I Spent a Year Testing Toddler Cups With My Son. These Are the 7 Best.
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Likestarting solid foods, introducing babies to the concept of drinking from a toddler cup can be messy, but it’s best done early, starting around6 months old. This gives children plenty of low-stakes practice while making the transition from bottle or breast to straw cups, water bottles, and open cups. Since the muscles and skills needed to drink from a nipple are different from the ones needed to drink from a straw or open cup, you’ll want a cup that sets your kids up for success and doesn’t get in the way of them staying hydrated.
According toKaitlin Wiseman, a family doctor and co-founder of Playhouse MD, the most important things to look for are cups that are open or free-flow, and straws that are valve-free. Many parents prefer a straw with a valve because valves are what keep the straw or cup from leaking. But they also make kids have to suck really hard to get any liquid out, which can cause them to drink less and doesn’t promote the same oral motor development. Sippy cups are also not ideal, Wiseman says, as well as any kind of cup where you have to bite down to get liquid to flow.
I have spent the past year testing toddler cups with my son, who’s currently 2 and a half, trying to find the perfect combination of leakproof, open flow, durable, and easy to use. There are a lot of duds out there, but with the help of experts like Wiseman as well as fellow Strategist parents with tons of experience, I’ve discovered many excellent options, including cups for true beginners and water bottles for older toddlers.
Our top picks:
Whatwe’relookingfor
Type of cup
In this guide, I am focusing mainly on open cups and straw cups. These two types of cup go hand in hand to help young children stay hydrated and meet the American Academy of Pediatrics’s milestone of being able to drink from an open-flow cup with minimal spillage by the time they are 18 months old. According to Wiseman andSolid Starts founder Jenny Best, learning to drink from an open cup encourages healthy oral development including mature swallowing, good lip and tongue control, and eventually self-feeding skills.
Open cups are used more often at home during mealtime and straw cups are used more often as a transition between bottles and open cups. Straw cups are often preferred by parents for use away from home, where spilled water or milk is more inconvenient. And as children get older and start day care or preschool, they will typically need a toddler-friendly water bottle to bring with them each day.
For open cups, I prioritized cups that are easy for little hands to hold and designed with weighted bottoms or high sides to reduce tipping and help prevent spills. For straw cups and water bottles, I prioritized soft, short, valve-free straws that are safe for toddlers and don’t require forceful sucking to drink.
Materials and durability
Most toddler cups are made of stainless steel, silicone, or plastic. Of the three, stainless steel is consideredthe safest materialto drink out of and has the added benefit of not holding onto soapy residue after cleaning. It’s very sturdy and lasts a long time but can dent easily when dropped. For this reason, some stainless-steel water bottles for toddlers come with a plastic or silicone bumper on the bottom.
Cups made from flexible silicone are a favorite among parents as they literally bounce back when dropped (or thrown). Plastic cups are lightweight and less expensive but the material is less stable and therefore potentiallyless safeto drink out of, especially if used with hot liquids or if left to sit in the sun. If you are buying a plastic or silicone toddler cup, you should confirm that it is BPA-free and doesn’t contain PVC, BPS, latex, and phthalate materials.
Leakproof
Since there is no way to keep an open cup from leaking, they are best used at home where spills are easier to clean up and less of a big deal. Beginner straw cups are often not leakproof because they are usually valve-free, which makes it easier for babies to get used to the feeling of sucking through a straw. But straw cups and water bottles for older toddlers, even those with valve-free straws, are typically made leakproof via caps that stop the flow of liquid when closed. During testing, I shook and turned these straw cups upside down, both with and without the caps closed, to ensure they wouldn’t suddenly leak in a backpack or spill all over the floor at preschool.
Cleaning
Consistently cleaning the various parts of your toddler cup is as important as it is annoying. And generally the more small parts the cup has, the more difficult it will be to clean. All of the cups and water bottles on this list are dishwasher-safe (usually on the top rack), but most of the parents I spoke to said they choose to clean the straw parts by hand with alittle brushto prevent any mold from growing. Whenever possible, I prioritized cups that are easy to clean.
Extra details
Most toddler cups are pretty simple by design, so details like a particularly easy-to-use flip cap, a wide straw, or a large array of cute illustrations can mean the difference between the cup you almost buy and the one you actually take home. For example: If you have a kid who likes to chew on straws, you’ll want to consider buying from a brand that sells replacements. In my testing, and in my conversations with other parents, these minor details kept coming up either as the reason for brand and product loyalty or the reason they gave up on a cup that initially seemed perfect but ultimately didn’t work out.
