Kids Training Cup Set (BPA Free): Is It Right for Your Child?

That little cup with two handles is doing more than holding water — it's quietly teaching your child to drink on their own.

In short

A Kids Training Cup Set (BPA Free) is a set of lightweight cups designed to bridge the move from bottle or breast to an open cup — usually with chunky easy-grip handles, a soft spout or a spill-control rim, and made from BPA-free plastic (free of bisphenol-A, a chemical some parents prefer to avoid in feeding gear). It supports a normal everyday milestone — independent drinking — and for most healthy babies it's a sensible, safe choice from around 6 months onwards. It is an everyday helper, not a therapy device or a medical product.

Is it right for your child?

A training cup can be a good fit when your child is sitting up well, showing interest in your cup, and ready to practise sips. A few things that help:

• Handles your child can grip help build hand control and bring the cup to the mouth.
• A soft spout or rim is gentler on gums than a hard one and supports a more mature sip-and-swallow.
• BPA-free simply tells you the plastic avoids one chemical; rinse and air-dry well, and replace any cup that's cracked or worn.
• Offer water at meals in the cup and milk as usual — small, frequent practice works best.

Go gently and chat to a clinician first if your child coughs, splutters or gags often when drinking, leaks a lot of liquid from the mouth, tires quickly during feeds, or hasn't shown interest in cup drinking well past their first birthday. These can be signs of feeding or oral-motor differences worth a closer look — the cup itself isn't the issue, but the pattern is worth understanding.

The Pinnacle way

A clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre, under qualified clinician care — never from a product or an online checklist. If feeding, drinking or hand-to-mouth coordination feels harder than you'd expect, our feeding and oral-motor support and occupational therapy teams can help. You can also read more about choosing everyday gear on our training cup guide.

Trusted sources

American Academy of Pediatrics guidance on introducing open and training cups around 6 months and moving away from bottles by the toddler years; HealthyChildren.org parent guidance on safe feeding transitions.

Next step — Unsure whether your child's drinking and feeding are on track? Book a developmental check with a Pinnacle clinician.

This is general information, not a diagnosis — a clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre under qualified clinician care.