Sunday, February 21, 2010

The BEST Straw Cup with Handles

Update: May 15, 2010
Another great NEW straw cup with handles found by a Mom on BabyCenter.
Check out the cool mOmma Rocking Cup Green

I have searched far and wide for the best straw cup with handles for my son. Trust me, I have looked everywhere! I finally found something Jack and I really like. It's the Combi Straw Cup and although it is rather pricey, it is far better than anything I have seen and well worth the money.


Combi Straw Cup

Pros:
1. No leaking
2. Easy clean
3. Lid closes tight for easy travel
4. Contoured handles
5. Lightweight
6. No straw biting needed to start flow of liquid

Cons:
1. Pricey at $13


I use the Combi cup for milk during meals and then I use the Munchkin Straw Cup for juice/water outside of mealtime. Since the Munchkin cup does not have handles and is heavier, I help Jack hand over hand and hold the cup with him. When he is stronger and a bit older, I am hoping he can hold it on his own (and not toss it across the room). Here is the cup.

Munchkin Straw Cup


Pros:
1. Easy clean
2. Good straw mechanism

Cons:
1. Leaks slightly from lid rim when upside down
2. Heavier
3. No handles


Now for beginner straw cup recommendations, I like the Rubbermaid Juice Box and the Honey Bear. I call these beginning straw cups because you are able to squeeze the liquid into your child's mouth for them to understand the objective, before they are able to actually use the straw themselves. I personally only used the Rubbermaid one, but many of Jack's friends love the Honey Bear cup. The key to teaching your child how to drink from a straw is repetition, repetition, repetition! I started Jack on a the Rubbermaid Juice box filled with water when Jack was 9 months old.


If you are interested in purchasing any of these 4 cups, here are the links.
Combi cup
Munchkin cup
Rubbermaid juice box
Honey bear





Nuby Straw Cup with handles - NO


This is a straw cup I considered buying, until I saw the tip of the straw. You have to bite the straw to get the liquid out, which does not teach the proper straw drinking technique. I would NOT recommend this straw cup.


Sippy Cups - NO

And for those of you wondering why I just don't use a sippy cup, since that's all that is sold in the stores. Drinking from a straw promotes a closed mouth drinking method, which is much more strengthening for those kids that have low-tone. Sippy cups promote open mouth drinking and only use muscles in the tongue to get the liquid out. Drinking from a straw teaches the correct drinking methods and erases confusion from going from bottle, to sippy cup, to open cup. Now for the typically developing kids out there, it's not the end of the world to use a sippy cup, but even for my baby #2, I plan to go straight to the straw cup from breastfeeding.  Here is a great article I found, So Long Sippy Cups.

*I consulted Jack's Speech Therapist for help in describing why straw cups are better.

**Also, I don't mean to preach, I just figured I'd help other Moms out there, since I've already done all the research.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for the combi info!!! I ordered the honey bear and I have the rubbermaid but I've wanted a straw cup with handles because Bennett will hold a sippy with handles but of course we don't really want him using a sippy. I guess you can't squeeze the combi though so I should still start with the hb and the rubbermaid so he gets the idea of a straw- right?

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  2. nice work katie! preachy but nice!!! jk When ever jimmy is ready for step two we will get that cup. i love it when you do the research for me!

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  3. Good to know! I haven't seen that one around.

    With the Nuby you don't have to bite it. The first time you use it you make sure the little slit is split open and then the force of the beverage opens it just like any other straw cup. Violette acutally prefered that one!

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  4. I never saw this post, so glad I was looking through again. We started Lucas on a sippy cup on the recommendation of our ST. She didn't think he was ready for the straw cup but I think that's baloney. I'm going to order the combi today.

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  5. thanks for this post! i don't know why they don't make more cups with handles and straws....sippy cups are way tooo popular! =) i saw that combi cup but didn't know if the straw was hard to suck from. so this really helps.

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  6. Thank-you! My son, who has low tone, is turning 12 months next week. He drools quite a bit and still cannot eat 'solid' foods whatsoever. We've had him evaluated, and he has been recommended for feeding therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. However, our insurance company has been making things difficult so we haven't been able to start therapy yet. We've been trying to get him to drink from a sippy cup with no success from nine months. I'm going to get the Rubbermaid cup today. Thanks for the information!

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