No More Sippy Cups??!!

Starbucks has small insulated cups (like a little travel thermos) with flip-tops for children. We got one with dancing reindeer on it for Christmas...they have spring-like patterns on them now. They work great!

We do the same thing! My kids enjoy milk upstairs each morning and we still use the trusty sippy cups. They are the "toddler" big kid kind with no plug thing, but they are still sippys. I have been wondering what to switch to also. It's really just a matter of wanting to get the "baby" stuff out of the house. My kids are 6 and 4 and use normal cups all other times of the day. It's just the morning routine that we either need to adjust and have milk downstairs or switch to sports cups. I hate to buy more cups when these are working though!

That's funny there is another mom who is doing this too...I just got fed up with so many sippies in my cupboard! I was unable to find a regular glass unless I dug around for it. My kids are 8, 5, and 3...and yes, the 8yo would still use a sippie if I let him. I absolutely understand your need for that little comfort in a non-spillable container.

I put all of ours away in storage, first (we may have one more child so I saved them). Then there was one in the dishwasher that was being cleaned, and another was found under a car seat. I decided that we will attempt to use regular glasses or mugs for all drinks, but in the event that I need a sippie...there's my backup. It has really helped me reinforce the "you must eat at the table" end of things. (They love to walk around eating and sometimes Iet them...well, no more!) They seem to understand something being spillable and they respect that we always always always must drink at the table! It ALSO has helped them determine just how thirsty they truly are. If they can't be bothered to come to the table, then they must not be truly thirsty.

I have needed sippies once since then, for travel - that's been about it.

I understand wanting them to be comfy in bed...my kids do the same with cartoons in our bed and I even used to let them eat snacks there! But I got fed up with the crumbs and occasional drink spill. After three years...it was time to have my cleanliness back (and not have to change sheets every day!)

Also, mine know how to unscrew the tops of sippies. So I had to put an end to it for that reason alone...

Good luck to you!

The Thermos Foogo cups are great. They do have straws but the straw comes in two pieces and is easily washed in the dishwasher. The great thing is that they are insulated and will keep the milk warm.

I know my daughter has about 15 sippies, all playtex so the lids interchange, but at some point I will get rid of all of them and replace it with a few "big girl" sippy cups. We will make it a special treat and go pick out a nice "coffee travel mug" type insulated mug. My daughter will always have some type of "sippy cup" because Mommy still uses one for her coffee every day and has no right to not let her use one ;-). They have ones that are automatic spill proof ones, but those tend to be hard to clean out. Just a simple flip-top insulated one maybe? They have a ton of inexpensive ones at ROSS, Marshalls, etc.

I use the munchkin straw cups and always have because my son wouldn't take a sippy. I have had no problems with the milk. I just rinse them before they go into the dishwasher and I have a pretty lousy dishwasher, but they come clean just fine. They have those silicone "valveless" valves where it is just a cut in the silicone that opens. You can get them at Target, Walmart, etc. They are the soft flexible kind. I also have the munchkin dishwasher basket with the little flip down straw holders on the side. I put the hard internal straw in those, the soft top into the top of the basket where the nipples would go, and the rings that hold the tops in the basket part. I don't let milk get gross and curdled in there, but I don't rush to rinse them out either. If the milk dries, I just fill the cup with water and let the pieces soak in it for a minute. If milk does cake in there, pipe cleaners run down the length would take care of it. I've never had to worry about doing that though. They are not completely leak proof, and if you put cold milk in them sometimes it will push its way up out the straw if it is just sitting there warming up, but you have to leave them a while for that to happen. But for what you are wanting them for, I think they would be fine. Better than take n toss or something that has no valve at all.

I use straws (strait not swirly) and clean them with pipe cleaners from the craft store, you know those flexible wire things. I also have a straw holder in my dish washer, it works well. My favorite straws are the one that are thick clear plastic and bendy. I can't remember where I got them though. I also use the first years tumbler cups with sippy lids, you can stick the straws through the opening and it lessens the spills.
Good luck finding a solution,
E.

