One of the most unexpected and frustrating struggles I can think of as a parent involves sealed kids bottles and sippy cups. At first, all was well. Though they leak easily, baby bottles are pretty simple to deal with. We used the Philips Avent line and neither of our kids had an issue with the bottles. They dutifully drank their morning, afternoon, and evening milk and never complained. The Little Man still uses them. He refuses to take the next step when it comes to his precious milk drinking sessions, though he prefers the sealed cups I outline below for juice and water. Though we hear of many school aged children ONLY drinking from “regular” cups, we’re yet to move on to that stage, even with the five year old!
Therein lies one of the problems. Kids are fussy, dedicated to routines that allow them to drink from the same bottle in the same place on the couch as often as they can. We wisely denied them to develop this routine extensively, lest a major meltdown occur if a bottle goes missing, but we had to face a lot of complaining over the past few years – over baby bottles and cups! We have also made quite a few discoveries when it comes to kids bottles and cups:
- Finding cups that are easy to clean is important. Small parts are bad, especially those with small grooves that can’t be reached with a sponge or dishcloth. Reusable straws are anathema. Those that don’t get lost become extremely dirty in no time.
- When we find a bottle style that our kids like, we stock up. There are a countless number of options on the market, and for some reason, companies are changing their designs often. The first Playtex cups we used, the ones we liked best, are no longer available, and it’s been a struggle ever since as those are still our favourite.
- When we find a style (or styles) that works for us, we let the kids choose the one they want. Kids love, and often demand, to make their own choices, and may decide on a whim that the bottle you bought for them is not the one they want. And when that cup is the last one left in the drawer, I’m stuck hand cleaning a dirty one just to get my child to calm down.
- Even leak proof cups are at risk of spilling if the drinking mechanism is pushed up against something, as can occur when the bottle is buried deep in a couch or purse. The number of milk and juice stains on our couch can no longer be counted. The couch is gradually becoming one giant stain.
- On airplanes, the change in cabin pressure causes pretty much any cup to overflow. Keep this in mind when getting on a plane and do your best to contain the spillage. We just keep a lot of paper towels in the bag.
We have now tried close to a dozen different varieties of cups. After the initial set we bought got too dirty or became unusable because the lids went missing, we found that these original purchases were very hard to find. We subsequently purchased a few other varieties, received others as gifts, and kept picking up new types of cups in the search for the perfect kids cup. We still haven’t found it, but thought that we would share the results of what we have, since some of the bottles have excellent features.
We also see no end in sight. With Little Monkey off at school all day, she needs to bring a bottle/cup of juice that won’t spill in her backpack and so we’ll be using kids bottles for the foreseeable future, forever searching for the perfect spill proof, easy clean, kid friendly, insulating kids cup. Here are a few of the better ones we have tried so far, with details on the assembly, plus pros and cons listed for each cup.
Wow Cup
Assembly: The top piece on the cup easily separates into two large layers, though we didn’t realize that at first, discovering that the pieces separate only after the lid started smell. This cup features the easiest assembly of all the bottles in our drawer.
Pros: Extremely leakproof. Easy to clean. Can be used as a regular cup without the lid. Has an excellent soft grip and good feel.
Cons: Our kids hated this cup at first. To drink from it, the child needs to tilt the cup up and suck from any part of the rim. There is no spout or straw. The entire 360 degree edge of the cup can be used to drink from, but the beverage comes out very slowly. It’s a much different experience than using the spout that most cups/bottles feature. After almost a year our kids have become less picky and will now use the cup, but it’s never their first choice. This one is my personal favorite, but I am not the one using it.
Born Free
Assembly: The top contains a small circular insert that prevents spillage that can be removed and washed separately. When ready to use, the insert is easily placed inside the lid.
Pros: Can be used a regular cup when the top is no longer needed. Easy to assemble and dissemble. Moderately easy to clean, but there are some tough to reach grooves.
Cons: The small insert that prevents spillage will fall out from time to time, leading to an increase flow that has often ended up on our kids shirts (and on our couch). The insert is also all small and very easy to lose (as we have).
Klean Kanteen
Assembly: A small insert is placed inside the top lid, which can be difficult to remove and replace. The lid itself is small as well and can be a little difficult to screw on.
Pros: The Stainless Steel body makes it very durable. This is a great bottle to take on vacation.
Cons: The bottle is not well insulated and gets very cold on the outside. Our kids can’t hold the bottle if the liquid inside is too cold and we end up using koozies. The top lid is very small and impossible to clean by hand.
Nuby Cool Sipper
Assembly: A large rubber insert fits inside of a plastic lid. The insert is a little difficult to remove and very difficult to reinsert after it’s cleaned. Additionally, not all Nuby inserts are interchangeable. We have three Nuby bottles. Two are the same, but the insert for the third bottle will not fit the lid for the other two. Since it is difficult to tell the difference between the inserts, a lot of trial and error is required to get the lids on. If not placed properly, spillage will occur.
Pros: The kids really like these bottles. The spout is soft and easy to drink from.
Cons: Aside from the lids being hard to insert and of variable sizes, this is a great bottle. Easy to clean and very colorful (a big factor for kids).
Skip Hop Zoo Stainless Steel Straw Bottle
Assembly: The only bottle we will use that has a straw. This detachable straw is inserted inside a flexible rubber spout that fits within a lid that snaps shut.
Pros: In general, we have found that kids bottles with straws are a bad idea, but if you are looking for a bottle with a straw, this is the best one we have used. Unlike the Klean Kanteen, the stainless steel body is surrounded by a comfortable rubber grip. The lid is very easy to open, even for a 2 year old. The straw stretches right to the bottom and doesn’t not fall out.
Cons: Straws are hard to clean, easy to lose, and impossible to replace. We are really liking this one for now, but expect to lose the straw any day now.
Playtex Sipsters Stage 3
Assembly: A bendable rubber straw is inserted into a drinking spout that is place inside the lid. The spout folds over when the top part of the plastic lid is slid closed.
Pros: Playtex products feature a lot of the characters kids know and love. We have Disney Princess, Superman, and Winnie the Pooh bottles. The first bottles we used were Playtex and the kids loved them. The originals had no straw and consisted of a spout with a small two-pronged rubber insert, placed inside the lid to prevent spillage. They worked great but we have rarely ever been able to find this old design, which was discontinued.
Cons: The bottles have 4 parts (the fewer the better given the risk that a piece gets lost), uses straws, and are difficult to drink from. Our kids were complaining that the juice was not coming out and so I tried myself and found that I need to apply a lot of suction to get the liquid out.
We feel like our bottles and sippy cups are constantly in low supply. Our daughter has lost a few bottles at school. On every second road trip another bottle goes missing. Even our condo seems to be a graveyard for lost bottle parts. Occasionally we find a bottle hidden somewhere with a putrid base of mild stuck to the bottom. We may even have to head out this weekend to pick up some new bottles. So tell us, what bottles have you found that keep both you and your kids happy?
