Fun Grips® Soft Starter Spill-proof Cup Baby's First Sippy Cup
Written: Mar 02 '05 (Updated Mar 02 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: wide handles and soft mouthpeice for babys just starting out
Cons: Valve pops out, babys with teeth can gnaw and actually remove so of the rubber.
The Bottom Line: I think this is a great cup for begginners but it really needs to be replaced when baby is older.
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| sunstreeks's Full Review: Gerber Soft Starter Cup |
When I was still an infant teacher I had one parent who insisted on bring her own sippy cups, feeding accessories, and Tupperware-like containers with premade meals in them. I thought maybe a little excessive but she was a great mom and I knew she just wanted her child to be using stuff from home instead of items used by numerous other infants for who knows how long.
When her son was 5 or 6 months she brought in the bright green and blue outlined Fun Grips® Soft Starter Spill-proof Cup with clear see though base. It had two wide handles with rippled rubber like material on the inside to prevent slipping and allow the infant to get a good grip. The wide lid twisted off easily and the valve pulls out and pushes back in for easy cleaning. The mouthpiece is soft more rubbery feeling for babies just stating out drinking. They aren’t banging their gums on a hard plastic piece like with other sippy cups as they desperately try to get it in their mouth.
I don’t know how long this child had been using a cup already. I hadn’t offered him one yet and was still using his bottle for drinks at lunchtime. He did really well though. I imagine he had just started recently because it took him awhile to not only be able to suck out the drink but to swallow it fast enough that the whole thing didn’t just run down his shirt.
We had a few problems with this cup. One being that it was used by the infant in my classroom famous for launching things off his tray. He wasn’t just into pushing them off but actually throwing them. Many times when this happened the valve would pop off as it hit the floor. Since I wasn’t about to retrieve it and place it back in with my bare fingers and then give it back it ended up wasting whatever I had given him to drink. This all didn’t happen until he was around 11 months or older. I really don’t think that infants should use this cup that long. The soft rubber material in the mouthpiece meant for new drinkers was now being gnawed and parts were actually coming off by this older baby with a mouth full of teeth.
It doesn’t leak almost at all though. Until the mouthpiece was gnawed down, very little fluid was allowed to leave on its own without being sucked. I’ve noticed if its on its side a few drops do come out, especially if the holes in the tip are pressed against something, like upside down in the high chair. Then you may have a few wet spots.
I’ve already purchased a pink one. We didn’t start having problems until this infant was much older and should have been switched to a cup meant for toddlers. I will let my baby girl use this until she around a year unless she shows interest in having a cup that she can hold on to with both hands and no handles.
The Fun Grips® Soft Starter Spill-proof Cup is top rack dishwasher safe but remove the valve everytime you wash because the fluids build up and can breed bacteria.
I got Ally’s at Toys R’ Us for around $4. I’ve seen them at many other stores that have baby departments
Manufactures web page
www.gerber.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
sunstreeks
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Member: Stephanie
Location: Western Washington
Reviews written: 161
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