Best toddler cup overall
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Type of cup:Combination sippy, straw, and open |Materials:Powder-coated stainless steel |Leakproof:Yes| Cleaning:Dishwasher-safe
I deeply appreciate products that grow with a child, and this toddler cup from Como Tomo, a brand known for its innovative baby bottles, is one of the few options that works well for babies who are just beginning to transition away from the bottle and older toddlers too. It’s basically three cups in one: a sippy cup, a straw cup, and an open cup. It comes with a silicone sip spout and a silicone straw that are easy to swap depending on your child’s age. I know I said above that I didn’t consider sippy cups for this guide, but the Como Tomo’s sippy spout is made of such soft silicone, with a large-enough opening, that it functions more like a funnel that merely slows the flow of liquid, no biting or sucking required. The straw is made of the same ultrasoft silicone; my 2.5-year-old son loves the feel of it and refers to it as “squishy.” The straw does have something like a valve (basically a layer of silicone that’s cut into four sections) to limit leakage, but because the material is so soft, there is virtually zero resistance when drinking out of the straw.
My son uses this cup with the straw when we are out of the house and as an open cup at home during mealtimes. For me, it checks a long list of boxes that don’t usually come together in a single cup: It’s made of insulated stainless steel and keeps water cold for hours. It has a push-button lid that makes the cup totally leakproof when the lid is closed, plus a soft valve that prevents it from leaking without the lid, unless you really shake it. It’s small enough to be held as an open cup but not so small that it won’t work for an older child. The handles, which you can remove, have a clever notched design that guarantees they are always correctly lined up with the straw or spout, instead of endlessly spinning around the cup. And it comes in two colors that are bright but not garish.
Our Como Tomo has been dropped a bunch of times and the powder coating still hasn’t chipped, but note that it doesn’t have a bottom bumper like some of the other stainless-steel cups on this list. And because the straw is quite soft, it may not be the best option for toddlers who like to chew on their straws. With that said, Wiseman did tell me that soft straws are the safest option for kids just learning to use a straw cup, as hard plastic and harder silicone straws pose a risk of injury, especially among extra wiggly children.
Best (less expensive) toddler cup overall
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Type of cup:Combination straw and open |Materials:Silicone |Leakproof:No| Cleaning:Dishwasher-safe
Like the Como Tomo toddler cup, this straw cup from Ola Baby can be used in multiple ways. It is Wiseman’s favorite cup for teaching toddlers to drink from a straw because the whole cup is squishy, so you can squeeze the sides to make liquid go up the straw and into your kid’s mouth; this helps babies and young toddlers understand the concept of how a straw works and encourages them to suck up more liquid. She also likes that the cup has a wide, weighted bottom so it’s less prone to tipping, a useful feature when using it without its lid as an open cup. And it has measurement indicators embossed on the sides so you can easily see how much your kid is drinking. I like that the straw doesn’t have a valve and is bigger than most so you can use the cup for smoothies as well as water and milk. It comes in five translucent pastel colors and two sizes: five or nine ounces. There is also atwo-ounce open-cupversion available in the same colors.
Best open cup for babies and toddlers
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Type of cup:Open |Materials:Silicone |Leakproof:No| Cleaning:Dishwasher-safe
This is the first cup that I used with my son when he was 6 months old. It’s also the open cup most recommended by my fellow Strategist parents including deputy editor Simone Kitchens, senior writer Lauren Ro, andNew Yorkfeatures editor Julia Edelstein, all of whom used it with their kids as a first cup. It is perfectly sized for tiny hands and has a weighted bottom to prevent tipping, like the Ola Baby cup above. It’s made of soft but grippy silicone and shaped with an angled lip to create a slow flow of liquid, which can help prevent choking. It’s also the cup that Best recommended when I spoke to her about her favoritebaby-led-weaning products. The cup comes in six colors and three sizes: two ounces as shown here, as well as largerfour-andeight-ouncesizes. The two larger sizes also come with lids and straws.
Best stainless-steel open cup for toddlers
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Type of cup:Open |Materials:Stainless steel |Leakproof:No| Cleaning:Dishwasher-safe
Once my son had mastered drinking out of an open cup, I retired my EZPZ cup and switched to this stainless-steel kid cup from Ahmisa; it was recommended to me by Ro, who has two of them at home and uses them constantly with her two sons. I love how simple it is, how not babyish it looks, and how easy it is to clean. I wash mine by hand because I don’t have a dishwasher, but Ro puts hers in the dishwasher and says they’ve held up fine. Plus, because the cups aren’t made of silicone, there’s never any residual taste of soap or old milk to worry about. We use it at dinnertime or before bed when my son asks for milk or water. Sometimes we also use it as a pretend play cup when he’s playing kitchen or making me tea in the bath. He’s also dropped it a million times and it’s never dented or scratched. There arethree colorsavailable, in two sizes available: eight and 12 ounces. Right now we have the eight-ounce cup, but I plan to buy the next size up as he grows.
