Learn how to teach baby to drink from a straw in minutes using one of three different tricks quickly and easily. Plus, discover the best straw sippy cup!
Any parent with a baby or toddler knows that there are a multitude of sippy cups available to choose from. It can be pretty overwhelming when you’re standing in front of a selection of 30+ cups. To make it more confusing, parents have the choice between the traditional spout shaped sippy cup or a no spill straw cup. My vote, as a therapist, is the straw cup. In fact, this is one of the first recommendations I make to families I am working with to improve feeding skills and even give sensory input. I know, you didn’t know the straw had so much power! To say this simply, straw drinking requires the use of different muscles and a more sophisticated motor plan, meaning it is a little more challenging.
Using a spout shaped sippy cup is the same sucking motion a child uses to drink from a bottle, so it isn’t progressing their skills much. You may be saying, “So what? What difference does it make?” Well, those straw drinking muscles they are using are the same muscles they need to manipulate food in their mouth better and say more speech sounds. Sure, a kid will still eventually get these skills, but by introducing a straw, you are laying a stronger foundation and they may master these skills sooner! In addition, straw drinking gives a lot of sensory feedback, the force it requires to suck can be very calming and organizing. Sounds great, right? By now, you are ready to run to the store and stock up! Before you hop in the car or click over to Amazon, there are a few things to consider first, like what kind of straw to use, what age you should introduce it, and how to actually teach a baby to drink from one (most of them need some help to get going).
When Can Babies Drink from a Straw?
Let’s talk about age first. Most babies are capable of being taught to drink from a straw at 9 months. Typically, toddlers will figure it out by age 2 on their own. I was able to teach my older son at 8 months and my younger son taught himself at 5 months! That was crazy, and I’m not trying to brag, he just kept watching his big brother do it and put it together on his own. I was pretty amazed when he reached for it one day and just took a drink like it was old hat. Although, that is pretty uncommon, potentially, it is possible.
One important word of caution, straw drinking can cause babies or toddlers to swallow quickly if they are sucking fast, which may make them cough and choke on the liquid. Swallowing is a very coordinated action that most of us take for granted, when something “goes down the wrong pipe”, liquid may actually enter our lungs and we begin coughing to get it out. It is okay if this happens occasionally, but if it happens often (and it could with babies), then you may need to lay off the straw for a little while or try putting thicker liquids into the cup (milk, milkshakes, or even applesauce) until they get the hang of it. Otherwise, they could end up with pneumonia. Also, make sure they are seated, it can get difficult for a toddler to manage walking and swallowing. If your child is greater than 15 months and still coughing frequently while using a straw, mention it to their doc.
How to Teach Baby to Drink from a Straw
Alright, so let’s get into the meat of this post… How to actually teach your child to drink from a straw. First of all, try and stick a regular straw in their mouth. It is important that it’s just a good old fashioned straw, because the no spill straw cups require you to suck really really hard. A baby may try to suck and when they don’t get anything instantly, just give up. Who knows, they may take to it right away, without any help from you. More likely, they will just hold their mouth open or put their mouth on it, but won’t suck. In this case, I would try the siphon technique:
1. Take the regular straw and stick it into a cup of water, so it is touching the bottom, and put your finger over the opening at the top. Keep your finger over the opening at the top so you are holding the liquid in the straw as you pull the straw out of the water, as I am doing in the picture above.
2. With your baby sitting firmly in a chair, hold the straw up over their open mouth and release the liquid so it falls into their mouth, being careful not to allow too much water to go in at a time.
3. Repeat this a few times, if your baby seems interested. If they aren’t up for participating, then try again on a different day. Hopefully your baby will start to close their mouth around the straw. If they aren’t, then stroke the sides of their cheeks and demonstrate so they can imitate you!
4. Once they are closing their mouth around the straw, keep your finger over the other end of the straw so they have to suck to get the liquid out. Keep putting more and more water into the straw so they are sucking more and more through the straw.
5. Now try putting the straw directly into the cup and letting them take a drink. Some will have figured it out at this point and won’t need any more help. If they go back to holding their mouth open, then start over and this time, when they start to suck the water out of the straw, flip the straw down into the open cup of water. This is a little tricky, you have to be fast. The idea is that you don’t break the sucking action and hopefully they start to make the connection that when they suck, they get a drink!
It may take several “practice sessions” before your babe masters this skill. If this approach isn’t working, I do have one more trick!
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Another Way to Teach Your Baby or Toddler Straw Drinking
You will need to get yourself a set of the Munchkin Take and Toss Straw Cup
(this is in the picture at the top, but the straw is different in my pic), they usually come in a four pack and are super cheap. For some reason, when the lids are placed on these cups, it creates a vacuum. Put the straw in the cup, with the lid tightly on and put the straw up to your kid’s mouth and squeeze the cup. The water will actually shoot right into their mouth! Do this gently, again, you don’t want them to get too much. Encourage the stroking on the face if they don’t close their mouth and of course, demonstrate! Therapy supply companies actually sell and market cups designed to help your child drink from a straw, if you are interested in those, click here
, they look like cute little honey bears and are a therapists favorite for sure.
