Your baby is six months old, can take down a bottle or nursing session like a boss, and dabbles in solids (you’ve got the 2,568 photos to prove it!)—so it’s time to start offering water. If you asked the grandparents, they’d say throw that H20 in a bottle or a sippy cup, but these days the recommendation is to go straight to open or straw cups. That being said, expect your infant to be adorably perplexed when you put that cup in front of them. Turns out there’s a learning curve, especially when it comes to the sucking motion needed to pull water through a straw.
According to Feeding Littles, you can begin with an open-mouth cup when your baby starts solids—the trick is to make sure your infant can swallow a small amount of water from the cup, regardless of whether they can hold it on their own. From there, move on to a cup with a straw. But how? In a recent TikTok, Cassidy Anderson, a mom of two, speech and language pathologist, and feeding therapist, shared her top tips for teaching just that.
@cassidyandkids Replying to @Taylor Harding these are my favorite tried a true tips to get baby drinking from a straw cup! 🐻 #strawcups #babybottles #babycups #toddlercups #wholemilktransition #weaningtips #breastfeedingtips #babytips #newparents #firsttimemom
♬ original sound – Cassidy Anderson & kids
Remember not to stress about how much water they’re drinking. Your baby gets all their hydration from breast milk and formula until age one, and we don’t want them guzzling too much or it takes up room in their tummy that’s better used for actual food. The goal is simply to get them used to water. So grab a straw cup, sit down with your babe, and try Anderson’s tips below. They’ll be sipping away in no time!
Related: 6 Common Mistakes Parents Make When Starting Solids
1. Make sure the straw isn’t too long.
A baby is a teething machine and they use their mouths to learn about the world around them. If the straw is too long, they’re more likely to chew on it instead of actually drinking. “I see a lot of the time that the straw is sticking out from the top too much. You can bring the straw down or cut it,” says Anderson.
2. Give your baby a flavorful incentive.
Putting a dab of yogurt, fruit puree, or even, gasp, ice cream on the top of the straw is a great way to get your baby interested in using a straw cup. “It’s as simple as just putting a bit on. You can model for them and see if they do it themselves,” explains Anderson.
3. Try the pipette method.
For this trick, you’ll need to suction water into the bottom of the straw by putting your finger on the top and then offering the water to your baby like you would feed a baby bird. “This will help them make the correct suction and learn what the straw is for,” says Anderson.
4. Get a soft cup they can squeeze.
In her video, Anderson shares her favorite honey bear straw cup, and while it’s an adorable silicone cup, the real reason she recommends it is because it’s soft, which allows parents to push the liquid up and motivates their baby to suck the water.
Teaching babies new skills takes time and patience, and if your child seems ready to tackle this oral-motor skill development, great! If not, no worries, they’ll get there soon. Every kiddo develops on their own schedule, and that’s perfectly fine. Before you know it, they’ll be a tween begging for a special-edition Stanley tumbler.
