Cup Drinking

Introduce straws early (around 6-9 months old)  when child able to sit with minimal support. 

When introducing straw cups start with a honey bear bottle or squeeze cup. These bottles allow you to squeeze to help liquid enter a child' mouth. This helps to buld the idea of sucking from a straw that leads to reward of liquid. 

Try shorter straws to make sucking easier

Try thicker liquids when you are first starting out. Examples can be smoothies, yogurt drinks and milkshakes. These types of drinks have slower flow rate, making it easier to control with swallowing. 

Model sipping from a straw in front of the child. Let them see you close your lips around the straw and hear the slurping sound. 

Try out fun, child straws. For example, curly straws, animal-theme straws, or colour-chaning ones to make straw drinking fun! 

Start early (around 6 months) by offering small sips from an open cup (with support). Can pair with water or breastmilk/formula. 

Try a tiny cup, or a 1.5 ounce cup (shot glass) when introducing the child to drinking out of an open cup. It is beneficial to use plastic to protect their teeth. Using a tiny cup will control the amount of liquid to manage when drinking, reduces larger amounts of water flowing onto their face, as well as work on creating a functional seal of their lips on the cup.

When first introducing, hold the cup to control the flow. Place the edge of the cup on the bottom lip and slowly tip the cup, allowing a small amount of liquid to flow to their lips. Ensure that the child does not tilt their head back when drinking. 

Encourage their eyes to be forward with a slight chin tuck, which is a safe head position for drinking. Offer one sip at a time. 

Once they are easily drinking from the tiny cup held by parents, they are ready to start holding a small child-sized plastic cup with or without handles. Caregivers can help to guide the cup to their mouth with their hands holding the cup. 

You can slowly increase the volume of water in a cup as they improve their ability to control how much they tip the cup.

Pretend play with trying to feed toy dolls and animals

Pretend play with tea sets and play cups. Can add small amounts of liquid to practice drinking from open cups in play-based setting. 

Blow Painting or Bubble Play to help practice blowing through a straw. 

Water play with small cups to work on scooping and pretending to "drink" from. 

Drinking in front of mirror with your child to allow them to see what they are doing.