How to teach a child to drink from a straw: tips for parents

Parents are responsible not only for the upbringing and education of the child. First, they must teach the child simple household things - how to put on pants, walk on the potty, wash hands, clean up toys. It is very important to teach your child to eat and drink from a mug, use a spoon and a fork. Irreplaceable and the ability to drink liquid through a tube.

Why drink through a straw

But why teach a child to drink from a straw? From a cup, of course, adults drink that way. And why from the tube? The fact is that this method of drinking fluid has several advantages.

1. Firstly, it is very convenient, which makes life easier for many parents. Today, there are many special drinkers with tubes on sale. It’s convenient to use them - I poured tea or juice for the child and gave it to the baby. Under no circumstances will the child be able to open the container, splash or get dirty. Liquid comes from there only if it is sucked out. This means that a mother can pour water or kefir to her child and go about her business, and not stand near the baby, holding a glass until he gets drunk.
2. The second plus of a straw is its prevalence. It’s hard to find a glass or a mug on a trip, in a city, a store, or in a park. In addition, most children, due to their age, still cannot drink from a mug. And the principle of drinking through a tube resembles a pacifier, so children quickly learn to drink this way. Juice with a straw can be found in any stall and store, so if the baby suddenly asked for a drink, there would be no problem.
3. As you know, natural juices are useful for the children's body, but completely undesirable for small teeth. The tube protects the teeth from aggressive acids and protects them from destruction.
4. Many doctors say that while drinking through a tube in a child, the same muscles of the tongue that work when talking are involved. Thus, frequent drinking through a tube contributes to the development of speech.

These advantages of using a straw push parents to the fact that they need to master this skill. They solemnly give a glass with a straw to the baby and are confused. The kid just does not know what to do with this tube. At best, he puts it in her mouth and just chews it. How to explain to your child that juice from a straw should be sucked out?

Teaching a child to drink from a straw

We have gathered a lot of tips and tricks for you from experienced mothers, who still managed to teach their children how to sip juice, kefir or yogurt from a straw.

Children who are more than 9 months old begin to drink from a tub. By the year, usually, the kids have the skill to perfection.

1. Put your child at the table. You can not allow him to drink while lying down or during the game - he can choke. Immediately accustom the baby to order, so that later you do not complain about puddles and crumbs throughout the house.
2. If a child drinks baby juice, gently press on a soft pack so that a little juice gets into the baby’s mouth. He will feel the taste and will try to suck out a little more from the pack. This will allow him to learn how to drink with a straw.
3. An example helps some kids. Show how you drink tea or juice through a straw. At the same time, try to be as emotional as possible - show how your cheeks run when sucked in, how your chest swells when you draw in the fluid. All this will help your child master the process technique. Most children learn to drink through a straw, imitating older brothers and sisters.
4. If the baby sucks the liquid with great force, he will not be able to manage to swallow it. So he can choke. Keep an eye on your baby the first time.If the baby choked several times - it does not matter, coughing will fix everything. However, if the baby chokes after each drink from the tube, you need to pour him instead of juice yogurt, kefir or jelly. A thick consistency will not allow the baby to absorb fluid very quickly. If the baby is still choking, it may be worth postponing training until better times.
5. If the baby cannot learn how to drink from a tube, you can use the following advice. Dip the tube in a glass of juice and pinch the upper end. Lift the straw - it will remain delicious juice. Ask the child to open his mouth and drop a few drops of juice there. When the baby gets used to it, you can not ask him to open his mouth, but to stretch his lips. The child will repeat after you and at this moment you need to insert a tube into his lips. Then the baby will taste the juice. Next time, do not let go of the hole on the back side, but make sure that the child himself sucks the juice from the straw. When he has mastered this technique enough, it will not be difficult for him to sip juice from a pack or glass.

The ability to drink from a straw will push the baby to a more serious step - the use of a cup instead of a bottle.

Drinker

When choosing a drinker for crumbs, pay attention to some features. After all, this is what will allow the child to abandon the bottle without regret and enjoy drinking liquid from new dishes.

The drinker should not be very big - so that the baby would not have a hard time walking with him. It should be safe - without sharp edges. In addition, the future owner or hostess must definitely like it, so choose bright copies with your favorite characters. It is best to use drinkers with silicone spouts, from which it is so pleasant and convenient to draw out the liquid. Modern models can be presented in the form of thermal boilers that hold heat for a long time. This is so true during long winter walks.

Before you offer the crumbs new dishes for drinking - say that the bottle should be given to the kids, because it is already very large and should be drunk from adult dishes. It is very good if friends or neighbors have a newborn baby. We can say to the crumb that the bottle needs to be given to Katyusha, because she is a very small lady and needs her. So you can safely switch to a new way of drinking.

The ability to pull fluid from a tube is a simple, according to adults, skill. Indeed, pulling juice through a tube is like eating breast milk. The whole difficulty is to explain this to the child. Be patient - if the baby does not succeed, return to training in a month.

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