Sippy Cups: Sip, Sip, Hooray?

A long time ago, like at least a year ago, I would read other motherhood blogs and shudder at their descriptions of their living rooms and their inability to clean them. I sat in my ivory tower surrounded by unloaded dishwashers and reasonably clean floors.

And then I had a toddler.

Toddlers have a way of taking something so innocuous, like a cup of milk, and turn it into a Bird Box like creature, sending chills down your spine. You go from easy bottles, with their almost spill proof nipples to sippy cups. Then, at the same time, they also want you to switch from formula to cow’s milk. Also, at the same time, I should start handing her a spoon? AND at the same time start giving her actual meals? Okay, I’m getting a bit worked up here.

Back to the point at hand. Our first venture into sippy cups involved the Nuk Everlast. First off, it’s pink. I mean, why else have girls if you aren’t willing to accessorize your dining utensils in various shades of pink? The Nuk Everlast is durable and has only three parts: a spout, a valve, and the actual cup. The cup is generally spill proof, but as any parent knows, persistence is key in toddler-world.

However, the Nuk is a bit above our price point for an everyday cup to buy in bulk. I pull out the Everlast on doctor appointments and road trips. She likes it so much that it usually calms her down quickly. Aside from the steep price, there is also the issue of dental health. As soon as Google knew I was looking for sippy cups, I started getting Facebook advertisements regarding “toddler dental health”. I’ll be honest, I knew we needed to brush our teeth, but I wasn’t losing sleep over Victoria’s oral hygiene. At this point, she had a whopping 2.5 teeth. However, the American Dental Association advises that after the child turns 1, the “aim is to shift from sucking to sipping”. Because the Nuk included a valve, it wasn’t scoring high in the developmentally appropriate category.

After reading this, I bought 8 much cheaper cups that don’t involve a valve for operation. There were other considerations, as well. Sometimes you’re going somewhere that you don’t want to take your pricey sippys. Sometimes you aren’t going to be near a dishwasher for a few days and need something easier to clean. Enter the Take & Toss! The official name on Amazon is “The First Years – Take & Toss Spill-Proof Sippy Cups“. Despite the product title, these cups do indeed spill. All it takes is one well motivated toddler to discover the lip of the lid and you’ve got a juice showdown of epic proportions.

However, these sippys are my go-to on the go. Their price point means I don’t feel bad if we ever lose one while we travel. Their durability and ease of cleaning means I don’t worry about just rinsing one out when we’re not at the house. There were no bells and whistles. It has two major components, the lid and the cup. When you buy a set of four, the company includes a stopper of sorts. I would like to explain the physics by which it attaches to the lid, but I’ll fail horribly. They don’t attach exceptionally well. Since toddlers are in a perpetual state of frenetic motion, this led to a constant spillage. Victoria was a one-woman Exxon Valdez. Secondly, the way the lids would affix to the cup let them to come apart easily if dropped from a reasonably high distance, such as a high chair.

I spent a few weeks chasing her around and despairing of her ever getting enough liquids in her tiny little toddler body, as well as encouraging toddler dental health. That is, until I heard of the Munchkin Miracle 360 cup.

The 360 (that’s what the cool kids call it) has three parts. The cup, the spout, and the suction mechanism. These aren’t the official names, mind you. The wonderful thing is that all three are dishwasher safe. They are also [nearly] spill proof. I will say that when V slams it on the ground like she’s just scored a touchdown for the Miami Dolphins, it does spill a bit. But overall, it fits the bill for a toddler spill-proof sippy cup. I suppose that if it was completely spill proof, it would be at the expense of some law of physics and every use would create a black hole…

I digress. Not only are the 360’s practically toddler-proof, they are actually recommended by dentists! The fact that V can drink from any part of the cup encourages proper toddler dental development. We have 6 in rotation in our house. When we get close to 18 months old, I will remove the top and she’ll be drinking from the cup like a big girl!

Let me know if you tried any of these and what your experiences were!