Using a Straw

This weekend, B-Boy showed us that he has mastered drinking from a straw.

We tried to get him to drink from a straw cup a month ago, but he just held the straw in his mouth- with no suction. He wasn't really sure what to do with it.

We had purchased two straw cups, which are plastic cups with screw tops that have a plastic bendy straw in the cup. The cool part about these cups is that they DON'T LEAK!!! My friend Cat at work suggested we get them for our trip to Florida in December, as her kids used them and did really well with them. Great concept, but the user had issues.

So we used a sippy cup instead, which works really well... until B-Boy turns it upside down. Then water comes shooting out of the sippy part. Or, as we discovered, when B-Boy shakes it, regardless whether it is facing up, down or sideways. Sippy cups have their limits.

It's not surprising that B-Boy had some trouble. B-Boy hadn't used a bottle in months, and that sucking motion is a bit different with a straw. AuntJ distinctly remembers showing Neb how to drink from a straw when he was young. I don't remember anything about it myself...

So how did I find out he could use a straw, you ask?

Today, B-Boy walked up to the end table his is not supposed to touch and grabbed Neb's water glass which contained a red bendy straw. Normally, B-Boy enjoys playing with straws, especially letting it hit against different surfaces to see the sounds it makes. But today was different. Today, B-Boy grabbed the straw and put it in his mouth. To do so, he had to tip the glass, which then poured water all down the front of him. That's when I arrived on the scene (All that happened very quickly!).

That was when I realized B-Boy is trying to drink from that straw!!!!

To test my theory, we went into the kitchen to get him his own cup of water. I put the straw in his cup, and he started to drink. The only way I knew he succeeded was that water was in his mouth. Then we had to show Neb.

B-Boy played with his cup and straw for a while, and then started (accidentally) pouring the water on the floor. This is when I remembered those nifty straw cups we had in the cabinet. A few moments later, B-Boy was happily drinking from the straw cup. And this is when I discovered, straw cups DON'T LEAK!!! B-Boy turned it upside down pretty quickly, and nothing came out.

HA! Destructo is foiled, for now!*

And B-Boy was nice enough to help us wipe up all the water from the floor. Good job B-Boy!


* Destructo is what we call B-Boy when he goes on a tear- destroying everything in his path... or at least, knocking it down. It's his super hero\villain name. All kids should have one, don't you think?