Anna, the wonderful mother of Ellie, taught me how to really give the mouth a workout. She recommended putting a straw through the tops of pureed baby food, and so in this video you see Noah doing that for the first time today. As Annamentions in her blog post, this is a great exercise to help strengthen your child’s oral-maxillary facial muscles(try saying that 3 times real fast!) Help them guide the cup to their mouth and drink a small amount of water. Say “AHH” for them to repeat (this promotes swallowing). While there is a broad range for when a child will achieve this skill, the American Academy of Pediatrics' Ages and Stages Questionnaire classifies independent cup drinking with minimal spillage as an 18-24 month skill. Expect occasional small spills even through 3 years old, which should further improve as your child's graded fine motor control and focus improve. That said, many children can independently use a spill-proof straw cup much earlier than this, closer to 12-18 months old if they started practicing at 6 months. When to seek help

A: When your baby can successfully swallow a small amount of water from an open cup that you assist in holding. (They don’t need to be able to do it independently to learn a straw cup.) Many feeding and speech therapists recommend open cups and straw cups, but open cups can be messier and harder to use on the go. Some straw cups are hard to clean. There are many options that take these challenges into consideration now, though. (Do not stress too much about this—there is no one right or perfect cup for kids!) A: We only recommend juice for constipation (prune, pear, peach juice diluted with water). Otherwise, juice isn’t necessary for babies and young children – fruit is a better option! Chase the why. If your baby is older than 8 months and/or starting to show outright refusal or frustration, continue to stay calm and unruffled. Take a minute to ask yourself, “why?” Does your baby want to do it independently and you’re trying to help? Is your baby just completely baffled about what to do with the cup or straw? Allow your answer to guide your support. For example, if your baby is independent, you may need to be hands-off, even if that means your baby spills water over and over again. Put only a small amount in the cup, bring a towel to the table, and remain calm. Modify the recommendations above based on what you suspect might be contributing to the refusal. Completely optional! Some babies take really well to some of these features, but they are totally a personal preference. That said, we strongly recommend against using only one type of cup, especially one with distinct features that aren’t common in adult cups (such as two handles on the sides). Your baby will have to learn to use an open cup without handles or an angled or cut-out rim eventually. We don’t recommend parents seek out these features, but if you are using one of these and your baby likes it, there’s no harm done. Just make sure your baby also gets lots of exposure to other types of cups along the way. How to teach baby to drink from an open cup

The goal in the 6- to 12-month age range is to practice the skills of cup drinking—not to replace the breast or bottle. Starting open cup practice early (ideally around 6 months of age) allows your baby plenty of low-pressure time to hone cup skills before transitioning off bottles or breastfeeds. If you’ve missed this window and your baby is now 12 months or older, all is not lost! Your 12+-month-old still has time to learn this skill! Which cup should I use for my baby? The winner of straw cup show down however was the Take & Toss Straw Cups . They do not have a valve and are surprisingly spill proof (although they do not survive drops to the floor as well as others. Before 12 months old, we do not want a baby to fill up on water instead of more nutritious formula or breast milk. Therefore, if you are using water for cup practice, we recommend a very small amount of water (1-2 oz at most) solely for practicing the skills of cup drinking. How to teach baby to drink from a straw

I have never seen him cry when presented with a straw cup, but this bear must have given him quite the look. Needless to say we didn’t try this at home. I think that we have found cups that mimic the good things about this cup minus the scary bear. 3. The Juice Box months: Start by introducing water to your baby in an open “side sipping cup” (see recommendations below) a few times throughout the day (e.g. mealtime). You will hold the cup and offer your baby tiny sips from the rim. This will train your baby’s tongue to start to elevate to the correct, mature swallowing posture. At first this may be difficult for your baby, but with practice it will become more natural! months: Introduce a straw cup. We like to start with a honey bear straw cup (see recommendation below). You can squeeze the honey bottle to help move the liquid up the straw. This will allow your baby to become comfortable with a straw and learn how it works. There are many sippy cups on the market—soft spouts, firm spouts, with handles, or without handles. But, as feeding specialists, we have to reiterate that we don’t love sippy cups and instead recommend you focus on straw cups when on-the-go or in need of a mess-free meal. Why? Sippy cups encourage your baby to use their tongue in a way that is not ideal for cup or straw drinking. Plus, as soon as your baby masters a sippy cup, it’s time to conquer more mature cup skills, which adds an unnecessary step (and expense) to the process.Step 1: Bring the straw trainer with water, breast milk, or formula to the table and offer the straw to your baby by holding it in front of their mouth. Often babies who may have already decided that they hate straw cups will happily accept this cute little bear! The take and toss cups are brightly colored and fun as well.

Transitioning from bottles or breastfeeds to solid foods and liquids in a cup (basically eating and drinking like a big kid!) I think simply using the straw consistentlybuilt strength in the mouth. So don’t give up if it is a mess for awhile, they will get stronger.Step 2: Sit down, smile at your baby to catch their attention, and then bring the cup to your mouth to take a small sip. (You can use the same cup if you are comfortable with that or two cups, one for you and one for baby. Just make sure you are drinking out of the same looking cup.) We used these cups for five straight years through two kids. They hold up incredibly well, are great for storing leftover liquids in the fridge, and are made from glass, which eliminates any concerns about plastic. You can also use the bottles as storage containers once the kids outgrow bottles.

Bottom line: if you’re just starting out, skip the sippy cups. If you’re set on using a sippy cup, we suggest a soft spout over a hard spout because they are more similar to a large straw and might not pin your baby’s tongue down quite as much as a hard spout. And if you’re already using a hard spout sippy cup and your baby loves it, don’t overthink it. Just consider practicing a straw or open cup over the next few months to begin transitioning away from the sippy. What about cups with handles, or a weighted straw, or a cut-out or angled rim, or… Last summer, I invested in these cups for my two youngest kids to use when we’re outside in the summer, and they are totally awesome. They are easy to drink from, keep liquids cool, and are easy to clean. Do make sure to clean the straw often (as in take the straw off the base and clean it with the little brush it came with!). ARK's Bear Bottle is a fun and friendly way to make drinking easier for beginners and/or children with oral motor difficulties. The Honey Bear Bottle Kit is an excellent way to transition babies straight from bottles to straw drinking, as straws promote better oral and tongue positioning. Avoid using sippy-type cups altogether!

It’s been quite the journey to get him to this point. We started using a straw when Noah was 6 months old. It was slightly successful initially but then Noah started pushing the straws away and was not interested so I gave up for awhile. (Sometimes it’s best to give our kids a break so that learning newhabitsremain fun instead of becomingfrustrating; which ultimatelyhave the reverse effect from what we want.) As your baby gets older and more experienced with an open cup, they will begin to hold it independently and drink on their own. Many of Judy’s private feeding therapy clients are able to independently drink from an open cup by 10 months of age, but every baby is different. William, 6 months, learns to drink from the ezpz straw cup. I still need a sippy cup. What’s the best sippy cup for my baby?