When to introduce straw cups to baby
The experience of feeding a baby can be both enjoyable and stressful for most parents, especially first-time parents who are still learning a lot about parenting. Before you know it, your little one is ready for the next phase.
Choosing the right cup helps simplify the transition for your increasingly independent child as they prepare to stop drinking from a bottle or breast and start drinking from a cup.
Learn everything you need to know about letting your child use a straw cup for drinking from it and the best straw cups for babies.
What is a straw cup?
A straw cup is a small cup that has a lid with a straw that allows your baby to drink fluids without spilling them. It is recommended that you choose straw cups that are easy for babies to hold and are not breakable.
What is the best time to introduce straw cups?
Your baby might not be able to hold a cup or drink without spilling until after age one, but you can start teaching them how to hold a cup earlier. Usually around the age of six months, when they start solids.
Because the sucking pattern of cups with straws and a regular cup is the same, using a straw cup is the first step in introducing the baby to a regular cup. Only when the baby begins to use a straw cup does their tongue placement improve, and it becomes easier to use a regular cup.
Though it may vary depending on the baby, the best age to transition to a straw cup is six months. Straw cups are best used with flexible silicone straws. They are an excellent transitional step between bottles and open cups. While many parents use sippy cups during this stage, straw cups are preferable for a few reasons.
First of all, sippy cups and straw cups require the use of specific oral abilities. With straw cups, it's simpler for children to adjust to drinking without the valve because the straw is shorter and easier to use. While your child may enjoy their sippy cup now, it teaches them a drinking skill they will never use once they outgrow it.
As opposed to sippy cups, straw cups teach your child the lifelong skill of drinking liquids using a straw, including water, juice, and smoothies. Finally, straw cups make the switch to open cups easier. Many smoothie cups include lids and straws that can be easily removed when your child is ready. This means that your child can use the same cup to practise drinking from an open cup as they did to practise drinking through a straw. The familiarity is both helpful and motivating as your child develops.
The best straw cups for children
The best straw cups prevent spillage, are simple to use and clean, are free of BPA, PVC, lead, and toxic materials, and are dishwasher safe.
The childproof secure lid on Brightberry kids smoothie cup tightly snaps on to prevent spills. They also include a stopper straw that keeps the straw from being pulled out of the lid. Additional attractive features include the smoothie cup's matt feel, which prevents it from slipping out of little hands, and the removable lid, which enables you to use it as an open cup.
The straw has a special wavy shape design to help drink liquids easier and is made of soft silicone that is pleasant on your baby's gums.
Stopper straws are also available for purchase separately.
