Drinks and cups for babies: water, milk and moving off bottles
One of the quieter transitions in the first year is learning how to drink. Babies arrive knowing how to suck milk from a breast or bottle, and over the following twelve months they gradually need to take on a much wider repertoire: sipping water, learning to use a cup, understanding which drinks are appropriate and when. Getting drinks right matters for hydration, tooth development, and laying the groundwork for healthy habits. This guide draws on NHS guidance to walk through what your baby needs to drink at each stage, which cups work best and why, and how to make the move away from bottles a gentle and sustainable one rather than a battle.
Milk in the first year: the foundation
For the first six months of life, breast milk or first infant formula is the only drink your baby needs. This is not a guideline with much wiggle room. Breast milk and formula are not simply food: they are also a complete fluid source, providing everything a young baby needs to stay hydrated without any additional drinks at all.
Breast milk changes composition throughout a feed and across the day, adjusting its fat, protein, and water content in response to your baby's needs. On a hot day, a breastfed baby who feeds more frequently is getting more of the watery foremilk that quenches thirst. This self-regulating system means that a breastfed baby does not need top-up water, even in warm weather. The same principle applies to formula-fed babies: a correctly made bottle of formula provides appropriate hydration alongside nutrition. The NHS is clear that you should not give water to babies under six months.
From six months, as solid foods are introduced, your baby's fluid needs begin to shift slightly. Solid food contributes some water content, and the NHS recommends offering small amounts of water alongside meals at this stage. But breast milk or formula remains the main drink throughout the first year, providing not just fluid but significant nutrition, including fat, protein, and, in breast milk, antibodies that formula cannot replicate. Do not be tempted to substitute water or other drinks for milk feeds during this period. Milk remains nutritionally essential.
First infant formula, also called stage one formula, is suitable from birth and can be used throughout the first year. You do not need to switch to a follow-on formula unless your baby's healthcare team advises it. These products are marketed for older babies and toddlers but are not nutritionally necessary if your baby is on a varied solid diet and taking breast milk or first formula.
Introducing water: when and how
Around six months, when you start introducing solid foods, you can begin offering small amounts of cooled boiled tap water in a cup. There is no need to offer it as a full drink in its own right at first. The purpose at this stage is partly practical, partly exploratory: it helps your baby start getting used to drinking from a cup, and it can help prevent constipation as the gut adjusts to new foods.
Use tap water rather than bottled water. Most bottled waters, including many labeled as still natural mineral water, contain minerals at levels that are not suitable for young babies. Tap water in most parts of the country is safe and appropriate once boiled and cooled. After twelve months, there is no need to boil tap water before giving it to your child.
How much water does a baby this age need? The NHS does not specify an exact quantity for babies under twelve months because breast milk or formula continues to cover most hydration needs. A few sips at mealtimes is enough. You do not need to push water between feeds or worry about hitting a daily target at this age. If your baby consistently refuses water but is feeding well and producing plenty of wet nappies, they are adequately hydrated.
In hot weather, your baby may need more frequent milk feeds rather than extra water. This applies most straightforwardly to breastfed babies, who can simply feed more often. Formula-fed babies can also be offered additional feeds, or small amounts of cooled boiled water between feeds from six months onwards.
Cow's milk: fine in food, not as a main drink
Many parents assume that cow's milk is a natural progression from infant formula. The reality is more nuanced. Cow's milk can safely be used in cooking and mixed into solid foods from around six months. Adding it to porridge, making a white sauce, or mixing it into mashed vegetables is entirely appropriate. What the NHS advises against is giving cow's milk as your baby's main drink before twelve months of age.
The reason is nutritional rather than safety-related. Cow's milk is low in iron, which babies need in increasing amounts from around six months as their iron stores from birth begin to fall. Breast milk and formula are formulated to provide appropriate iron, but cow's milk is not. Relying on cow's milk as the main drink before twelve months risks creating an iron deficit that can affect development. Cow's milk also contains proteins and minerals at concentrations that put more strain on a young baby's kidneys than breast milk or formula does.
After twelve months, whole cow's milk is an excellent and appropriate main milk drink. Semi-skimmed milk can be introduced from two years if your child has a varied diet and is growing well. Skimmed milk is not recommended before five years of age as it is too low in fat for young children's energy needs.
