Learn to drink straight from the rim! (Bickiepegs Doidy Cup)

Member Name: ariom

Product:	Bickiepegs Doidy Cup
Date:	09/10/08 (165 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good for at home, easy for baby to pick up and drink from - learning to drink straight from the rim

Disadvantages: spills easily, opaque colours, can't be used to transport fluid.

Recently at our baby club, we had some oral health experts in to talk to us. They were emphasising the importance of transitions to cups which were sipped from rather than sucked (i.e. contained a valve) when the time came for transition to cup. They recommended two cups - the Doidy Cup and the Tommy Tippee first cup. Since I have invested in both.

The Doidy cup is a plastic cup with a slant on one side which means that it doesn't need to be tipped as far to get the fluid to the child's mouth, and that the child can see the fluid approaching. It has two handles which mean that it is easier for a small child to pick up and manipulate. It comes in blue, yellow, pink, white, red, jade, cerise, purple, orange, turquoise and lilac, with a few "sparkle" options for the more adventurous. Prices vary the experts were offering them at £2.20, but said the retail was £4.99. It is £3.70 on the bickiepegs website and I got mine for £3.99 off E-bay. It comes in quite a durable plastic bag which has a resealable top so that it can be used to transport the cup when out and about. The Doidy can be used from 3 months, or for newborns with support if cup feeding.

I am hoping to wean my son using baby led weaning, and therefore, when getting him to use a cup the goal is for him to be able to use a cup by himself - not necessarily to get a large drink from it at the time. We first tried the Doidy cup at just under 5 months. He can pick it up with both hands, but normally seems to get one handle and hold onto the other side. He consistently is able to get it to his mouth and drink from it - I think this is because he doesn't have to tip it as far as other cups. I don't think he is watching the fluid though - it looks too dark inside the cup once it is tilted and his face blocks the light which could enter. It's a shame they aren't made from transparent material - then we both could see what is going on. The big disadvantage is that it doesn't have a lid which means that since he can't put it down yet that it will inevitably spill and if he picks it up at the wrong angle, it'll spill all over. For this reason I wouldn't be confident using it out and about. It also cannot be used to transport fluids, unlike some other cups.

Summary: good to learn an important skill - best done at home in the early days