We use Klean Kanteens with sports tops. They are great for the kids to haul around, aren't made with plastic or aluminum so no leaching worries in regards to metals or chemicals. For warm drinks they work fine and if you like hot or really cold drinks, they have insulated ones too. They even work with a bottle nipple or sippy top so we put them in them from a very young age. Another option are the glass baby bottles with the silicone sleeve on them. I think they are called Life Factory. They are great. Can go from freezer to steamer with no issues. The silicone sleeves are great for insulation and protection. They have water drinking bottles too for the next stage.

Milk is really hard to wash out of anything. We use the Take and Toss cups and disposable bendy straws. I think a bag of 100 is less than $2.00. If I rinse them out as soon as she's done with her milk (ours is addicted to choco milk before bed), then I can use them a couple of times. If not, it's not a big deal to throw them out. The straws fit perfectly in the holes in the lid of the cup.

Yes, mama, get rid of them!! The work fine for a short term use but then at three your daughter/son should be able to sit up and drink from a small sized cup or a smaller mug. It will just take a few times of sitting through it with them so that they remain focused on what they are learning until they have it...After the sippy's went away, I went to the thrift store and got some of those old fashioned juice glasses (I looked for the sturdier thicker glass) the ones that only hold about 4 oz. at a time....you can always refill...and also the same should go with a small mug with handle...they just need to understand that it doesn't have a lid and cannot be taken everywhere (emphasize that it will spill) - just left on the table unless they are drinking....Keep with it...it WILL stick! Way to go mom!

Can't figure out how to make this site let me review the responses you've already gotten. What I do for cups with straws is I bought some "disposable" cups with straws (made by first years) and then instead of cleaning the straws that came with the cups I just use flexible straws and throw them out after one use.

What about travel coffee mugs? Also, there are some great reusable water bottles at Costco at the moment that don't spill and are easy to use - they're also BPA-free plastic. REI also has a great selection of reusable water bottles and travel mugs as does Target. You can probably find them pretty much anywhere.

Costco has some pretty neat spill proof kids cups right now. They are bpa free which is great and have a sipping area similar to a travel coffee cup. They have a button on the side that you push in and it retracts the flap on the drinking area. They need a bit more hand size and strength than my 2yo can muster at the moment but they might be what you are looking for!

I like the costco spill proof ones that others have suggested. Although, I'm a pretty big fan of just going from a sippy to a normal cup and not a straw cup at all. Personally, I'd just change my routine and get the kids their own special coffee cups (like the plastic kind with their names on it or a cool design) and have them sit and the kitchen table and have their "coffee" with mom in the morning, then they can run off and watch cartoons in bed. Or, if you feel you want to stay with your in your bed cartoon and milk thing in the morning, then some travel coffee cups will do too. I just don't like the idea of going from a "sippy cup" to some other older kid type of "sippy cup"... kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? If it only takes them a few seconds to drink down their milk then why not just have them have it at the table.

you might also want to check out the tommee tippee spill proof cups (you can get them at babies'r'us).

http://www.tommeetippee.us/explora/546016_blue_green.html

Good luck!

C Marie

You need some hard and fast rules: A- No eating in bed...unless you are sick really sick.
B- The children are old enough to drink from any glass or cup. Without straws.
C- Limit TV watching to an hour a day. Cartoons are filler. If the kids want to cuddle in bed ok but TV in the morning in your bed. Hide the remote.
It's your bed and your morning too.

HOORAY!!!!! You got the house!!! I would suggest travel coffee mugs. They come in all sizes and are usually dishwasher safe and good for on the road... Good Luck,sweetie.
G'ma C.

what is your objection to the sippy cup? If you like the routine in the morning, and you want them to be able to have milk in your bed, then I don't think that there is really a good alternative...what, really, is the difference between a water bottle and a sippy cup? We do like the aluminum water bottles (some with spouts, some with just a screw top) but they aren't no-drip...

Haven't read your other answers, but we are struggling to switch to the sippy from the bottle with my one year old. She likes to grab my travel coffee mug and try to drink from it, so we decided to get her one and teacher her how to drink from that instead. It is like a normal cup, but it has the mug style handle and a top so she can hold it her self and has an easier time not pouring it down her shirt like with a normal cup because she can put her mouth over the whole opening. If I were you, I would take the kids to walmart or target and let them each pick out a special "morning milk cup" from the travel mug section. You only need one for each kid, they are great as the kids get older for water in the car and you can double task them for your coffee if you want.

Just a thought :)

How about just using a cup?:)