How Do I Teach My Baby To Drink From A Glass? – Being Parents

Babies face tremendous challenges as they grow older. For example, learning to walk, talk or drink from the glass.

Detachment of the mother’s breast and the bottle itself involves a psychological, motor and emotional process, even if it lasts only a few moments during the day.

The child will have to learn to say goodbye to these elements which generate the feeling of security, tranquility and pleasure, so that it is not easy to leave them aside.

When to teach babies to drink from a glass?

At the age of 6 months, it is usual to start giving the baby a drink for the first time. Indeed, during the previous period, it was not necessary if he was exclusively breastfed. Unless you are sick or very hot, it is not necessary to offer him water before the second half of life.

This is when the introduction of complementary feeding begins. The consumption of breast milk is reduced. Indeed, we will supplement with water, fruit juice or cow’s milk. For this, the best is to teach him   to drink from the glass instead of using the bottle.

Of course, up to 7 or 8 months the motor development is certainly not advanced enough to grab the glass or the bottle and so we will have to help it. This process will allow the baby to mature, leaving aside the attachment and dependence that bond with the mother’s breast, bottle, pacifier or even the finger itself.

For starters, it is recommended to use plastic cups with handles and a mouthpiece to prevent them from breaking if dropped, or special bottles with an easy-to-handle body.

A few tips

Recommended glass type

• Made with non-toxic materials. As we do not recommend using glass so as not to break it, the best option is silicone. It is elastic rubber, odorless, tasteless, without harmful substances and very resistant to high temperature.
• With attractive designs and colors to arouse the child’s attention and curiosity.
• A flexible tip, also in silicone.
• With a non-drip cover (to avoid spilling everything) and handles.

The transition time between the bottle and the glass

All children are not the same, everyone takes the time they need and has their own development process. Dexterity varies between them, even if they are the same age. Parents should therefore not stress if their little one has difficulty using the glass. Despite everything, around one year of age, they generally know how to use it.

The first few times, despite the mouthpiece, it is normal for the child to choke and get wet. As drinking from the glass becomes part of his routine, he will acquire dexterity until he can manage to do it without dropping a drop.

The “tall” glass

At the age of 2, the child should know how to drink from a normal glass without a mouthpiece. You should then try to remove it gradually.

Some final recommendations

• Be patient and always respect their rhythms of development.
• Moisten the mouthpiece of the glass with breast milk and feed it to the child so that the flavors and smell combine and make him want to drink its contents.

• Exchange content. In addition to water, you can pour juice or even breast milk into it.
• Check the anti-spill valves that some mug models contain. Several times the baby sucks and nothing comes out. It could be frustrating for him.
• Teach him through mimicry.
• Do not use the mouthpiece for too long. As soon as he wants to catch the glass, he has to try to do it without the lid.
• Take care of the hygiene of the glass and the mouthpiece, as small amounts of liquid can be found inside the grooves and folds, thus contributing to the proliferation of bacteria and mold.