MAM Learn to Drink and Fun to Drink cup
MAM kindly sent us a Learn to Drink and Fun to Drink cup for Elfin, our 17-month-old, to try and to see if she had any preference between the two. They’re both trainer cups, allowing either spill-free or free-flow by simply using or removing the silicone valve. As Elfin is nearing a year and a half, I’ve been keen to encourage her to use a cup and gain a little independence, so I was excited to see how she’d take to these!
Firstly, the designs are lovely. So much so that as I had two cups, my elder daughter, Pixie, immediately claimed the pink one (of course) for herself. In fact, I’ve had tussles over the cups from them (anybody else’s children find a new cup the most exciting thing in the world ever?). The cups are available in pink and blue, and though I personally really like them both, it would be nice to see a more neutral colour available.
In terms of performance, I’ve not noticed a great difference between the two spouts – both my girls have managed very well drinking from them, with my youngest showing no preference and my elder daughter not mentioning any. Interestingly, my elder daughter has commented finding it difficult to drink from them, which is due to the valve – of course, my youngest is still breastfeeding and therefore at this stage presumably has a stronger suck than her big sister!
Both cups come with handles which can be detached, perfect for introducing my toddler to holding a cup independently, and she’s able to comfortably use them herself. Even better is that all components of the two cups are interchangeable, which is really handy for busy parents when attempting to assemble items coming out of the dishwasher or from the draining board.
Although she’s shown no preference herself, I personally like the less firm spout of the Learn to Drink cup for my youngest. As she’s still teething, it’s nicer for her to have a softer, more soothing material when she inevitably gums the spouts. It’s also a nice touch that this cup comes with a dummy too.
I’m yet to try the girls with the valve removed because Elfin is still little and Pixie is so clumsy! But I can confirm that the valves are leak-proof and it’s really useful that there’s an option to use the cups either way.
Both of these products are great training cups, and my only real advice choosing between them would be based on whether your child is still teething or not.
