Take and Toss Sippy cups

These cups are made by the First Years.  They are a super inexpensive option for a cup for toddlers.  They make both a sippy cup (7oz. and 10oz. sizes) and a straw sippers (which I've only seen in 10oz.).  I originally wasn't going to write a review of these because I feel sippy cup preference is so entirely based on what your child will use that it's hard for someone to tell you what to think of it... until tonight (read GREAT story).

These cups are the only ones my daughter will consistently drink from and I've heard similar stories from other parents.  It's always the inexpensive ones that they like, after you've spent gobs of dough trying to find one.  They are super easy to clean since they only have two pieces.  There's no valve inside like so many other sippys.  That's exactly what I was looking for since those seem to make them so spill proof that Keeley can't even drink from it, she gets frustrated and gives up.

They aren't completely spill-proof, but they don't spill much, and 9/10 times, it's just water in there anyway.  I may feel totally differently if I gave her juice on a regular basis!  Can you say sticky carpet?  Now, the straw cups are made of the same material, and have only 3 pieces: cup, lid, straw.  Keeley sure loves to drink from these... and then spit it out.  I don't know, she's weird.  Anyway, the straw is REALLY rigid which causes me some concern for a child shoving it back too far in their throat, so I'm extra careful with these and make sure I'm right there when she's drinking.  These are decently spill-proof as well, but with the straw version, the amount of fluid actually in the straw at the time of tipping WILL come out.

Both versions are dishwasher safe and recyclable.  They also stack really well for storage, which is nice if your cabinet looks anything like mine does since Keeley started using cups.  I've seen these in stores for anywhere between $2.75 and $9.00 for a pack of 5.  The prices at the $2.75 end of that spectrum are more common, so the price can't be beat.  

I promised a story... 

Keeley is a very strong little girl.  At 11 months, she's the size of an average 18 month old, and stronger than most.  Several days ago, I left her alone for a few minutes while I ran to the restroom, I came back less than 2 minutes later to see her splashing in a big puddle of water on the carpet.  She had removed the snap-top from her sippy cup.  Figuring I had just not put it on right, I cleaned up the mess, refilled the cup, and brought her more water.  Several hours later, nature calls again, again I come back to 10 oz. of water on the floor.  So a half of a roll of paper towels later, I make the decision that she's actually figured out how to take the lid off and that I won't leave her alone with one of these cups again.  Fast forward to this afternoon... A cup escapes my view when I run upstairs for a few moments, AGAIN I come back to a puddle.  That little booger.  Lesson learned by me for you: don't leave your kids unattended with these cups, it gets messy!  Here are some photos (excuse the quality, they're taken with my cell phone since it was all I could get to in time).

Playing with the lid, Ugh!

'Drinking' like a big girl (this caused lots of giggles.

Covering her mouth with the cup- scary since it's only about an inch from covering BOTH her nose and mouth.

Overall, I like these cups for their ease of cleaning and storing, their affordability, and the fact that Keeley will actually use them.  Aside from watching her for mess reasons, now I feel like I have to watch her extra carefully to make sure she doesn't put one of these over her nose and mouth and get it stuck.  Frightening.  That fact alone is why I wanted to write this review, so that you guys know that if your little one is strong enough to open the cup, there's a possible safety issue to watch out for.

Overall rating: 3 out of 5 (buy but be careful)