Goat's milk and sheep's milk are nutritionally similar to cow's milk and carry the same limitations for babies under twelve months. Soya, oat, almond, and other plant-based drinks are not suitable as main drinks for babies under twelve months and should only be considered as alternatives in consultation with a healthcare professional.
Drinks to avoid in the first year
Fruit juice, squash, fizzy drinks, flavored milk, smoothies, herbal teas, and any drink other than breast milk, formula, and small amounts of water should be avoided in the first year.
Fruit juice deserves particular mention because it is often perceived as a healthy choice. Even pure, no-added-sugar fruit juice is high in free sugars and acid. The NHS advises that fruit juice should not be given to babies under 12 months. After twelve months, if you do offer juice, dilute it well (one part juice to ten parts water) and limit it to mealtimes only, never in a bottle that a child carries around or takes to bed. The same applies to squash and any diluted fruit drink.
Fizzy drinks, including sparkling water and carbonated fruit drinks, are not appropriate for babies or young children. Their carbonation can cause discomfort and they are often acidic. Sugary fizzy drinks, including sports drinks and cola, should play no part in a young child's diet.
Tea and coffee, including herbal teas, contain tannins and other compounds that can interfere with iron absorption and are not suitable for babies. Caffeine in any form should be avoided entirely in the first year. Rice milk is also not recommended before the age of five because of natural arsenic levels.
Types of cups: what the NHS recommends
The type of cup your baby uses matters more than most parents realise. The NHS recommends introducing a cup from around six months, which is earlier than many parents attempt it. Starting early, while the habit of drinking from a bottle is still relatively new, makes the eventual move away from bottles much easier.
Open cups
An open cup, with no lid at all, is the NHS's first recommendation. Drinking from an open cup requires a baby to use a genuine sipping action, which develops the mouth and lip muscles used in speech. It also means the liquid does not pool around the teeth the way it can with a spill-resistant valve cup. Yes, there will be spills at first. That is part of the learning process. Start with a small amount of liquid in a lightweight cup and expect some mess for the first few weeks. Most babies make faster progress than parents expect.
Free-flow cups
A free-flow cup has a lid with a spout or holes but no valve inside. When the cup is tipped, liquid flows out freely. This still requires some sipping action and does not encourage the prolonged sucking that bottle drinking does. Free-flow cups are a reasonable middle ground if you find a fully open cup too messy to manage in practice. They are widely available and are the type of lidded cup the NHS endorses for babies.
Valve cups: why the NHS does not recommend them
Cups with a non-spill valve, often called sippy cups, require your baby to create suction to draw liquid through, in the same way as drinking from a bottle. They are spill-proof and very convenient. The NHS does not recommend them for this reason: they do not help your baby transition away from the sucking habit associated with bottle feeding, and prolonged use is linked to tooth decay and can affect the development of speech and oral muscles. If you are currently using a valve cup, it is worth switching to a free-flow or open cup as soon as you can, even if this means accepting more spills initially.
Whatever cup type you use, aim to avoid letting your baby carry it around between meals or use it as a comfort object. Constant access to milk or juice in a cup, like constant access in a bottle, exposes the teeth to sugar over extended periods and is associated with early tooth decay. Drinks between meals should be water.
Moving off bottles: timing and approach
The NHS recommends that babies move off bottles and onto cups by around twelve months of age. This is not an arbitrary milestone. Bottle feeding beyond twelve months is associated with an increased risk of tooth decay, particularly when milk is given in a bottle at bedtime. It can also affect speech development, since prolonged bottle use maintains a sucking habit that should gradually give way to more mature oral patterns.
The good news is that if you have been introducing a cup from six months, the transition at twelve months is much less of a dramatic change. Your baby will already be familiar with cup drinking and may be happy to use a cup for most feeds well before their first birthday.
If your baby is still very attached to a bottle at twelve months, a gradual approach tends to work better than stopping all at once. The bedtime bottle is usually the most emotionally loaded, so it can help to start by replacing daytime bottle feeds with a cup first, then tackle the bedtime one last. Offer the cup with warmth and routine rather than as a test or a confrontation. Some families find it helpful to involve their baby in choosing a new cup, making it feel like a milestone rather than a loss.
