Need Advice on Sippy Cups

Updated on January 26, 2009
L.P. asks from Exeter, NH
15 answers

I feel a little silly asking this but I haven't had good luck with finding the right cup for my 18 month old. He gets frustrated with the ones that he has to work pretty hard at to get a good flow of liquid. But he hasn't mastered the straw type - and will tip all cups to see if he can shake anything out. Does a reasonably leak-free, faster flow cup exist???

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N.M.

answers from Hartford on

hi L.!
i like the "Nuby" they are tall & shaped for easy hold in their hands & the flow is great. good luck!

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C.D.

answers from Portland on

I have had good luck with the playtex...they come two in a pack and they have the soft spout. Good luck!

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H.R.

answers from Bangor on

Try the Avent. My daughter loves it, but we had to try all of them to find this one! Good luck!

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J.P.

answers from Portland on

AVENT makes a really nice rubber tipped sippy cup that has handles that can be slipped on or removed. It has a nice flow that comes out easily, that doesn't drip too quickly and more flow comes if they suck a little. Hope that helps!

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R.T.

answers from Boston on

Have you tried the Nuby varieties?

Even better, Target has soft spout (circo brand) sippies that are easier to clean than Nubies and work just as well.

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L.W.

answers from Boston on

We use Playtex and the Nubby cups. Just an FYI on the soft rubber tip cups like Nubby. My son has now figured out if he pushes the tip against the floor, couch etc he can make puddles. They don't leak much unless your child figures this out too. But once they do be prepared for juice/milk every where. We still use them but if he does it a lot I take that away and give him the hard tip ones that won't do it.

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B.B.

answers from Boston on

what about the playtex sippy cup? I had luck with that one when my son was little (that was years ago).

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R.K.

answers from Springfield on

Dr. Brown's makes a great sippy cup and you don't have to suck as hard like with other sippys. I would stay away from the nuby the kids bite holes in them and they break open if thrown from the table, stroller, or shopping cart.

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E.M.

answers from Boston on

Hi L.,
when my daughter was little, we liked the Gerber cup - squarish looking, squat, little white valve inside. You can leave the valve out if you want him to get more liquid more easily.

Lots of people recommended the Nuby to us, but I never liked them, I found they leaked and my daughter would teethe on them and they would break open pretty easily. She gnawed on the Gerber for a long time, too- took that one a really long time to break!

Now that my daughter is older, we like the playtex - they have fun designs for her (princess cups!), they are BPA free, and I find they are pretty leak free. There is a place in the cap for the valve if you want to store it there or put it through the dishwasher. (I hand wash all her cups - I found the designs would come off if I put thru the dishwasher.

I remember trying a bunch of different cups to see what we both liked - good luck to you both! Again, for that age, we both really liked the Gerber - easy to hold, easy for her to drink from, and if you think the flow is too slow you can just remove the valve until he really gets the idea.

Warmly,
E.

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R.B.

answers from Boston on

I found one that is almost exactly what I was looking for. It's the Nuby that is squatty and has the handles as part of the screw on top. It's got a wide mouth top and the soft sippy part is just as large in size. Here is why I chose this one..... the soft tops are easier on his mouth and nose, since he's cramming it in there. I also wanted one with handles because we had the taller skinnier Nuby like this without handles and he wouldn't hold it himself, even though he could, instead he would bring it over to me and grunt and then stand there with his little mouth open like he's drinking from a gerbil waterer. What a goof! Lastly, I was chose this one because when you remove the soft sippy part you have what works like a wide mouth cup with handles, so he uses it (supervised) to learn to drink out of a "big-boy" cup. The handles, being part of the lid, allow for this. IT WORKS GREAT as a transitioning tool. One caution though and for me unpreventable I think; he's figured out that if he jamms the cup on the floor upside down he can get it's contents out on the floor for a puddle party. That's my son and not the cup! So we only give him water in it between meals while running a-muck! The flow is good, soft on his face and won't leak under "normal" conditions. It also comes with a cap so you can throw it in your bag. Not all do. Got it at Wal-Mart, $4ish. He loves the straw ones too, but they are such a bear to clean and this teaches them to tip, the straws don't.

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M.B.

answers from Hartford on

My almost 15 month old was difficult to get to use a sippy cup. Actually it was more stubborness I think on his part. Anyways, as much as the spillproof cups are great for us as parents they aren't always so great for babies. They are hard to drink from. Have you tried the cups? What I did with my son was put him in his high chair and gave him the cup when he wanted it. Not a spill proof one though. It has a top with a spout on it. I think it's from First Years. There is no valve or anything to make it spill proof. I have found that they aren't too free flowing though, but it's not spill proof for sure. If you tip it liquid does come out, but more like in drips. I only fill it like half way with liquid too. And then I would help him tip it up. Also with the straw to help him learn that I would give him a little out of my own cup in the straw where I hold the cup and put the straw in his mouth. He can now drink from spill proof cups and straws with no problem. I actually had a similar problem getting my oldest daughter to drink from a cup. The spill proof ones really do take a lot of suction power coupled with tipping it up. So it's not easy to do. I've tried and he might just not be able to suck hard enough yet. So I definitely recommend not using an actual spill proof cup to start him with. And you don't have to give it to him for all of his bottles at first. I wouldn't recommend using the cup when he's really thirsty. Give him some in his bottle to wet his whistle a little and then try putting some in the cup so he's less frustrated and won't give up on it the first time he isn't able to get something out.

M.

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D.P.

answers from Boston on

I like the Nuby brand sippy cups and they are relatively leak free. They are the only brand my 18 mo old will use.

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M.K.

answers from Boston on

Gerber and Playtex sippy cups work well for us.

Good luck!

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L.Z.

answers from Boston on

We like and use Playtex and Gerber. They both have removable spouts on the inside so you can clean out the milk residue. I have found the Gerber kind to clean even better than the Playtex actually, since the hole in which the white spout inserts is wider so you can clean it better. Both have very little leaking, unless they are tossed from the hig chair on to the floor, which my 19 month old does daily! But in general they are pretty good. I agree with a previous post also who said that if they are totally leak free, they are probably too hard for your child to get a fast flow out of. Good luck!!

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C.W.

answers from Boston on

Hi there...i found the playtex to leak less. However i have tried almost all of them and found they all seem to leak when dropped on the floor. (i have the stained carpet to support this) :) My boys now place their cups on a table upright so "training"(lack of better word) them to do this at a young age will help those spills. The nuby's work well also. good luck!

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