Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>For the Kids Over 3 What Cups Do You Use?
SunflowerMama 05:22 AM 08-14-2010
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?
Reply
gbcc 05:44 AM 08-14-2010
I bought the sip straws from walmart with the matching sip bowls!
Reply
DanceMom 05:50 AM 08-14-2010
I still use the take and toss sippy cups..They think lunch time is play time sometimes - I can see spilled milk everyday !
Reply
Jewels 06:59 AM 08-14-2010
I use open cups, for 2 and 3 year olds. There is spilled milk once in a while, but not to often.
Reply
melskids 07:47 AM 08-14-2010
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)
Reply
SunflowerMama 08:22 AM 08-14-2010
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.
Reply
melissa ann 11:09 AM 08-14-2010
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.
Reply
AmandasFCC 12:42 PM 08-14-2010
I use open cups with my 2+ year olds. And I agree, my oldest is the one who spills the most
Reply
kendallina 01:09 PM 08-14-2010
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.
Reply
emosks 01:33 PM 08-14-2010
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.
Reply
safechner 04:27 PM 08-14-2010
I use sippy cups for the kids ever 7 years old because she usually spilled a lot.
Reply
Chickenhauler 04:56 PM 08-14-2010
Originally Posted by 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.
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.
Reply
Preschool/daycare teacher 06:53 PM 08-14-2010
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).
Reply
Abigail 09:59 PM 08-14-2010
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.
Attached: Mini.jpg (47.9 KB) 
Reply
Rachel 11:49 PM 08-14-2010
Open cups for meals (all kids from around 2), and water bottles (they bring) for water between and water at the park.
Reply
QualiTcare 11:57 PM 08-14-2010
i think it's good to use open cups from about 2 - and like another poster said- just give them a little until they get used to it so it doesn't spill. you can always give a refill.

it's true that 4/5 year olds spill things more and i think it's because they become careless. they think they're experts and start using one hand n stuff. two/three year olds will use both hands and reeeally concentrate.

it's kinda like at work - when i first started a new job, i'd go slow and be extra careful and never make a mistake. once i got comfortable, i'd do things fast and that's when i started making mistakes like giving ppl too much money. you'd think the mistakes would be made more often when you're first learning, but that's not always the case. same concept.
Reply
professionalmom 07:12 PM 08-15-2010
Originally Posted by Chickenhauler:
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.
I saw a program once where they were testing children during growth spurts. The main focus seemed to be teenage boys who tend to spurt very rapidly in a very short amount of time. They were very clumsy. They (the experts) discussed how the bones in the arms and legs grow so fast that the child's brain hasn't had the chance to "catch up" to be able to judge distance with the new addition to their limbs. That's why they spill drinks off the table (arms are longer then they are used to) and trip over themselves easily (legs are longer than they are used to). I am thinking that maybe 4 years old (and 6-7 years old) may be times of spurting. I'm not sure, but it would make sense since it seems like so many kids have problems around that age.

Oh, and this delay in the brain to catch up to physical changes is absolutely true. I experienced it myself when I lost weight rapidly after a gastric bypass surgery 9 years ago. It does take a while for the brain to adjust to the changes that have occurred in the body. Actually the doctors told me that it can take up to 3 years for the brain to catch up after a major loss of weight like that. So I can only imagine what it must be like to have your arms and legs suddenly sprout a couple extra inches!
Reply
DCMomOf3 09:25 AM 08-17-2010
I use open cups 2 and up, sippy and the take and toss straw cups for younger. It's not a hard fast rule though, I upgrade to open when i think the child is ready, not just because they get to a certain age.
Reply
Lilbutterflie 06:43 AM 02-14-2011
Originally Posted by professionalmom:
I saw a program once where they were testing children during growth spurts. The main focus seemed to be teenage boys who tend to spurt very rapidly in a very short amount of time. They were very clumsy. They (the experts) discussed how the bones in the arms and legs grow so fast that the child's brain hasn't had the chance to "catch up" to be able to judge distance with the new addition to their limbs. That's why they spill drinks off the table (arms are longer then they are used to) and trip over themselves easily (legs are longer than they are used to). I am thinking that maybe 4 years old (and 6-7 years old) may be times of spurting. I'm not sure, but it would make sense since it seems like so many kids have problems around that age.

Oh, and this delay in the brain to catch up to physical changes is absolutely true. I experienced it myself when I lost weight rapidly after a gastric bypass surgery 9 years ago. It does take a while for the brain to adjust to the changes that have occurred in the body. Actually the doctors told me that it can take up to 3 years for the brain to catch up after a major loss of weight like that. So I can only imagine what it must be like to have your arms and legs suddenly sprout a couple extra inches!
I know this is an old thread, but I was amazed when I read this! I searched for threads about spilling because I have 3.5 yo and 4.5 yo siblings who have been with me for almost a year. They have always used open cups at my house without a spilling problem; but the last month or so they have been spilling like crazy! Not just spilling their cups, but spilling other things like their cereal bowls and such. I've been getting so frustrated, thinking they are old enough to be able to prevent this constant spilling! They also have been eating like crazy lately, starting about the same time... I've talked to mom about it b/c they must both be in a major growth spurt! Now it makes sense; sudden clumsiness during a big growth spurt.
Reply
Little People 06:59 AM 02-14-2011
Everyone said good things about the Take n Toss and when I was at Wal Mart I found then for $1.29 for 5 and I bought all 4 sets . We just used them in our Valentines party and I loved them.
Reply
momofsix 09:34 AM 02-14-2011
Originally Posted by professionalmom:
I saw a program once where they were testing children during growth spurts. The main focus seemed to be teenage boys who tend to spurt very rapidly in a very short amount of time. They were very clumsy. They (the experts) discussed how the bones in the arms and legs grow so fast that the child's brain hasn't had the chance to "catch up" to be able to judge distance with the new addition to their limbs. That's why they spill drinks off the table (arms are longer then they are used to) and trip over themselves easily (legs are longer than they are used to). I am thinking that maybe 4 years old (and 6-7 years old) may be times of spurting. I'm not sure, but it would make sense since it seems like so many kids have problems around that age.

Oh, and this delay in the brain to catch up to physical changes is absolutely true. I experienced it myself when I lost weight rapidly after a gastric bypass surgery 9 years ago. It does take a while for the brain to adjust to the changes that have occurred in the body. Actually the doctors told me that it can take up to 3 years for the brain to catch up after a major loss of weight like that. So I can only imagine what it must be like to have your arms and legs suddenly sprout a couple extra inches!
This is totally off topic, but it's too funny not to share...i had 2 of my girls develop boobs really fast (and young). they're way huger than I am (green witn envy) Anyhow, they kept bumping them for the first year or so It was crazy, I had never heard of this at the time, but totally saw it with them!
Reply
WImom 10:33 AM 02-14-2011
Open cups with all my kids (except one 2y old that spilled everyday - he has a take n toss sippy unless I'm just giving water)
Reply
Tags:sippy cup
Reply Up