The Sippy Cup Rumor

I am a little perturbed because I keep hearing that sippy cups can cause speech problems in children. However I am not the only one that is thinking that this must be an exaggeration as Teresa Zwierzchowski who writes for Pensacola News Journal is wondering the same thing – 'Is this a fact or a rumor.' If it were a rumor by the way, who would start it? Bottle manufacturers. This is why at first I was inclined to thin it was true.

I don't know where the rumor started but basically the valve on the sippy cup is supposed to lead to developmental speech delays. I have a four year old who uses a sippy cup and he is a litte slow with the speech so now I am wondering what I have done? However this is a boy and boys are supposed to be slower learners than girls so who knows what the truth of all of this really is.

The threat is supposed to be that if your child is not off the sippy cup by the age of 18 months he or she is likely to develop problems. It is supposed to be even more damaging than thumb sucking.

Teresa Zwierzchowski who has a two year old looked all over Dr. Spock's book and could not find anything on the subject. Neither than I. There also doesn't seem to be much on the web about this except on medinenet.com in which a woman named Denise Mann penned an article in February of 2007 that claimed that toddlers that use these cups could develop lisps from using them. Mann is not a fly by night mom with an opinion like me or like Theresa Zeierzchowsk. She is a certified specialist. An orofacial myoligist from Coconut Creek. Her opinion is that staying on that sippy cup causes problems with articulation and clarity of speech in some children.” Thank God it is only some children and not my child. Right?

So what do you do if you think have a child that you suspect has this problem? You are supposed to trade in the sippy cup for a straw. This way the tongue is not misplaced causing a speech impediment.

So are sippy cups such a bad thing. To tell you the truth I am a mystified. There does not seem to be any studies done on this. However should there not be some studies done at least by the companies that make these things so that we know the effects on speech from the prolonged use of a sappy cup? Why shouldn't this be done? After all there have been hundreds of studies done on breast-feeding and on using the bottle and the effect of those on speech.

Don't think you will have much luck talking to your child's doctor about this. It is unheard of. However I bet my dentist has something to say about it that makes more sense.

Parenting Tips
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Anti-Flu Juices and Broths

Inspired by the last blog I decided to come up with my own Anti-Flue Juicing Recipes.

Here are some juicing recipes that can help treat the symptoms and causes of the flu –

Immune System Builder Tonic

The garlic and Vitamin A content help restore lost minerals and electrolytes to the body.

Handful of parsley
1 garlic clove
5 carrots
3 stalks of celery

Bunch up the parsley and push it through the hopper of your juicer with the carrots and celery and drink immediately for best results.

Potassium Broth

Sometimes a person with the flu can tolerate lukewarm broths better than sweet or salty juices. This is a juice that can be served hot or cold that is valuable when it comes to replacing fluids that have been lost through diarrhea or through a high fever.

Handful of parsley
Handful of spinach
4 to 5 carrots
2 stalks celery

Push parsley and spinach leaves and push them through the juicer hopper. The juice the carrots and celery. Drink immediately or warm in a saucepan and serve as a clear soup.

Anti-Dizzy Tonic

The flu can make people dizzy either due to dehydration or to congestion. The following recipe contains ginger root juice, which is the classic remedy for dizziness.

¼ inch slice of ginger root
4 to 5 carrots
half an apple, seeded

Push the fruits and vegetables through a hopper and serve as immediately for best results.

Fever Fighter

The cucumber is a vegetable with a cooling effect on the body.

Cucumber with skin removed
Dash of salt

Juice cucumber and serve as is to fight dehydration.

Sinus Clearing Tonic

Radish is traditionally used to clear phlegm from the body.

2 whole red radishes
1 tomato
2 celery sticks
2 carrots'
handful of parsley

Push ingredients through the juicer's hopper and serve immediately. Even holding this juice in one's mouth for one or two moments will increase its effectiveness.

Body Rebuilder Juice

This vegetable cocktail contains a lot of greens and sprouts which contain all types of enzymes that can help clear and rebuild a body that has been battered and weakened by a bout with a cold or flu.

1 cup alfalfa sprouts
½ cup cabbage sprouts
½ cup asparagus stems
5 kale leaves
1 medium carrot

Push all ingredients through the hopper of your juicer. Drink immediately. For optimum results hold the juice in your moth for a few moments so that the enzymes can accomplish their beneficial work.

Flu Prevention Cocktail

The grapes have potent antiviral and antibacterial activity.

2 apples without seeds
1 large bunch of grapes, off the vine
1 lemon

Juice all of the ingredients. Serve as is or over ice.

The key to getting a sick person to drink juices is to serve them with plenty of water in case the taste is too strong. Also drinking juices with small sips is better then drinking no juice at all if the person is having trouble keeping juice down

Parenting Tips
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