Crying over water

[Lafoosa]

My none verbal 21 month old keeps bringing me her beaker as she usually would when it's empty to ask for a drink and then she starts crying and hitting me. The beaker has water in so I don't know why she's crying and getting upset about it. I've tried emptying it out and refilling it for her, putting juice in it instead of water, putting milk in it and taking the lid off so she can have it without a lid or splash in it. Nothing works and she just has a meltdown about it, she won't drink anything from it when she gives it to me, doesn't want me to drink from it but also won't let me put it down because that upsets her more. This has been happening several times a day now for 4 days.

What could it be and how do I fix it?

Hi, I dont have an answer however try to investigate the meltdown way before it happens. Might be worth to create a diary to list what is happening before and during the meltdown, including how is she feeling. You could compare it to the same situation when she doesnt have a meltdown. I read about this technique somewhere but I dont remember book now It is suprising sometimes. My boy has certain meal types synchronised with what type of videos he is watching - so cartoon network is spaghetti, chocolate brownie is when there are advertisements it does help to work out - thats how i extended his diet

Does the beaker have blocked holes? Is it leaking? Is it hitting her gym or is her gum sore when she tries to drink? Watch her with it before the meltdown happens and note down everything to give you a clue. Nice you’ve found the problem repeat repeat repeat the issue - “not working” etc whatever it is that is the issue.
Can you buy another exactly the same beaker and see if it happens?

Does she want a different beaker? Maybe she doesn’t like it anymore? Is it worth taking her out to choose a new one herself?

Maybe it has a smell or texture she no longer likes.

Trying drinking from it yourself and see if any issues become apparent.

There are no problems with drinking from it as I've tried and it comes out really easily. I've tried having 3 different kinds of beakers filled up for her to drink from and it's the same thing, I've even offered her a normal cup and a regular water bottle.
I've tried changing what's in it, to either milk, orange juice, apple juice or water and it's the same thing. Later in the day once the meltdown has stopped she'll drink whatever is there without any problems and doesn't care what cup it's in.

Have you tried keeping the beaker out of her reach when she has finished with it and encouraging her to use pecs (photo of the beaker) to ask for a drink?

Probably just co-incidence but I remember my son having his worst ever meltdowns over a similar unfathomable issue with cups, and we never did figure it out. Like Hehx3, with hindsight I suspect he'd identified a routine linked to the cup that I hadn't noticed, such as a TV programme or leaving the house. I remember it being independent of which cup it was or what was in it.

Any other problem like constipation or pain passing urine? Maybe she has co e to associate the cup with some type of pain or other unpleasant sensation?