Toddlers can get the hang of a straw with some practice. Parents always have a confusion about which is best for your toddler – a sippy cup or a straw cup . I would recommend a no spill straw cup because it helps in improving feeding skills in your toddler . Therapist seriously recommend Baby Straw drinking as it gives sensory inputs.
Baby Straw drinking- Why Important ?
You will be thinking why it is very much essential and how it is going to be useful for your baby to drink using straw. Therapist prefer straw drinking than sippy cup for babies as it helps in improving their skills , improves a lot in sensory feedback, oral motor skill is also improved.
It is found that babies using sippy cups often tend to get difficulty in producing certain sounds. That is there can be problem with speech in the toddler if you use a sippy cup . So it is always best advised to train baby to drink from a straw. Sippy cups are fairly common in the lives of families with toddlers. While they can be convenient, preventing your little angel from spilling her milk or juice from one end of your house to the other, sippy cups can sometimes cause speech problems in little ones, according to the speech pathologist Sandra Holtzman. It’s been found that overuse of sippy cups can cause a lisp or imprecise articulation in some toddlers. But if your toddler has been using a sippy cup, don’t panic. You could simply find a sippy cup made with a straw or skip the sippy cup altogether and switch to a regular cup and a straw.
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When to introduce straw drinking for baby/toddler ?
Usually by 8 month or 9th month old you can teach your baby to drink using a straw .But by the age of 2 year old your baby will be capable of using a straw to drink themselves .If your baby is not finding it okay to switch to a straw drinking suddenly allow time for adaption.
How Teach Your Toddlers (baby) to Drink from a Straw
Here is how to teach your baby to drink using a straw , its not a too tough job but you may wonder how to make it happen . So here is some simple steps to Baby Straw drinking practice.
Step 1
Begin transitioning your cutie pie from a traditional sippy cup to a sippy cup with a straw or just a regular cup with a straw between 12 and15 months. A sippy cup should only be used for a short time as a way to transition your little one from the bottle or breast to drinking from a cup. Using a sippy cup too long can cause speech and dental problems. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends using a regular cup and straw with your kiddo’s meals and taking along a water-filled sippy cup with a straw when you are on the go.
Step 2
Cut a straw in half to make it easier to control. This also makes it less difficult for your munchkin to suck liquid through.The reason behind this is long straw means your baby have to suck the straw for a great time and it may cause pain to their little mouth.
Step 3
Cover one end of the straw with your finger and dip the other end into your toddler’s milk, juice or water. So the fluid will enter into the straw hold it with your finger so the water is retained in the straw.
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Step 4
Remove the straw from the liquid, keeping one end covered by your finger and place the other end into your kiddo’s mouth, with the straw tilted slightly.
Step 5
Take your finger away from the end of the straw to let the drink flow into your child’s mouth, so that he can learn the concept of liquid coming from the straw. Do this a few times until he gets the idea.
Step 6
Show your little one how to close his lips around the straw and place a straw filled with his drink inside his mouth again. Keep your finger on the end of the straw and don’t remove your finger until he begins sucking to get some liquid from the straw. Repeat this process until he starts to get it.
Step 7
Practice, practice, practice. Once your sweetie begins to understand how to suck on the straw to get a drink, put a small amount of his drink into a regular cup with a full-length straw or a sippy cup with a straw and let him give it a try. Be patient and encourage him along the way. You’re his biggest cheerleader, so drag out those pom-poms and celebrate his victories with him.
Step 8
Experiment with different thicknesses of drinks, like fruit smoothies. A thicker drink causes him have to work harder and improve his sucking skills.
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Caution – Baby Straw drinking
Something you should be aware of that is Baby Straw drinking has to be taken with serious care. It is not really a simple matter to neglect once your baby is practiced to drink using a straw. Do you wonder why is it so , then here is the answer for that . As babies start drinking using straw they learn to swallow quick and easily if they are sucking too fast. This will make them to cough and choke the liquid as the food may enter the wrong pipe and enter into lungs.
How to handle the problem of baby straw drinking –
- Until your baby is getting a hold of it try thicker liquids.
- Ensure you baby is seated while drinking from straw.
Things to notice About your toddler straw drinking –
- If your baby gets cough often while drinking with straw then it is advised to keep it off for a while .
- Also if repeated coughs exist then it will lead to pneumonia so mention it to your pediatrician. Have a strict look on cough while your baby is 15 months older.
So i think its going to serve as one detailed parenting tips regarding Baby Straw drinking. Here we have covered the essential as well as important caution regarding the toddler straw drinking practice .
Hope this will help you to Teach Your Toddlers (baby) to Drink from a Straw .
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