If your baby refuses the cup entirely, try changing the type of cup, offering it at a different time of day, or letting them see other children or adults drinking from a cup. Persistence matters more than any particular technique. It is also worth making sure you are offering a free-flow cup or open cup rather than a valve cup, which may feel too similar to a bottle to help them make progress.
Night-time bottle feeds deserve special attention once teeth begin to appear. Milk or formula that sits around developing teeth during sleep creates ideal conditions for tooth decay. Once teeth come through, stopping overnight bottle feeds is worth prioritising. If your baby wakes at night and is genuinely thirsty, offering a small amount of water in a cup is better for teeth than milk in a bottle.
Practical tips for encouraging cup drinking
Moving from bottle to cup is a skill that takes practice. These approaches, recommended by health professionals and backed by the experience of many parents, can make the process easier for both of you.
- Start early, around six months, so the cup is familiar before the bottle transition becomes urgent.
- Offer the cup at mealtimes when your baby is alert and in a positive mood, not when they are tired or very hungry.
- Use a small amount of liquid at first so spills are manageable and the cup is lighter to hold.
- Let your baby hold the cup themselves, even if it means helping to guide it. Autonomy speeds up learning.
- Try warm breast milk or formula in the cup if plain water is rejected. The familiar taste can make the unfamiliar container more acceptable.
- Demonstrate sipping from a cup yourself. Babies are natural imitators and watching you drink from a cup normalises it.
- Do not force it. If your baby pushes the cup away, put it aside and try again at the next meal.
- Be consistent. Offering the cup at the same points in the day helps it become part of the routine rather than an occasional novelty.
Drinks after twelve months
Once your child passes the twelve-month mark, the drink landscape opens up considerably. Whole cow's milk can replace formula as the main milk drink. Water remains the best drink between meals. The NHS recommends around 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid per day for young children, and milk counts toward this total.
Fruit juice, if you choose to introduce it, should be well diluted (one part juice to ten parts water) and offered only at mealtimes in a cup, never in a bottle. It should be a treat rather than a daily staple. The NHS guidance on this point is consistent: juice is not necessary, and water is always preferable.
Whole milk is recommended until at least two years of age because the fat it contains supports brain development and energy needs. After two years, semi-skimmed milk is appropriate if your child is eating a varied diet. The priority at this stage is keeping drinks simple: mainly milk and water, with juice kept to occasional and diluted servings in a cup at mealtimes.
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Start freeFrequently asked questions
When can I give my baby water?
The NHS advises waiting until your baby is around 6 months old before offering water. Before that age, breast milk or first infant formula provides all the fluid your baby needs. When you start introducing solid foods at around 6 months, you can offer small sips of cooled boiled tap water alongside meals in a cup. There is no need to offer water before solids begin, and giving it earlier can fill up a young baby's small stomach and interfere with milk feeds.
Can babies drink cow's milk before 12 months?
Cow's milk should not be given as your baby's main drink before 12 months of age. It does not contain enough iron and other nutrients to meet a young baby's needs, and it puts more strain on developing kidneys than breast milk or formula does. However, cow's milk is perfectly fine to use in cooking or mixed into solid foods from around 6 months. After 12 months, whole cow's milk can become your child's main milk drink, replacing formula if you choose.
What type of cup is best for a baby?
The NHS recommends introducing an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve from around 6 months. These cup types help babies learn a genuine sipping action, which supports healthy teeth and speech development. Cups with a non-spill valve, sometimes called sippy cups, are not recommended by the NHS because they require the same sucking action as a bottle and do not help your baby make progress toward independent drinking. Free-flow cups are a practical middle ground that still encourage real sipping.
When should I stop bottle feeding?
The NHS recommends moving babies off bottles and onto cups by around 12 months of age. Continuing to use bottles beyond this point is linked to tooth decay and can affect speech development. Starting a cup from around 6 months makes the transition at 12 months much gentler. If your baby is resistant to giving up the bottle, try replacing one bottle feed at a time with a cup, starting with daytime feeds and working toward the bedtime feed last, which tends to be the one babies find hardest to let go of.