Sippy Cups - Oak Park, IL

The only brand that has worked for my 3 yr old & 16 mo old are the PLAYTEX SIPSTERS. When I got both of them to drink water or juice from a sippy cup, these are the best! I used the smaller size when I was training them. I think they are a 6 or 9 oz size. The only place I could find the smaller sized ones for little hands were at BabiesRUs. I just moved my 16 mo old to the larger version, it's taller & holds more. I think its a 10 or 12 oz cup. TARGET sells these. I wouldn't worry about straw cups yet for an 11 mo old. I think you have to go 1 step at a time. Straw cups for that young of an age tend to be messy--maybe just use them at home but use the sippy when you go out. My 16 mo old still takes her bottle of milk at her nap time or at bed time. Otherwise, she only uses a sippy for juice/water. When she's ready to give up the bottle, she'll let me know. My 3 yr old refused his bed/naptime bottle at about 17-18 mos.
D.

I use the Avent 2 handle sippy cups most of the time. I have had no problems with them leaking and my 9 month old daughter seems to like them.
I also give her the Flip up straw cup by Nuby ( the last one on this page: http://tinyurl.com/yeub4c). She took to it right away and really likes it. I have also had no problems with leaks on this one. The ONLY downside I can see with the Nuby is that it is harder to clean because of the straws (which I don't think get as clean in the dishwasher as the flat parts in the Avent sippy cups so I hand wash them).
The straw is really soft so I don't have to worry about her poking herself or hurting her gums.
I found the Nuby ones at Target

I have done the avent soft spout-and it's a pain to clean! I've heard that the playtex are great. We've used the gerber, too, and they're pretty good. I like the Nuby soft spout, but not the straw ones because they leak when thrown on the floor-a big deal with toddlers!
And I have a container in the dishwasher for lids(Munchkin at Target), and they have side holders for the straws!
M.
http://WorkAtHomeUnited.com/MaryGoesGreen

My daughter took to the Nuby soft spout cups when she was 9 months old. I then transitioned her to the Nuby soft straw cups when she was about 20 months old. I love the Nuby brand cups and found them to be the best.

Personally we only use the straw cups for water, since the straws are impossible to clean all the way, and I have found that they all leak. We like the platex cups with the valves....they can be completely washed with a small bottle brush. We also used the nuby brand when by daughter first turned 1. She liked them for a while.

My breastfed son (12.5 months old) has been using one of those Gerber cups for a while now. I tried sucking on it myself and found it really difficult to suck liquid through because the valve that keeps it from leaking was so tight. I ended up "modifying" the valve by snipping a tiny corner off one of the rubber flaps. Now it is much easier to get liquid out of, and is still about 99% spill proof. I have heard that straw cups are good, but my son still can't figure out straws. Unlike using a sippy cup, using a straw is a useful life skill.

For what it's worth, we only use the sippy cup when we're out and about. If he's sitting in his chair eating he ALWAYS gets a regular cup, which he can drink from all by himself without spilling too much.

Hi L.,
I highly recommend the straw cups! Once out of curiousity I gave my 9 mo. old little girl a drink of water from my cup which had a straw, and she really took to it (she seemed to enjoy it too!)! So, then I bought the straw cups, and she loved them! So, maybe your little guy would like the straw cups as well.

I weaned both my girls to sippy cups, they were both breastfed and never took a bottle. I used playtex without the handles. The spout is a little longer. You may have to help him hold it at first, but he'll catch on. my first was only nine and a half months old when I weaned her, so I gave it to her like a bottle with formula and she had no problems. My second was a bit harder. I didn't fully wean her until 15 months and she had a harder time adjusting to whole milk, it took about six weeks. So don't freak out. Now she loves milk. Good luck!

We used those Gerber cups with my daughter until she was about a year, along with the Avent ones that have the handles (but they're a removable ring so you can use them when kids are older, too). Those both were the best of all the ones we tried. The valves were good, flow was good, etc. We have also used straw cups since about a year and the best ones I found are at Target. I don't think they're a specific brand that I can think of, but it's got a flip top lid and a flexible straw and is primary colors. It's great b/c it's the only one we've found, of the straw ones, that doesn't leak. And it stays cleaner than a spout on a sippy since you can close it, so works well for outdoors (beach, parks, etc).

My daughter likes the ones by Avent and Dr. Brown's.

Pros: Both brands are easy to handle, removable handles, adequate spill proof without making the child sip too hard

Cons: For the Dr. Brown cups -- my daughter kept biting the spouts on her sippy cups when she was teething and the rubber on the spout ripped. I had to stop using it before she swallowed a tiny piece. I complained to Handi-Craft (who makes Dr. Brown's bottles and sippy cups) to make them aware of the problem since most kids who use sippy cups have teeth, and they are going to send me another one free of charge if I return the damaged one. I feel comfortable giving it to her now since her teeth are in and she's stopped biting the spouts of her sippy cups -- but something to be aware that can happen.

Avent -- no cons with my daughter

My daughter was never really sensitive to the shape and/or softness of the spout so that's something to check out since I think these ones are a little firmer and each shaped differently.

It's funny to see all of the different preferences and likes and dislikes. I've had 2 kids go through lots of sippy cups (our dog can't resist chewing them so we've lost a few that way too.) We never found a single straw cup I didn't hate. Hard to wash, and they spill.

I like the Nuby (?) (I think that's the name) cups for the first few months of sippy cup use. They look like a cross between a bottle and a sippy and I liked that there was no valve to clean. (unfortunately, the dog LOVED them too.)

But when it comes down to it, the Playtex ended up winning us over. As far as I can tell, the lids are interchangeable for all sizes and styles, and so are the valves (I got so sick of having valves without cups and cups without valves.) The insulated cups really work pretty well at keeping milk cold. They don't leak very easily (the Nuby's do). They fit in cupholders and the dishwasher. And they're available at every drugstore, even the ones when you're on vacation in the middle of nowhere and lose the only sippy you came on vacation with! Unlike other brands (I'm looking at you, Costco, with your super-saver box of 3 sippy cups) a child can't blow in on the cup and dislodge the valve (next step, shower the car with milk.)

Hi L.,
My first daughter never really got the sippy cup so around 9 months I tried the straw cup and she took to it right away. seemed to be way easier for her and now if we're in a restaurant and I forget the cup she can drink from a straw easily. She also wouldn't drink milk from the sippy but would through the straw cup. I don't know...I guess since milk is thicker it's harder to suck it out of the regular sippy. It comes out much faster in the straw cup.

They are kind of a pain to clean though.

L.,
My sister has always used straw cups for her 15 month old, but she gets the kind that have a soft straw. I think she said she only is able to find them at the grocery store. The straw is soft and flexible, which might be why my nephew has found them easier to use. The only sippie cups that I have found that are not good for this age are the cups that do not have a valve in it (I have Thomas ones and Princess ones). They are insulated and the cap just goes on with no valve (still no leaking though). They are really hard to suck so my son still dosn't like them and he is 3.
K.