Baby and toddler training cups ...

Ok, so how many of us as parents have stood looking at training cups and wondered 'how exactly do I pick one?' They all offer basically the same way but which one is your child going to take to.

I like many other parents have tried and tested many different styles of training cups, each time whilst buying a new one, keeping my fingers crossed that my child will be able to drink from this new one.

Trying to move your child from bottles to training cups takes a lot of patience and consistent encouragement from you to your child. They aren't going to know how to use it straight away and too many parents that I have come accross are so quick to say 'my baby can't drink from a cup'. I mean seriously, they need plenty of time to learn and if you give up trying, they aren't going to are they?

Whilst looking for a first baby cup for my youngest son, I came across Vital baby products. I fell in love with the range as not only are the practical, I liked the look too. I bought their Baby's first tumbler.

This was a non handled cup with a removeable valve inside. As with most children, at 4 months my son found having to suck through the valve with out actually knowing what was inside an annoying chore so for a few weeks, I removed the valve and helped him learn that out of his cup was going to come his juice. Then when I put the valve back in, he was more determined as he knew what he would get for his hard work.

I then tried him with a flip up lid cup which he could drink from easily but unfortunately when left to his own devices with it, he would enjoy tipping it upside down and emptying the contents onto himself and his surroundings .... needless to say, i went on search for another one and but this cup in the cupboard as a spare.

Next came Tommee Tippee's Easy flow cup which was fantastic but my little monkey eventually took to chewing it whilst teething and the spout didn't last long but to be honest, I think this is the case for any cups with soft spouts.

So I looked at cups with a hard spout and found one with a plastic lining kind of valve. Every child I have known try these cups have struggled to drink from them.

So next I bought a Tommee Tippee Explora easy drink cup which was absolutely fantastic and my son took to it extremely well. (Again not one for a child who likes to chew on the spout)

I tried my son on a Tommee Tippee Explora Active straw beaker and although at first he seemed quite excited by the idea of a straw to begin with, I did notice he was drinking less. I have now reverted back to the previous cup and once again he is drinking wonderfully.

Today though, I was asked a very good question, whilst they are in the chewing stage, baring in mind hard spouted cups as we have been over are no good in my opinion, what kind of cup would be suitable.

Me being me have always muddled through this stage trying various things and coming out the other end none the wiser but I have recently come across a cup I hadn't seen before, the Vital Baby 3 stage trainer cup which eventually becomes a cup without a spout but also none spill. I think these cups are definately worth a look. Tommee tippee also do these type of lids to fit their First cup. Really wish I had of given these a go when we were looking for something different. I am thinking however that I might just buy one and have a try with it.

So quick overview of baby/toddler cups I would recommend:

Vital Baby's 1st Tumbler - from 4 months

Tommee Tippee Easiflow Cup - from 6 months

Tommee Tippee Explora Easy Drink Cup - from 6 months
Tommee Tippee Explora Active Straw Beaker Cup - from 12 months

Ones to consider:

Vital baby 3 stage trainer cup