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Do you think he can handle a straw cup? From an oral motor perspective, they are a lot better than sippy cups because they promote active jaw movement. Plus, you have to sit up with the cup in an upright position to get anything out!

@hotchildinthecity: totally understand! I would still try with a straw cup (stopping before the frustration level is reached). And I'd get a clear one, where he can see the liquid. Even if you let him just play with it, tipping it this way and that way, it might trigger something for him.

Would he let you hold him? Perhaps you could let him sit on your lap, reclined against you (his back to your front) so he can hold his own cup, but you can keep him at a good angle. My kids (albeit they are only 9 mo) want to hold their own bottles and cups now, but don't yet understand tipping them up so it flows into their mouth. Holding them like that is sort of an intermediate where they're doing it themselves but also getting help to actually get the liquid in his mouth. Being older, he might learn quicker how to tip his head back so you wouldn't have to do it too long?

I also feel like a sippy cup might exacerbate the issue, since he has to put his head back, which kind of encourages him to put his whole body back...I agree with experimenting with straw cups, like the one you squeeze, or the take n' toss, since they are super easy to drink from.

@Mama Bird: I was about to suggest the same thing!

@hotchildinthecity: If you start exclusively using straw cups, LO may become more interested in straw cups and that could be a better transition for you than a sippy.

LO2 skipped sippy cups altogether because she saw her older sister drink out of a straw cup. She figured it out immediately.

@hotchildinthecity: I'm sorry, I realize my post is not clear. I was suggesting that you only use straw cups when you drink, so LO can see you modeling that behavior.

I agree, transition on a timeline that works best for you and LO, but I think if you are constantly modeling the use of a straw, it will be easier for LO to pick up the concept.

@hotchildinthecity: The other thing that might help him is to get one of the open cups with the straw attached because then he can see the liquid moving when he drinks it. Also I know when teaching little ones to swim they usually teach them to blow bubbles before learning to hold their breath. Maybe blowing a few bubbles in the cup would be "fun"...

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We use a straw training cup that was awesome. Basically just a straw cup but you can squeeze the sides so liqid goes up the straw so he can get the idea. Ours is a playtex gripper straw cup. Maybe as an added incentive put some watered down juice in there.

We taught DS to drink out of a straw by using juice pouches. We start by just squeezing it by his mouth and letting the juice go in. He figured out really quickly to put his mouth on the straw, but I still had to squeeze the juice out. But he figured that out afterwards pretty quickly too. I think the key was using juice so it was highly desirable.

@ShootingStar: we used a similar method with fruit pouches to teach how to drink from a straw. I gave my LO a fruit pouch, let her suck on it a few times, then quickly took it away and got the straw cup into her mouth. She figured out how to suck out of the straw pretty much right away like that.