For the Kids Over 3 What Cups Do You Use?

[SunflowerMama]

Do you just have regular open cups with meals or are they in sippy straw cups, take n' toss, etc.? What about snacks? We're using the take n toss cups now but I'm thinking about going to open cups for my older kids (over 3). I'm just dreading the spills everywhere.

What does everyone else use?

[gbcc]

I bought the sip straws from walmart with the matching sip bowls!

[DanceMom]

I still use the take and toss sippy cups..They think lunch time is play time sometimes - I can see spilled milk everyday !

[Jewels]

I use open cups, for 2 and 3 year olds. There is spilled milk once in a while, but not to often.

[melskids]

once they turn two, and even sometimes a little sooner, i move them to open cups. i only give them a little at a time so if they do spill, its not much. some may see it as a hassle to keep refilling cups, but i think its worth it. i hate sippy cups (having to clean them, and trying not to lose all the parts)

[SunflowerMama]

I think I'm just going to go to open cups. I am switching all my plastic dishes out for corelle dishes so I think I'll just do the cups at the same time. I also think I'm just going to get eco-friendly water bottles for the kids to have b/w meals/snacks with their water.

[melissa ann]

I use open cups for 2 and 3 yr olds. Most of the spills that happen occur with the 4 1/2 yr old. Go figure.

[AmandasFCC]

I use open cups with my 2+ year olds. And I agree, my oldest is the one who spills the most

[kendallina]

My preschool will have 2-3 year olds this fall, and we'll be using open cups, it's all I ever used with preschool kids and haven't had huge problems with messes (yes, some spills, of course). I figure that they need to learn sometime and most children can handle it pretty well by this age. Messes help us learn and I always try to have the children 'help' clean the messes they make.

[emosks]

At age 4 they use cups from restaurants for kids meals that I bring home. Only filled half full. For snacks in the daycare room they still use a sippy. Right now it's only my kids using cups.

[safechner]

I use sippy cups for the kids ever 7 years old because she usually spilled a lot.

[Chickenhauler]

I use open cups for 2 and 3 yr olds. Most of the spills that happen occur with the 4 1/2 yr old. Go figure.

Are we watching the same kids?

Yup, we have an older boy who is able to regularly dump his glass over at least once per meal minimum. He drinks from a sippy cup.

[Preschool/daycare teacher]

We use open cups for the children 3 & older. But for a couple of the 3 yr olds it seems they must switch back and forth at home. At daycare they do just fine with open cups and then suddenly we go through a spell where they're spilling them constantly. Most of the time our milk spills happen with a 2 yr old who loves to get an open cup full of milk and pour it into another open cup (when it's the most chaotic times and I don't see her until too late, of course).

[Abigail]

Our daycare center uses "H20 Mini" Bottles for ages 2+ for water daily. They get washed in a commercial grade dishwasher in the building I'm at when they need it. Sometimes they don't get washed for a week, but it is ONLY water that is in it. Each bottle is 18 oz. and gets filled most of the way with cold water and kept in the fridge on a school-like tray for easy access. Each one has a name in permanent marker and the tops are all different colors. The one I purchased for use at my home has a pink top. They were only $1.00 each at Wal-Mart, but I've seen them almost everywhere.

The children on bottles get those supplied from home, but we do have a 3-pack of the cheaper ones with cute designs as back ups. We have two children roughly 12 months-24 months that have a sippy cup that is also just a general sippy cup. Below is a picture of the H20 Mini...you'll find over a dozen in our fridge, LOL.

For meals, we sometimes use water which is the bottle below, but when we do milk we use small brightly-colored cups. We only fill it about an inch to an inch and a half full as most children don't drink much. We really don't have many spills except for a two year old. All the children sit far enough away from each other where they can not "play at the table" and most of the children are to interested in asking for seconds for food or just simply eating than fiddling around to create a mess.

[Rachel]

Open cups for meals (all kids from around 2), and water bottles (they bring) for water between and water at the park.