Best Cups for Children with Down Syndrome

You are ready to move from a bottle or breast to a cup for your child and you are finding the task a bit daunting, if not down right impossible. Children with Down Syndrome often have difficulties feeding or coordinating the suck-swallow reflex and it can be a huge challenge to locate a cup that will work while not causing your child to drown in his or her beverage. Look no further, we have surveyed the moms and come up with a list of some of the most popular cups that will help you in the transition process. These are the Best cups for children with Down Syndrome.

*Amazon affiliate links are included in this post. Using these links may provide this blog with some added revenue but they will not cost you anything.

Let me begin by saying that every child is different and what works for mine may not work for yours, which is why we turned to social media to ask what the most popular cups are for children who have Down Syndrome. Our personal journey took us to Amazon more times than I care to admit and we own a graveyard of sippy cups that just didn’t make the cut. None of the sippy cups that worked for my 5 typical children were making the cut and it turns out that it was just as much the liquid I was offering as it was the delivery system I was failing at.

I strongly suggest speech or occupational therapy if you have access, it was actually at a Down Syndrome Clinic appointment when meeting with a feeding therapist that I learned part of Cedar’s difficulty was that the liquids I was trying to feed him were too thin. His little mouth was flooded with water, juice or whatever else I was offering and when he was unable to process the substance, he simply choked or spit it out. I couldn’t figure out why this was since he has been breastfed since birth and can easily manage thin breastmilk but I was advised it was the delivery system, when nursing a baby gets what is akin to a spray in the mouth versus a flooding of the mouth so the suck swallow reflex is actually different…who knew?

Once we figured out that we needed thicker liquids we were well on our way to baby steps of success. For my guy, water doesn’t work and his liquids come from milk thickened with yogurt, baby food purees (like the pouches), and thick juice smoothies. But wait, not all cups will easily allow for thicker liquids so I was THRILLED when I finally came across this wonderful invention… Boon Snug Silicone Sippy Lids it is what works for Cedar (and it is really the only thing we have had consistent success with) These lids fit on any cup you have and they are made out of soft silicone. The spout opens with a very light suck but doesn’t leak. It also allows for thickened liquids to be released easily. THANK YOU BOON FOR THIS INVENTION!

</a

We did have some minimal success with the Munchkin Click Lock Weighted Flexi Straw Trainer Cup

The problem is that this cup doesn’t allow for thicker liquids though it is a good choice when learning to straw drink.

Now, for all the other suggestions from our Down Syndrome tribe of mamas from around the world…

The top suggested Best Cups for children with Down syndrome is actually not a cup but the Talktools Honey Bear Drinking Cup This one was suggested by over 80% of the mamas who provided input and it comes with instructions and extra straws.

Next from the mama panel comes the green sprouts Glass Sip ‘n Straw Cup

There were a handful of mamas who had good success using the Munchkin Miracle 360 Trainer Cup . This cup is great for transitioning to a regular cup later but it does require quite a bit of muscle control for the mouth. We have one of these for Cedar but he hasn’t yet figured out how to really get more than an occasional sip out of it. I hope in a few months to try again as I love the idea of this cup.

There were several mamas who suggested these Flexi Cut Cup 2 oz Blue (Pack of 5) . After conferring with thier speech therapists. This is a cup that allows for you to help your child and still see just how much liquid they are getting so that you can adjust how much or how little they should get at a sip.

Have you had success with any of these cups? Are there other ones that have worked great for your child with special needs and if so, which ones? Leave a comment below.