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Doesn't Get Straw Cup?

Eitak82Eitak82 member
in Babies: 6 - 9 Months
DS is 7 months and has been an eating champ since he first started solids. He recently started rejecting the spoon a bit (its hit or miss), but has taken to self-feeding very nicely. I have been trying on and off to introduce a straw cup to him. I give him a straw cup with water during most meals and will offer it at various other points throughout the day.

He almost immediately places the straw in his mouth, but bites it more than he sucks on it. He has, on occasion, gotten liquid out, but I don't think he has the faintest idea how he did it. I have tried offering the straw cup mid-bottle to make the connection that he has to suck on the straw, but that just seems to make him angry. I've also tried dropping water from a straw into his mouth, pushing water up from the cup into the straw so he "gets" that there is something in there, and showing him me drinking out of a straw, but he still doesn't seem to get it. He has NEVER had a strong need to suck (never took to a paci, doesn't suck his thumb, etc.).

Is there anything else I can do to help him "get" it other than just continuing to offer it? Is this something he should be able to do at this point (I keep reading about 4 month olds on straw cups and it worries me)?

TIA!
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Re: Doesn't Get Straw Cup?

  • Heyjordynhey Heyjordynhey member
    I'm no help but i'm following this because i'm having the same issue with my 8 month old. I've been trying to get him to understand the concept of drinking out of the straw but he just ends up chewing on it
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  • Eitak82Eitak82 member
    MrsMuq said:
    Your LO might be too little for the straw cup (which is considered a stage 2 cup). You might want to go back to the trainer cup for a while (stage 1 cup).

    My DS didn't "get" the straw cup until he was 13mo, but we also introduced a cup late - like, not until he was 10mo.

    Thank you. This may be a dumb question, but what exactly do you mean by a "trainer" cup? The straw cups we bought are called Playtex "training" cups, so I'm not sure what the difference is.
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  • Heyjordynhey Heyjordynhey member
    i started my son with the trainer cup with the soft spout and the handles. now he used a normal hard spout sippy cup.
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  • ebp913ebp913 member
    I think if you just stick with it, they will get it.  We only ever did straw cups with DD and she figured it out eventually.  It's not like she NEEDED water anyways.  
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  • Eitak82Eitak82 member
    I guess it's silly, but growing up we had a family friend whose son was drinking out of a bottle until he was almost 4 years old, so I want to get rid of the bottle by his 1st birthday (which is still 5 months away). I guess I'm just irrationally worried he won't "get it" by then as I want to ditch the bottle completely.
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  • VPGIRL06VPGIRL06 member
    My LO is a little over 6 months and I gave her a soft spout, handled zippy cup because she liked the bright colors. But as soon as I gave it to her she stuck the spout in her mouth LOL. After a couple weeks she just realized it will give liquid if she sucks-before she also was biting it. The straw may just be too thin for him to realize its something to suck on.

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  • ashbee0223ashbee0223 member
    The playtex straw cup should be for either 4+ or 6+ months and has handles. My DS took about 2 months to learn how to use it. He is 8 months and will drink from the straw cup or a soft sippy cup great now. I just offered it every chance I got and eventually he learned. All I can say is keep trying. He seemed to do better if I put formula in it instead of water. But he will drink water from it now that he's learned.
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  • StillharborStillharbor member
    Most "sippy" cups are made with a spout that requires the same sucking action as a bottle (with the tongue thrust forward). Sipping from a straw requires baby to pull their tongue back in. You might check on the Special Needs board. Many LOs with Down syndrome are given straws to help them strengthen their tongue muscle.
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  • tiffweddtiffwedd member
    We discovered over the weekend that our boys were interested in drinking from a straw, went to Walmart to get them their own cups and found these

    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Munchkin-Click-Lock-9-Oz-Straw-Cup-2-count/20933026

    It actually comes out better when they bite on it a little as well as sucking.
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  • hmonttyhmontty member
    I did not introduce a cup to DD until she was grabbing her bottle and feeding herself -- not just toying with it but actually doing it well. That was at about 10-11 months. I then handed her a straw cup, and she got it instantly. Luck? A little more maturity? Not sure.

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