Once they have mastered drinking from a regular straw, then it is probably a good idea to move to a no spill straw cup. Besides your own sanity, they have to suck harder to get the liquid out, which will decrease choking and coughing. As I mentioned earlier, there are a ton of cups to choose from. I don’t have any brand that I particularly love, and if they fall the right way, they all leak a little (so much for no-spill). Also, they are a total pain to disassemble and reassemble. In my house, we have one water cup a day and one milk cup a day that I keep in the fridge between meals. I do this just to minimize how often I have put these things together. I hope I’m not swaying you away from the straw though, they are worth it!
The Best Straw Sippy Cup to Get
I have a few that I like and have worked well, but follow the steps below to make sure you find a straw that works well for you and your baby or toddler.
1. Is it a skinny straw? Some have really wide straws which give too much liquid and don’t work the muscles as well. Definitely choose a skinny or thin straw.
2. Is it insulated? I prefer these for milk, but buy plastic ones for water. Although, it’s your preference.
3. Can you flip the straw inside? Meaning is their a lid that slide to cover the straw. This helps minimize germs while traveling, but obviously isn’t necessary.
I have tried and like Munchkin 
and Playtex 
varieties well enough, skinny straws are the most important feature. Most of these need replaced after 6-12 months though because the plastic straws start to wear down and tear. If you don’t want to deal with threading the straw through though after washing, this Playtex version is really easy.
Keep in mind straw drinking requires a lot of muscle control and coordination. If you are trying this with a child with low muscle tone, it will be much more challenging, and will probably take multiple attempts before they learn how to do it.
I would love to hear how it goes with your little babe, let me know!
And, if you’d like to grab a totally free printable with my top 9 Tips to Improve Feeding (this is perfect for establishing good eating habits from an early age) then click here.
More on Feeding Milestones
Mega List of Finger Foods for Babies and Toddlers
The Complete Guide to Feeding Milestones
How to Wean Your Baby from the Bottle
Why You Should Let Your Baby Get Messy
How to Keep Your Child Seated for Meals
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Alisha Grogan is a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Your Kid’s Table. She has over 19 years experience with expertise in sensory processing and feeding development in babies, toddlers, and children. Alisha also has 3 boys of her own at home. Learn more about her here.
Thank you for this! I’m working with my 7 month old on drinking from a straw using the Ola silicone straw cup. She can suck just fine but lets it all dribble out. I don’t *think* it’s an issue of taking too much water in – even when I take the cup away after a small sip (I can see it moving up thru the straw), she just lets it all dribble back out. She also does this with the Munchkin 360 cup (not a straw). Any suggestions on how to encourage swallowing the water? Thanks so much! Love your articles.
Hi Sarah,
It’s possible she is having difficulty keeping her lips closed to bring the liquid back for swallowing. This could also be based on her sensory registration of the liquid in her mouth. Try checking out this article on oral sensory and motor skills and see if it can help!
Best,
Laura
Your Kid’s Table team member
Hi! Our little girl is 15mo and has hypotonia and recently operated a cleft palate too. She never learned how to suck because of those 2 issues but i would love to try teach her, if possible directly with a straw. If i offer her a usual bottle/nipple she will just bite it on the sides to get the milk out. Is it impossible to teach her to suck now if she never learned, either bottle or straw? We tried the straw but having never sucked she doesnt get it
Thanks in advance
Nina
Hi Nina! It’s never too late! Definitely try these tips listed in the article and see if it helps! Also, it may be beneficial to talk with her pediatrician about Occupational Therapy, which can help offer hands on help with teaching her how to use a straw, among other things!
Best,
Kalyn
Thank you so much for your helpful blog about teaching a baby to use a straw. I have used this for all three of my kids, at 8/5.5/6.5 months to use a straw and take water and formula when they have resisted a bottle (and formula!) for weaning from BF. I have recommended this blog to many people. It really made such a difference to weaning my kids. Thank you.
Hi Hannah! Thank you so much for reaching out and sharing your feedback! So glad to hear that you found this post helpful, have had success with the straw, and often share our post with those around you! We appreciate you and your support!
Best,
Kalyn
I’m at a loss here, my daughter is 13 months old and will not drink her milk out of a cup. She also does not like cold milk, I have to heat it up for 30 seconds for her to drink it out of her bottle. She will drink water and juice out of a sippy cup but not milk. I tried a straw cup thinking she would drink milk out of that, bc my mom gives her a sip of Coke every so often and she does fine with it. I’m also at a loss on how to wean out the three bottles a day too. Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks
Kathryn
I am actually in the same boat with my almost 15 month old. We weaned off of formula and she will now drink just milk, but only from a bottle. She drinks water from open cups and a straw cup, but if I put her milk in an open cup or a straw cup she gags. If I change the top of her bottle to be a straw or a wider almost sippy like nipple, she refuses to drink it. I’m also at a loss, but just wanted to let you know that you know that you are not alone. Oh and I also have to warm the milk up.
