diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach.go
index cd33392dd5b..f7cc2b833c9 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/attach/attach.go
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ import (
 
 var (
 	attachExample = templates.Examples(i18n.T(`
-		# Get output from running pod mypod, using the first container by default
+		# Get output from running pod mypod, use the kubectl.kubernetes.io/default-container annotation 
+		# for selecting the container to be attached or the first container in the pod will be chosen
 		kubectl attach mypod
 
 		# Get output from ruby-container from pod mypod
@@ -110,7 +111,7 @@ func NewCmdAttach(f cmdutil.Factory, streams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra
 		},
 	}
 	cmdutil.AddPodRunningTimeoutFlag(cmd, defaultPodAttachTimeout)
-	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&o.ContainerName, "container", "c", o.ContainerName, "Container name. If omitted, the first container in the pod will be chosen")
+	cmdutil.AddContainerVarFlags(cmd, &o.ContainerName, o.ContainerName)
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&o.Stdin, "stdin", "i", o.Stdin, "Pass stdin to the container")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&o.TTY, "tty", "t", o.TTY, "Stdin is a TTY")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&o.Quiet, "quiet", "q", o.Quiet, "Only print output from the remote session")
@@ -299,8 +300,9 @@ func (o *AttachOptions) findAttachablePod(obj runtime.Object) (*corev1.Pod, erro
 	return attachablePod, nil
 }
 
-// containerToAttach returns a reference to the container to attach to, given
-// by name or the first container if name is empty.
+// containerToAttach returns a reference to the container to attach to, given by name.
+// use the kubectl.kubernetes.io/default-container annotation for selecting the container to be attached
+// or the first container in the pod will be chosen If name is empty.
 func (o *AttachOptions) containerToAttachTo(pod *corev1.Pod) (*corev1.Container, error) {
 	return podcmd.FindOrDefaultContainerByName(pod, o.ContainerName, o.Quiet, o.ErrOut)
 }
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/cp/cp.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/cp/cp.go
index 871ff64b483..9a3bea0c1a3 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/cp/cp.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/cp/cp.go
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ func NewCmdCp(f cmdutil.Factory, ioStreams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra.C
 			cmdutil.CheckErr(o.Run(args))
 		},
 	}
-	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&o.Container, "container", "c", o.Container, "Container name. If omitted, prefer to use the kubectl.kubernetes.io/default-container annotation or the first container in the pod will be chosen")
+	cmdutil.AddContainerVarFlags(cmd, &o.Container, o.Container)
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&o.NoPreserve, "no-preserve", "", false, "The copied file/directory's ownership and permissions will not be preserved in the container")
 
 	return cmd
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/exec/exec.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/exec/exec.go
index 17f5fa08944..1ff45f26fd5 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/exec/exec.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/exec/exec.go
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ func NewCmdExec(f cmdutil.Factory, streams genericclioptions.IOStreams) *cobra.C
 	cmdutil.AddPodRunningTimeoutFlag(cmd, defaultPodExecTimeout)
 	cmdutil.AddJsonFilenameFlag(cmd.Flags(), &options.FilenameOptions.Filenames, "to use to exec into the resource")
 	// TODO support UID
-	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&options.ContainerName, "container", "c", options.ContainerName, "Container name. If omitted, the first container in the pod will be chosen")
+	cmdutil.AddContainerVarFlags(cmd, &options.ContainerName, options.ContainerName)
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&options.Stdin, "stdin", "i", options.Stdin, "Pass stdin to the container")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&options.TTY, "tty", "t", options.TTY, "Stdin is a TTY")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&options.Quiet, "quiet", "q", options.Quiet, "Only print output from the remote session")
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/helpers.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/helpers.go
index a6bfdd80afd..8f74d66b8a6 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/helpers.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/kubectl/pkg/cmd/util/helpers.go
@@ -434,6 +434,10 @@ func AddFieldManagerFlagVar(cmd *cobra.Command, p *string, defaultFieldManager s
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(p, "field-manager", defaultFieldManager, "Name of the manager used to track field ownership.")
 }
 
+func AddContainerVarFlags(cmd *cobra.Command, p *string, containerName string) {
+	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(p, "container", "c", containerName, "Container name. If omitted, use the kubectl.kubernetes.io/default-container annotation for selecting the container to be attached or the first container in the pod will be chosen")
+}
+
 func AddServerSideApplyFlags(cmd *cobra.Command) {
 	cmd.Flags().Bool("server-side", false, "If true, apply runs in the server instead of the client.")
 	cmd.Flags().Bool("force-conflicts", false, "If true, server-side apply will force the changes against conflicts.")