes outside like guttering to pour water through are good - not too great in winter! Rice etc is a good shout - in a deep bucket
Otherwise you need to not allow drinks anywhere it’s a PITA to clear up - like the car seat - and only small amounts in a cup at any time and lots of tedious reminding that we don’t pour unless we’re in the bath etc.

My dd has ADHD and knocks over cups on a daily basis. She's 9 now and we either have to constantly supervise, moving cups out of the way on the dining table approx 40 times during a meal, or she has a sports bottle. It's like she has 0 spatial awareness about where her arms are and where the cup is. She will also get distracted and leave it precariously on the edge of things.

It will pass as he builds on his developmental understanding. It’s part of the trajectory schema (I think, I’m a bit rusty) so lots of opportunities of pouring but also throwing, kicking, rolling, any kind of movement.

I don't understand how or why you're letting this happen to be honest. Use a non spill cup like a 360 until he's forgotten it's a thing to spill drinks on purpose. Meanwhile, set him up loads of pouring activities to get it out of his system.

I’m fairly sympathetic to that @Teatrayderby as I spill drinks myself sometimes and I’m in my 40s, accidents happen although I get it must be annoying for you clearing it up. What is irritating is that he does it on purpose, and sometimes I don’t know if it was an accident or not.

Thanks @HairyMaclary , I would say he has lots of opportunities for those but I’ll try some more, it won’t hurt!

Even non spill cups will spill if determined - they’re designed so that accidental spills don’t happen but if you shake them about <sigh>

I do want him to have the opportunity to use cutlery and cups etc ‘properly’, and also there are times when things happen I don’t have control over like with the party and the squash.

I didn’t know he’d pour it - he asked for a drink, and this is the problem, I can’t really deprive him of fluids especially as I don’t think he drinks enough anyway (probably because he’s pouring it away!)

I think it’s useful to keep a sense of perspective here and set yourself up for success. He’s not going to become clinically dehydrated if he has to wait 10 minutes / half an hour or however long until you reach your destination, or until you take a break somewhere set up for eating and drinking if it’s a longer journey. He’s three years, not three months.

No advice on the training but switch him to only water for now to minimize the damage.