Copy My Sip

What you need

• two small cups
• a splash of water in each

How to do it

1. Put a small cup in front of your toddler and keep a matching one for yourself.
2. Lift yours slowly, take an obvious sip, and say 'ahhh' at the end.
3. Set yours down and wait, without hurrying them.
4. Copy whatever they do back to them, sip for sip.

Why it matters

Toddlers learn the shape of a movement by watching someone do it, and a cup is small enough that they can see your mouth and the rim at the same time.

What they're learning

Copying a movement

Watching and then doing is how most of the everyday skills arrive, long before instructions mean anything.

Taking a turn

Sip, then your turn, then theirs: the same back-and-forth that conversation is built on.

Sipping, not sucking

Seeing the sip modelled up close makes the mouth shape easier to find.

What to look for

Watch for them looking at your mouth rather than the cup. That's them studying the bit that matters.

A tip

Exaggerate the sip more than feels natural. The slower and more obvious it is, the easier it is to copy.

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