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Make it a habit explicitly, so they learn to drink on their own. When out and about, both of you take five sips of water every hour. Do it as a team, make it fun (count out loud, make up a song, etc.) Step 1: Put a small amount of breast milk, formula, or water* (1-2 oz at most) in a cup. Show your baby how it’s done by bringing the open cup to the table at mealtime with 1-2 oz of breast milk, formula, or water in it.
Step 2: Let your baby open their mouth and lean in to accept the straw, then give a little squeeze to the cup, which will express a small amount of the liquid into your baby’s mouth. Most babies will respond by immediately sealing their lips to swallow, which helps them learn to close their lips around the straw. Step 1: Using a straw (a standard plastic restaurant straw will do), use your finger to trap a *small* amount of liquid in the bottom. Bottom line: if you’re just starting out, skip the sippy cups. If you’re set on using a sippy cup, we suggest a soft spout over a hard spout because they are more similar to a large straw and might not pin your baby’s tongue down quite as much as a hard spout. And if you’re already using a hard spout sippy cup and your baby loves it, don’t overthink it. Just consider practicing a straw or open cup over the next few months to begin transitioning away from the sippy. What about cups with handles, or a weighted straw, or a cut-out or angled rim, or… Completely optional! Some babies take really well to some of these features, but they are totally a personal preference. That said, we strongly recommend against using only one type of cup, especially one with distinct features that aren’t common in adult cups (such as two handles on the sides). Your baby will have to learn to use an open cup without handles or an angled or cut-out rim eventually. We don’t recommend parents seek out these features, but if you are using one of these and your baby likes it, there’s no harm done. Just make sure your baby also gets lots of exposure to other types of cups along the way. How to teach baby to drink from an open cupI bought the drinking bear for my daughter and I really liked it. The bottom valve was not needed for her. But the straw stopper was a game changer for her she was able to get use to it Mini Tip - This is a smaller version of the Probe Tip, designed for smaller mouths (about 2.5 years and under). This age recommendation is not a hard-and-fast rule though - we've seen younger kids use the Probe Tip and older individuals use the Mini Tip. Introducing the Honey Bear Straw Cup to your toddler can be a game-changer in your mealtime routine. Popette Tip - This tip attachment is an adaptor that lets you use lollipops with the Z-Vibe. Just twist the Popette Tip into the Z-Vibe handle, then press a lollipop into the Popette Tip. Lollipops are a fun way to get kids interested in sensory oral motor exercises.
Step 3: When baby accepts the straw in their mouth, take your finger off the top and allow the liquid to pour into their mouth. This usually helps your baby understand to close their lips, and that liquid comes out of the straw. It took about a day for him to trust the bear, but once he got the hang of it, he loved it! He is now drinking so well! I love that I can adjust the flow and slowly (eventually) make the flow more so we can kind of wean him off such a slow flow. Thank you times a MILLION ARK Therapeutics! I've even been able to share this with someone else who's toddler is struggling with drinking! Many of these processes can be modified and adapted through close observation. Weekly intervention and counsel with a speech and language pathologist can also be quite helpful. Preefer Tip - This tip attachment is rounded with ridges all along the circumference for when a "rolling" action is desired for a different kind of sensory input. Roll it over the lips, across the tongue, and inside the cheeks. You can buy the honey bear cup through ARK Therapeutics, but you have to make sure you get the kit that has the tubing and not just the straw because you get a much better seal with the tubing, so it works better. Plus it is more bite proof and won’t collapse like a regular straw.ARK's Bear Bottle is a fun and friendly way to make drinking easier for beginners and/or children with oral motor difficulties. The Honey Bear Bottle Kit is an excellent way to transition babies straight from bottles to straw drinking, as straws promote better oral and tongue positioning. Avoid using sippy-type cups altogether! Step 1: Bring the straw trainer with water, breast milk, or formula to the table and offer the straw to your baby by holding it in front of their mouth. Often babies who may have already decided that they hate straw cups will happily accept this cute little bear! The take and toss cups are brightly colored and fun as well. In this blog post, I will guide you through everything you need to know about how to use the honey bear straw cup, so you can introduce it to your child with ease and confidence. What age is the Honey Bear Cup for?
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