How To Teach A Baby To Use A Straw

How To Teach Harbinger Drinking

We frequently get asked how to teach little ones to drink from a straw. Your lilliputian one may be struggling because they have tried a straw loving cup which has a valve in the straw and they have struggled to access the drinkable or because they simply oasis't yet made the connection between sucking and receiving water.

Here are a couple of different methods to try, from renowned experts in the field, to help them to make that connection:-

Method ane : Puree Method : www.mymunchbug.com

One time babies tin can suck soft foods off their fingers or purees from a spoon, they are ready to larn harbinger-drinking. Hither'south how:

Dip a soft, silicone straw into a small container of smooth puree and offer it to babe by presenting it like a spoon. THis helps infant adjust to the shape of the harbinger in their rima oris.
Once they are comfortable and shut their mouth effectually the straw, count to ii before removing the straw. Babies will suck if you leave the harbinger in place for a few seconds.
Prime the straw with one inch of puree and nowadays it, letting baby suck what'south inside. The clandestine to this technique? It's the pureeon the outside of the straw. That'due south what gets baby closing his lips and then sucking.
Once he tin manage that tiny flake of puree, gradually prime more for him until he tin suck, swallow and exhale as he takes multiple sips of puree via the harbinger.
Cutting down the straw and so that one inch sticks out of the container of puree. Make sure the tip of the harbinger has a dab of puree on it to tempt infant to close his mouth on it. Now, hold the container for baby and let him suck on the straw.
Smooth purees are a thickened liquid, making information technology then much easier to control in the oral fissure than something sparse and runny, like water. In one case baby has learned to "beverage" purees comfortably, gradually h2o down the puree until he tin manage water with ease.
Offering harbinger cups with a shorter straw, and then that the tip of the harbinger reaches the tip of your child's tongue at residue behind his front teeth.

Method 2 : Water Method : world wide web.yourkidstable.com

Get-go of all, try and stick a regular straw in their mouth. Information technology is of import that it's merely a good old fashioned harbinger with no valve, considering nigh no spill harbinger cups require you to suck really actually difficult. A baby may try to suck and when they don't get anything instantly, only give up. Who knows, they may take to information technology correct away, without any help from you. More probable, they will but concur their rima oris open or put their mouth on information technology, but won't suck. In this instance, I would try the siphon technique:

Accept the regular harbinger and stick it into a loving cup of h2o, so it is touching the bottom, and put your finger over the opening at the peak. Keep your finger over the opening at the superlative so you are holding the liquid in the straw as y'all pull the straw out of the water, equally I am doing in the picture above.
With your baby sitting firmly in a chair, hold the straw up over their open up mouth and release the liquid so information technology falls into their mouth, beingness careful not to let too much water to go in at a time.
Repeat this a few times, if your baby seems interested. If they aren't up for participating, then try again on a different day. Hopefully your babe will kickoff to close their mouth around the straw. If they aren't, and then stroke the sides of their cheeks and demonstrate so they can imitate you!
One time they are closing their mouth effectually the straw, proceed your finger over the other terminate of the straw so they take to suck to get the liquid out. Continue putting more than and more than water into the straw so they are sucking more and more than through the straw.
At present try putting the straw direct into the cup and letting them take a beverage. Some volition take figured it out at this point and won't need any more help. If they get back to belongings their oral cavity open, and so first over and this time, when they starting time to suck the water out of the straw, flip the harbinger down into the open cup of h2o. This is a picayune tricky, you accept to be fast. The thought is that you don't break the sucking action and hopefully they start to make the connection that when they suck, they become a drink.