Hi Kathryn,
Some little ones can be really resistant to getting rid of their bottle! We suggest moving milk to only during mealtimes during the day. The before bedtime bottle is usually the last one to go. You could also try teaching her to drink from an open cup. The flexible small disposable medicine cups can be a great teaching tool for this. You can find more suggestions about weaning from a bottle HERE.
Best,
Andrea
Hi there! My 10 month old has been drinking water at meals from a Munchkin weighted straw cup since 6 months. We alternate between open cups and straw cups every day for practice at meal times. With the straw cup, he seems to continue sucking even when his mouth is full so it spills out the sides of his mouth. He definitely swallows some but it just seems like he keeps sucking despite there being plenty of water in his mouth already. It may be a no spill cup but with his technique, he and my floor are soaked lol! Any recommendations?
He also refuses a bottle and I would love for him tonight the hang of a straw cup as an alternative. I barely get out for this reason. I went out this weekend and my husband offered breast milk in this straw cup which he seemed to happily take, but again there was milk everywhere so it’s hard to know how much he actually got.
Hey Diane, Thanks for reaching out to us! Love that you have been working on a straw cup with him. I would try the tip in the article with having the liquid in the straw and getting it in their mouth. Starting with that so that he gets a feel for how much to swallow. I would also provide him with the straw cup and model along (take a small sip and sit it down) – so that he starts to connect it’s not a continuous drink. The other thing to try is waking his mouth up prior to cup time, so utilizing a tooth brush or colder items to drink/eat can be helpful so that he can feel more how much liquid is in his mouth! Hope that helps! – Desiree
Hi!
(Didn’t realize I had posted earlier as a reply to someone else’s comment – sorry!)
I’ve been working with my 8.5 month old to drink from a weighted straw cup and he’s got the sucking part down but then he coughs/chokes and just tonight, he vomited afterwards.
We use the Dr. Brown’s one. Should I give the Munchkin one a try or any other tips to prevent these episodes? I’m scared he’ll develop an aversion…
Thank you!!
Thanks for the very helpful information! When does one transition from a thin straw that requires strong sucking (to prevent choking) to a regular straw?
Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge on this incredible site!
Hi Anna,
It is really dependent on each child’s skill level! Once your little one seems pretty consistently coordinated with a thinner straw then you can try a more typical straw. If the regular straw causes coughing then be sure to back off to the thinner straw and give it a little more time before trying again.
I hope that helps!
Best,
Andrea
It sure does, thank you Andrea! 🙂
You’re welcome!
Hi Andrea,
I’ve been working with my 8.5 month old to drink from a weighted straw cup and he’s got the sucking part down but then he coughs/chokes and just tonight, he vomited afterwards.
We use the Dr. Brown’s one. Should I give the Munchkin one a try or any other tips to prevent these episodes? I’m scared he’ll develop an aversion…
Thank you!!
Hi Kim,
You’re looking to avoid coughing/gagging when drinking out of a straw. It can create an aversion, but also can create a problem if some liquid goes into your little one’s lungs. A smaller straw is a great option to try! A coffee stirrer straw works great for this. It limits the amount of liquid that comes into his mouth all at once. If you are still seeing lots of coughing, then back off for a bit and try again after a few weeks. I hope that helps!
Best,
Andrea
Hi there! I’ve been working on this with my 11 month old. She’s great at closing her mouth around the straw but she blows instead of sucks. I think blowing bubbles into her water cup is fun for her but I have no clue how to teach her to suck instead. Any suggestions??
Hey Rebecca,
I’d try the trick in the article to get the liquid in the straw and then let it go into her mouth, so that she can see she can get liquid from it. You can also use a motivating liquid for her. If she does try to suck upwards but is having a hard time, you can make the straw shorter for ease to get it working.
Best,
Desiree
I super appreciate your response! I have been trying the trick of getting water into the straw with my finger on the end and letting her suck that way but she still blows instead – shooting water out the other end. And we have been using a plastic straw cut in half, hoping that would be easier for her, but no luck. I’ll try a smoothie today to see if maybe that is more motivating than water but I’m tapped on ideas other than that, I’m afraid.
Hiya. Thank you for this. I understand that drinking from a straw has many benefits. My 14 month old is still drinking her milk from a bottle. Do you recommend drinking milk from a draw? I have also read that drinking milk from a straw can cause tooth decay and is better to drink from a open or free flow cup. Thoughts much appreciated! 🙂 Jo
Hey Jo,
We recommend a straw or an open cup. So you can try to work on switching to either of those, whichever you are comfortable with!
Best,
Desiree
Thanks so much for your page about teaching babies to use straws. Managed to transition both my babies at 7 and 6 months to a straw cup when I changed to formula and they didn’t like a bottle. Genius!
Awesome Hannah,
So glad this was helpful for you 🙂
Best,
Desiree
I’ve been having trouble with my 14yo to accept all textures of food and on top of that she wasn’t accepting anything from straw. I didn’t know how to teach her and your post has been a godsend for me. She learnt in the 2nd time I put straw in her mouth with one end closed by my finger. Awesome, she’s learnt drinking from straw. one hurdle out of the way! thanks to your trick xx.
Yay, so awesome that you were successful! So happy that our article helped you and thank you for sharing with us!!
Best,
Desiree