TinyStepper
Child crouching on pavement drawing bright suns and flowers with chalk

Decorate Your Own Special Cup

Your toddler personalises their very own open cup with stickers and colour, building excitement and ownership that makes swapping the bottle for a cup feel like a milestone to celebrate, not a loss.

Activity details

18m–3y15 minslowindoorPlastic CupsStickersWater

Instructions

Tiny Steps

Get ready
  • Choose a sturdy open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve together, letting your toddler pick the colour if there is a choice.
  • Lay out stickers and washable decorations on a wipe-clean surface.
  1. Choose a sturdy open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve together, letting your toddler pick the colour if there is a choice.
  2. Lay out stickers and washable decorations on a wipe-clean surface.
  3. Invite your child to decorate the cup however they like: 'Let's make this your special cup.'
  4. Name it as you go: 'This is YOUR cup now, the one you chose and made.'
  5. Once it is decorated and dry, fill it with a little water for the first proud sip.
  6. Cheer the first sip warmly: 'You drank from your special cup all by yourself!'
  7. Keep the special cup somewhere your child can see and ask for it at mealtimes.
  8. Offer the cup first at drinks times, making it the exciting, grown-up choice.

Parent tip

Set out plastic cups and stickers before inviting your toddler in so the first minute feels smooth.

Proud child holding up a painted sheet covered in bright handprints and splatters

What success looks like

Messy hands and a child who doesn’t want to stop. The artwork doesn’t need to look like anything — the process is the point.

Give your child a plain cup and let them make it unmistakably theirs with stickers and washable decoration. The bottle is often as much about comfort and familiarity as it is about drinking, so the trick is to make the cup something your toddler actively wants to use. When they have designed it themselves, the cup carries pride and ownership, and the first proud sip from 'my special cup' becomes a moment to celebrate rather than a comfort taken away.

Why it helps

The NHS advises that 'once your baby is 1 year old, feeding from a bottle should be discouraged', and that an open or free-flow cup without a valve 'will help your baby learn how to sip rather than suck'. The sucking that soothes at the bottle is a hard habit to give up, so attaching pride and ownership to the cup gives your toddler a positive reason to reach for it. A cup they designed themselves turns a difficult swap into something they actively want.

Variations

  • Decorate a matching cup for a favourite soft toy, then have 'cup cheers' together so sipping feels social and fun.
  • Add a sticker to a chart each time the special cup is chosen over the bottle, celebrating the switch without pressure.
  • Make a second travel cup so the same proud, self-chosen cup comes along when you are out and about.

Safety tips

  • Use food-safe, washable stickers and decorations, and check none can peel off into the cup or become a choking hazard.
  • Always supervise drinking and expect spills, as a free-flow cup is meant to be a little messy while your toddler learns to sip.
  • Wash the cup thoroughly between uses, especially around any decorated areas where residue could collect.

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