Simple steps for teaching your infant how to drink from a straw

Our culture has conditioned us to believe that infants naturally transition from a bottle straight to a sippy cup. But what if I told you that you could skip the sippy cup all together? Sippy cups were created out of the need for ease, not developmental skill. In fact, many sippy cups on the market contribute to a more immature sucking and breathing pattern. Straw cups (and open cups but more on that another time) help a child develop a mature sucking pattern that facilitates a safer sucking, swallowing, and breathing pattern. Infants as young as 6 months of age can start using a straw cup.

Steps for Teaching Straw Cups:
1. Start with a short straw – this will help to keep baby from wanting to bite the straw and to create a more mature pattern
2. Add puree or milk on the tip – this will interest baby and make baby want to suck from the straw
3. Present to baby – you may have a try a couple of times but baby will get it relatively quickly

What should I do if baby isn’t getting it at first? Sometimes baby may need a little extra support when learning to drink from a straw. When this happens there are a few things to try.

Steps for Providing Extra Help:
1. Try a cup that can be squeezed to load the liquid into the straw – the Olababy Training Cup is my favorite. You can cover the small hole on the lid and gently squeeze the liquid into baby’s mouth
2. Gradually reduce the time that you squeeze liquid in baby’s mouth – at first you may need to squeeze liquid in baby’s mouth more quickly to show baby success but gradually give baby time to initiate the suck
3. Keep puree on the straw – this will help baby understand to suck from the straw/close mouth around the straw

If none of these are working and you are worried your baby isn’t progressing wait a little and try again at a later time. If you continue to have concerns, contact a pediatric speech-language therapist for guidance.