Talktools Honey Bear Drinking Cup with 2 Flexible Straws - Includes Instructions - Spill-proof Lid by TalkTools

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This cup is microwave-safe, freezer-safe, and can hold hot liquids that are up to 428 degrees Fahrenheit; that said, the AAP recommends serving liquids that are maximum room-temperature-warm to your baby, and warns against microwaving to warm. 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! As a speech therapist specializing in oral motor development, I have very strong opinions about cup drinking.Teaching your toddler how to drink from a cup is a precursor to speech development, and making a smooth transition now will prevent problems down the road. How Bottle Drinking Effects Tongue Position My daughter Seren (now 13 months) was breastfed, never had a bottle, and when it came time for her to drink, I went straight to a straw – which she still uses today. I bulk buy disposable straws and carry them everywhere. She only drinks water or milk, so I can easily dunk a straw into my water or a water bottle. 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.

Honey Bear Straw Cups Juice Sippy Special Needs Therapy Honey Bear Straw Cups Juice Sippy Special Needs Therapy

We recommend that you continue to offer your baby BOTH open cups and straw cups as your baby transitions off of bottles. This way your baby/toddler will be comfortable using various drinking cups while maintaining a mature swallow and proper tongue placement. Green Sprouts Training Cup : Handles make this easy for your baby to grab onto and bring towards their mouth. A slightly larger opening allows for more freedom of movement, but also more spills. Straw Cups Now, before you tear through your kitchen and trash your sippy cups or worry you’ve irreparably damaged your child, we just want to point out that using a sippy cup will not damage your child and likely have zero noticeable impact. In fact, one of our staff feeding therapists occasionally used sippy cups with both of her kids because she already had them and they were spill-proof. While sippy cups may not be ideal for oral motor skill development, babies are incredibly flexible and resilient. I work as a early intervention occupational therapist. We work on feeding a lot…. For straws, you can use a squeezable straw cup such as a honey bear….My son just learned how to drink from a straw in a matter of a few days using a honey bear cup."While there is a broad range for when a child will achieve this skill, the American Academy of Pediatrics' Ages and Stages Questionnaire classifies independent cup drinking with minimal spillage as an 18-24 month skill. Expect occasional small spills even through 3 years old, which should further improve as your child's graded fine motor control and focus improve. That said, many children can independently use a spill-proof straw cup much earlier than this, closer to 12-18 months old if they started practicing at 6 months. When to seek help 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 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. Continue for several days at mealtime until your child is independently bringing the cup to their mouth to drink

Honey Bear Cup? Straw Drinking: What’s the Deal With the Honey Bear Cup?

If you want to one and done this whole cup drinking thing and just go for one cup that can be easily transitioned between open cup and straw cup, these lid sets can be super helpful. In some therapy circles, the honey bear is an obvious adaptation that is used to help kids learn to drink from a straw. I was unaware of this great use of a honey bear for many many years, and it was kind of a “duh” moment when I learned about using it. You don’t actually have to use a honey bear, and I have used condiment squeeze bottles as well because I did not want to wait until I finished all of the honey and I could buy an empty picnic condiment bottle at walmart.

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Yes, cup drinking is messy for a few days. But open cups are much easier to clean than sippy cups and straw cups.To introduce an open cup: There are a few cups out there that actually help bring the liquid up the straw. The "Mr. Juice Bear" therapy cup, or honey bear cup is made just to teach straw drinking. Although not made for this purpose, the take and toss straw cup has similar functionality and is less expensive. These cups have a very short shelf life because your baby basically outgrows it as soon as it does its job—which is to teach your baby how to drink from a straw! (Babies will also catch on that they can squeeze it and use it like a fire hose!) However, we mention it because it’s really effective for babies who are struggling with the straw. If this is your baby and the pipette method did not work, here’s how you can employ straw trainer cups like Mr. Juice Bear or a take and toss straw cup: Handles: There are options with and without handles. The former is best suited for younger babies, while the latter is preferable for older babies and toddlers. In its most basic description and therapeutic intervention level, the Honey Bear Cup teaches the child that liquid can come from the straw and into their mouth. 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…