Child Drinking from a Straw

My DD was using the straw sippy at six months... when I started her on solids. (She would get expressed milk in her cup when she ate her solid 'meals') Once she hit a year, I took away the straw cup and gave her a regular cup. She had a couple of messy weeks, but she mastered the open cup pretty quickly. Kids are able to do a lot of things... parents just don't realize it because we have so many fun gadgets to choose from to do things for them! lol. I get a kick out of it, because at 18 months we flew home to visit my family. My grandma gave my DD a sippy cup of juice, and my DD just sat there looking at it like, 'what am I supposed to do with THIS???'

Although... sippy and straw cups are very handy to have in the car!!! :)

(Also... my DD's speech therapist has recommended having her drink from a straw more often... It's good exercise for the tongue.)

According to our pediatrician, drinking from a straw is a very natural action for babies. Your son will likely figure it out really quickly. My son would never take a bottle, and was very particular about the type of sippy cup he would drink from. But he's been able to drink from a straw with no problems since I started giving him drinks that way at about 9 or 10 months. Just have him watch you drink with the straw, and give it to him. I use the take and toss cups that come with the reusable straws, and I also use disposable bendy straws with them. I never got much use out of the straw sippy cups, because the valve on the straw made it super hard to get anything out of the cup. The take and toss ones really didn't spill too much anyhow, so that's what we've used.

I have only ever used straw cups with the girls and we started at 9 months. They just figure it out, there really was no teaching we just kept giving it to them and they just figured out how to so it.

my daughter could drink from a straw at 8 months.. try it out its not like the cups wont ever get used.

My son could drink from a sippy at 9 months...Don't remember when I started the straw ones....shortly there after. My daughter used straws at 3 or 4 months...she didn't like bottles much.

Concur with Bug. Our LO wouldn't drink from a sippy. His OT was good with that, as sippy is the same mouth/tongue movement as a bottle and she wanted him using a different movement. The straw is great and helps when we're in a restaurant and forgot his cup. He can still drink there, as most have a straw. I recommend making the migration.

I was amazed when my 9 mo old started drinking from his sister's straw. They can do it! No harm done if your child doesn't get it right away--just keep trying once in a while. You'd be amazed what they can do... ;D

My children went from sippy cups to regular cups before 1 year old. Sippy cups with straws can be a good transition and I'm sure your son will do well.

Just be mindful to have him use the sippy cup only places you would let him use a real cup... at the table or high chair. I know many children who have had cavities develop in the back of their front teeth, because they roamed the house with their sippy cups, drinking a little bit here and a little bit there, redepositing sugars (in milk and juices) throughout the day. And their poor Moms didn't the damage had been done until the children went to the dentist.

I read somewhere that if you give your child a thick drink (like a yogurt smoothie -- just mix yogurt and a little milk or apple juice) that it will help them learn to drink from a straw. Suck it up into the straw so that it is at the very top and they can get a little taste and know they want more. It worked for my kids. Good luck!

My child never drank from a sippy. We started him with a straw cup at 6 months. We didn't teach him, he just figured it out, so I don't have much advice for you there. (Sorry!) Your son will probably find a straw cup easier, actually. In any case, he is definitely old enough. He's used to something else, so he'll have to tinker a while. He should learn quickly, though!

Mine was about 11 months when she figured the whole straw thing out. It was probably at about 6 months when I started getting a little bit of water in a straw for her at restaurants and "releasing" it into her mouth. At some point, I noticed she was learning to control it some. Then I just let her have a try with the straw normally and there it was.