Best insulated water bottles for older toddlers
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Type of cup:Straw |Materials:Stainless steel coated with chip-resistant finish, silicone straw |Leakproof:When cap is twisted closed| Cleaning:Dishwasher-safe
For older toddlers who drink more and need to bring a water bottle to school, Wiseman likes this Klean Kanteen straw cup because it closes fully and has a soft, valve-free straw that is short, so they can’t put it too deep into their mouth. This makes it a good option for toddlers who play sports, as there is no risk of hurting themselves with the straw if they are drinking quickly during a break. My 5-year-old niece has had this cup for two years (hers is printed with a strawberry pattern) and loves twisting the top open and closed by herself at school. Her mom likes that it’s insulated so the water stays cold all day and that it has never leaked in her daughter’s backpack. The bottle also has a convenient carry handle at the top and comes in six patterns. The only downside is that it doesn’t have a bumper at the bottom to prevent dents.
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Type of cup:Straw |Materials:Stainless steel, silicone, plastic |Leakproof:When cap is closed| Cleaning:Top-rack dishwasher-safe
For my son’s long days at school and after-care, I pack this B.Box insulated water bottle. It has a valve-free straw that is angled to reduce leakage and very easy to drink from, keeps his water cold, is easy for him to open and close, fits in the mesh pocket on the side of hislunch box, and has a hard plastic bumper on the bottom so it doesn’t dent when he drops it on concrete. We are on our second one after the first one got lost at camp this summer. And for a while I was sending him to camp with aMunchkin Cool Cat insulated straw cupthat we also tested. But I swear he was barely drinking water on those days because the straw of the Munchkin is so hard to drink out of (both my husband and I have tried using the Munchkin and even with very forceful sucking, we couldn’t get much water). So I bought another B.Box and we have been very happy with it. It has never leaked, except when my son intentionally flicks the straw back in a certain way to make it spray droplets into the air. But that is possible with all of the valve-less water bottles he has used. He has finally grown tired of that game. And it’s very easy to clean by hand, though it’s also safe to put in the dishwasher on the top rack.
Best (less expensive) insulated water bottle for older toddlers
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Type of cup:Straw |Materials:Stainless steel, silicone, plastic |Leakproof:When cap is closed| Cleaning:Top-rack dishwasher-safe
During our time without the B.Box water bottle in rotation, my son also used a hand-me-down Thermos Funtainer, which has been a go-to water bottle for Ro as well as Strategist senior editors Jen Trolio and Winnie Yang. It has essentially the same exact valve-less straw as the B.Box and is completely leakproof when the straw is installed correctly and the lid is closed. I initially had a few problems with major leakage, but that turned out to be my fault for not pulling the straw up to secure it into the lid after cleaning. Still, the B.Box straw has never leaked a drop and I don’t have to pull very hard to get the straw in place. However, Ro says she lives and dies by the Thermos Funtainer and has had hers long enough that she’s boughtreplacement strawsto keep them going; all the Funtainer users I’ve spoken to appreciate that Thermos has replacements available, especially for kids who chew straws or in case you fall behind on cleaning.
The Funtainer comes in two sizes: 12 and 16 ounces, both of which fit into most water-bottle pockets on backpacks and lunch boxes. And as kids get older, you can swap the top for one with a straw-free spout. Trolio’s 7-year-old daughter now carries a16-ounce Funtainer with a spouted lidto second grade each day, where she can refill it herself without taking off the lid (Trolio, meanwhile, is thrilled she doesn’t ever have to clean a straw). Like the B.Box, the Funtainer has a plastic bumper on the bottom to prevent dents or chips and is top-rack dishwasher-safe.
Ourexperts
•Jenny Best, founder of Solid Starts
•Julia Edelstein,New Yorkfeatures editor and parent
•Simone Kitchens, Strategist deputy editor and parent
•Lauren Ro, Strategist senior writer and parent
•Jen Trolio, Strategist senior editor and parent
•Kaitlin Wiseman, pediatrician, parent, and co-founder of Playhouse MD
•Winnie Yang, Strategist senior editor and parent
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