Searching for the perfect sippy cup

I liked the Gerber and Munchkin ones initially, but I love the Playtex ones, if only for the fact that their valve is almost impossible to dislodge.
Even after repeated beatings on the floor/carseat/table, the valve remains in place.
Also helpful is not tightening the lids too tightly. For some reason, the helps with the leaking issues.

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I can only commiserate. I have five different kinds, none of which work well. My son is just learning so we are still searching for "the one". He can't figure out how to get anything out of them with the valves in. Without the valves, he bangs and swings the cups around, spraying everything within six feet.

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My daughter loves the disposable sippy cups that they have at Walmart. They are good enough to reuse them all the time, but if one gets lost or something, we are out about $0.75. I forget the brand off the top of my head.

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I've tried most of the ones available and the one that is my current favorite is the one from Nuby. It's spillproof and has no extra parts. http://www.netkidswear.com/12oznunogrcu.html

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I have many different types, and my favorite (mainly because the valve thingamabob stays put and you can buy replacement pieces in case it starts to smell like the dishwasher) is the Playtex brand. Bonus? It fits in the cupholder of the stroller better than the rest. The Nuby brand is OK, too, but it eventually leaked at our house.

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Ah, adventures in sippy cups. I have 9 different types of sippy cups in my cupboard most of which were violently rejected by my daughter between the ages of 5 months and a year. I started with the Avent, too, and Morgan just chewed the heck out of the spout and I hated that it had 6 separate pieces. The Gerber was no good because the valve fell out everytime she would bang the cup. A lot of people I know swear by the Nuby cups (http://www.netkidswear.com/12oznunogrcu.html)because of their very soft, nipple like spout. We had some initial success with it, but after a few uses, Morgan (at 8 months old!) figured out how to twist the lid off. Very messy. FINALLY, we tried the Take & Toss Little Learners from The First Years (http://www.drugstore.com/qxp86780_334918_sespider/the_first_years/take_and_toss_little_learner_spill_proof_cups.htm) They are relatively spill-proof, though not drip-proof. As long as we replaced the lids when the spout got chewed we found they weren't too messy. For older kids they have 7 and 9oz sizes. We use a 7oz insulated one for milk when we are on the go.
Morgan also likes straw cups now. We got her the basic Playtex Quick Straw (http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod959&CATID=100369&skuid=sku300959&V=G&ec=frgl_612067) and its worked out well. Again, not totally mess-proof, but tolerable. She can open and close it by herself and the straw doesn't come out, which is nice.
Good luck finding the perfect cup!

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My son has tried Gerber, Playtex, Nuby, Munchkin - none really catching on. I also found one that is not spill proof but he pretty much drowns himself with that one. He is most skilled with the Use and Toss type by 1st years. They clean up nicely in the dishwasher, are easy to hold onto and while spill proof - they do allow fluids to come through without such a strong sucking.

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Seriously - my favorite are the "disposable" plastic ones that are just a cup and a lid. They don't leak much - I don't get upset if we lose one or a milk one gets "lost" in the car for so long I can't stand to open it and there are only 2 pieces.

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Hands down the best. And i have tried literally every single sippy cup available through 2 kids over the last 6 years.
http://www.thefirstyears.com/products/product.asp?pValue=1804
The handle cup is great too: http://www.thefirstyears.com/products/product.asp?pValue=1765

No valves, lids stay on, no leaks, easy to hold, easy to clean.

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I have to second Corrine's response! The First Years cups are the BEST! There are no valves to lose, they're spill-proof, and they usually have a built-in cap to prevent accidental drips when taking it on the road.

We tried every sippy cup made when Cordy was first learning to use them. While this wasn't the one she first started with, it's the one we use the most now, because of the ease of cleaning and use.

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We use the Gerber cups almost exclusively. I like that I can buy just the replacement valves if I need to. We've only had trouble w/ the valves popping out a few times. We tried the Advent as well but we had trouble getting the spout tips clean and dry and they ended up growing funky things up in there. We have a couple of Playtex for backup but I think those valves came loose more frequently than the Gerber.

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The Nuby sippy cups are the best. You can get them at WalMart. They don't have a lot of parts and the soft spout is easy for babies transitioning to a cup.

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We also use the First Years ones almost exclusively. We do have a Gerber straw cup for carrying water in the diaper bag, because the First Years ones don't fit well into the bottle holders on the sides of our bag.

I really like that the First Years ones are cheap enough that we can have tons of them around, too. We always have one or two clean ones in the diaper bag, so that we have one available if we stop somewhere for lunch or dinner at a restaurant.

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Take and Toss rocks. We (after buying 18 different brands of sippy cups) went straight to the straw cups, which are awesome, and less than a buck apiece. If they can drink out of juice box straws, these are perfect. Then you're all set at McDonald's or a restaurant, too, because they're accustomed to straw cups. They still get a little confused and try to tip up the straw cups, but we're working on that.

We practice with regular plastic cups without lids in the bathtub, but that's a work in progress.

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I am another First Years cup advocate. We have used it exclusively for over a year. They do not spill, rarely leak and last forever and ever.

I used the Nuby cups for a period of time while making the switch from bottle to sippy, which worked due to the soft spout. After a short while, my kid decided to chew on the spout which causes leaks later on.

The First Years take and toss cups are also my friends. Even the ones with the straws do not leak!

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We used to like the Nuby ones, too but we realized they get pretty leaky after a while and also the kids have figured out how to "milk" them - they turn them upside down and squeeze the spout to drip the liquid out. Nice. I was so hopeful about those because I hate the valves on the other ones. They just seem like they would never get clean.

Which leads me to my favorite-ist sippy cup EVER! Drumroll please ... The Tumblemates Spill-Proof Big Drink Cups from The First Years! Whatta name! Whatta sippy! They are leak-proof, have no valve and are durable. Woo woo.

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Also - the place to see that sippy is here: http://www.thefirstyears.com/products/product.asp?pValue=1760

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My year old doesn't like sippy cups. She much rather prefers drinking from straws or directly from the cup.

I've tried a few different kinds and I can only coax her to drink from them as long as the no-spill valve is removed, and even then she doesn't like them. It would be so much easier if she would take to the sippy cup cause then I wouldn't have to worry about spills as much, and I could let her hold her own cup.

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We like the take and toss ones I think by the first years but now my son age 2 and a half can open them so we switched to the tommee tippee which I ADORE. No valves. EASY to clean. The top part is removeable to make sure you don't have mold, etc and it has an attached cover for the spout! PERFECT! The grandparents can't open it though haha. It also doesn't have a suction thing where you have to suck hard to get drink from it. It's approved by dentists even! You just drink like you would from a regular glass. I HIGHLY recommend this cup. In fact, if you can't find one, I'd be willing to get one for you and mail it. I live in The Netherlands but I think the brand is british.

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I wanted to add a link that talks about the tommeetippee cup!

http://www.tommeetippee.com/easiflow.htm

and a list where to buy http://www.tommeetippee.com/where.htm

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