About drinks

When to offer drinks like cow's milk and juice depends on your baby's age and development. Check with your pediatrician before offering cow's milk as a main drink or any juice, as every child's needs are different.

In short

  • Offer an open or straw cup from about 6 months, and expect spills.
  • A little water is fine once solids start: about 4 to 8 oz a day.
  • No juice before 12 months, and cow's milk as a drink waits until 12 months.

A first cup

From about 6 months, you can offer a cup with a spouted lid, a cup with a straw, or an open cup. Around 9 months, babies can start learning to drink from a cup without a lid; by 12 months they can drink from one as you hold it. Expect spills.

Water

Breast milk or formula gives your baby the fluids they need. Once solids start, a little water is fine: about 4 to 8 oz a day.

Juice

Juice isn't recommended before 12 months. After that, if you offer it, give only 100% juice, no more than 4 oz a day, in a cup, not a bottle.

Cow's milk

Plain cow's milk as a drink waits until 12 months.

Open cups and straw cups

Drinking from a cup takes different skills from a bottle or breast: rounding the lips, lifting the tongue and holding the jaw steady. Many speech-language pathologists and pediatric dentists suggest open cups and straw cups over hard-spout sippy cups, which keep the tongue low in the mouth.

  • Open cups: small, shot-glass-sized silicone or rimmed cups teach your baby to lift the tip of the tongue, steady the jaw and close the lips to keep from spilling.
  • Straw cups: straw drinking works the cheek muscles and keeps the tongue back in the mouth. Weighted straws let your baby drink at any angle, and straw cups are handy on the go.

Embrace the mess

Spills are part of learning. Let your baby explore the cup without treating spills as mistakes. At this age the goal is learning the skill; breast milk or formula still meets your baby’s fluid needs.

Sources

All articles, recipes, guides, tips and chat answers in Mama & Baby Bites are for general information and education only. They are not medical, pediatric or nutritional advice, and they don't replace care from a qualified professional. In an emergency, call 911.