What's on my mind today? Leaky cups. Ah, the trials and tribulations of a mom.
Here's the deal: I'm a big fan of the zero-waste snack/lunch for school. I think it's really important to get in the habit of giving the kids as little disposable packaging as possible. It's been easy with snacks. The pre-packaged, individual serving size snacks of things like goldfish are ridiculously expensive anyway. I much prefer buying the big box of goldfish and doling it out into reusable little tupperware containers. Plus, then I have the option of preparing healthy snacks like cut up fruit in those same little tupperwares. You know, when I'm actually up early enough to cut up fruit, and actually have fruit in the house. Okay, fine, mostly it's goldfish.
But drinks: those are difficult. I'm firmly against the idea of juice boxes in theory, but I just can't find a reusable drink container than doesn't leak. The boys don't finish all their drinks, and then it leaks all over their backpacks, making a disgusting wet mess that ruins all their papers in their backpack.
I've tried giving them less in their cups, but it seems like no matter how much is in their cups, they'll always drink 3/4's of it, leaving plenty left to leak all over.
So does anyone have a great solution to the leaky drink problem? Some wonder product appropriate for 3 or 4 year olds that won't leak all over? Maybe they're ready for a thermos-type open cup...what do you think? Give me brand names, people! I'm at wit's end.
Of course, it wasn't a long trip to the end of my wit, but that's besides the point...
The Balance by Neal Wooten
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Canus is a land in which three races of man live in precarious balance with
one another. The Fathers of the city in the sky, the Scavs (who call
themselv...
10 years ago
8 comments:
Hm. I was under the impression that we weren't allowed to send them with thermoses. Cuz I got these AWESOME ones - that the kids still call their "school cups" - with the intent of sending juice in those...but then read somewhere that we couldn't do that. Hm. Perhaps I'll start breaking some rules and send those. :D They are Playtex insulated sippie cups. The kids sleep with these and stay dry.
I found these Rubbermaid Litterless Juice Boxes at Stop & Shop. My kids dig 'em. If they can actually manage to fold the straw part back down, then they don't leak at all. If they leave the straw up, well....
i second the rubbermaid litterless juice boxes mentioned above. the h-man has used these at a friends and they are fabulous. i've looked for them at my local grocer and target, but haven't yet found our own. i'm going to have to check stop & shop.
another plus to these is that using a straw is so much better for their teeth than a sippie cup.
We have the same cups (16 of them) that Nancy has and they are really leak proof 90% of the time. For some reason all of our ORANGE ones leak. The blue, green and purple are all fine. And yes, I know that's a lot of cups, but they are the only cups the girls use beside regular glasses and sometimes they "disappear" in the toy box or under the furniture for days at a time, so we never seem to have enough. But there's the proof about them not leaking I guess, if I can live without hunting it down for days, I must be sure it isn't going to leak. Except the for the orange ones, which we only use as a last resort.
Funny, we have some of the juice boxes that Goddess has as well. They are stored in the closet for some date in the future. My kids think those are great for turning over and making it "rain." I don't find it nearly as funny.
I second the Rubbermaid litterless juice boxes
(http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd210003)
You can get them at stop and shop or other places like basic 5 and 10C stores. I have 3 of them and have been using the same three for years - you do have to make new straws now and then (just cut a regular plastic straw to size...). These are great - just the right size and little or no leakage with years of use!
You guys are awesome! I think I'll try to get a set of each!
Nancy, I don't remember anything about not being able to send them with cups...I've been sending reusable cups (sippies, straw cups, and sports bottle type cups) since day 1 and they haven't complained...and you know the cups I'm using all leak!
LOL that's so funny that Rhonda's orange ones leak...it's our green ones that do - the orange ones are fine HAH! Okay, that means - stick with the blue ;)
And we've used those rubbermaid ones...yep - too much fun to "make" them leak. (Although, come to think of it, those may have been knock-off versions...)
I like using the water bottles that come on carabiner rings like here:
http://www.myjewelthief.net/lot0238.html
You can clip them to the outside of their backpacks. Easy to reach, reusable, and no mess!
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