How NOT to Have a TON of Kid Cups to Deal With

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We have tried a LOT of different watercups for our kids. A LOT. Sippy cups, straw cups, ones with flip tops. You name it. And I'm going to share with you my favorites.

But first, here's my whole deal on kids and drinks. I'm not judging you if you do it differently. I'm just gonna tell you how we do it and why we love it soooooo much. You do you.

Every day, every kid has a Meal Time Cup and a Water Cup.
In her Meal Time Cup, each kid gets one cup of milk first thing at breakfast.  When that kid finishes her milk, whether it's at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, we give the Meal Time Cup a quick rinse and then she gets water for the rest of the day in her Meal Time Cup.  At the end of each meal, the Meal Time Cup goes into the refrigerator until the next meal.  So yes, we have like 4 Meal Time Cups in our refrigerator all day until they make their way into the dishwasher at night.  Each kid has a specific color and knows which one is hers.  Sometimes I get corrected by my kids when I give the wrong cup to the wrong kid.  Haha!
Every kid also has a Water Cup.  We drink a LOT of water.  It is our main drink.  We have delicious, beautifully-filtered water thanks to our Berkey, so we DRINK WATER.  For each kid, we have a set of 2 distinctive water cups.  These are cups that are tough, spill-proof, travel well, and our kids can each work without assistance.  That is what the kid drinks from all day long except during meals (when they use their Meal Time Cups).  They are also expected to keep track of their Water Cups and put them away at the Water Cup Spot (a bookshelf in the living room) when they are done. When we take drinks somewhere, our kids know to take their Water Cups.
My favorite things about these cups:
  • They are 100% dishwasher safe (hooray!!!)
  • There are not one thousand valves to deal with
  • They are super high quality and last a LONG time
  • They all have lids and dramatically reduce spills
  • They hold enough so you're not constantly refilling, but not too much to be heavy or hard to deal with
Here are some of the rules that we have with Water Cups:
  • Only water goes in them
  • Turn your cup in to get another cup.  No, you may not have another cup because you can't find your cup.  Go find it.
  • Put your cup away so your baby sister doesn't drink out of it.
  • So long as you aren't struggling with peeing in your bed or needing to go potty at night after bedtime, you can have your Water Cup in bed.

Here are some cups that would work well as Meal Time cups.

My Favorite Water Cups:

Nalgene Tritan Grip-N-Sip

This is a 3-piece cup.  The sippy lid has a silicon valve.  This is my FAVORITE cup because it works so great, has only 3 pieces, and a lifetime warranty. 2 pack for $24.95

Contigo Autospout

When your kids decide that they're too Big for a sippy cup, this one is a great choice!  The button is easy for little thumbs.  It has that great top for them to hold on to.  The straw is super sturdy.  Once you get the hang of how the different pieces fit together, it's great, but it will take you a couple seconds.  $11.67

Nalgene OTF Bottle

The beautiful thing about most Nalgene cups (other than the amazing warranty) is that you can interchange the lids.  So technically, if you buy the Tritan Grip-N-Sip, you could just buy these lids on Amazon when your kids is older.  These cups/lids are terrific, but they do take a little getting used to with the closure.  I recommend them for 8+ years. 2 pack for $23.99

StarWars Tumbler

These cups are not spill-proof, but they are spill resistant.  They have a sliding opening in the lid for drinking.  It's a 16 oz cup that can be used for hot or cold drinks.  Microwave, freezer, and dishwasher safe.  Tervis makes them in a wide variety of styles.  15.99

For more on issues like this, check out our Parenting Hacks or You'll Want This boards.

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