Dr Brown's Natural Flow Trainer Cups

Trainer cups - or sippy cups as they're known in our house - are really popular, not only with 1-year-old Pierre but also with 5-year-old Juliette. She's perfectly capable of drinking out of a normal glass but if she's feeling tired or poorly and wants to lay down on the settee in front of the cartoons with a drink or if she wants to take a drink in the car, it's safer to give her a sippy cup to avoid messy spillages.

The problem is, the spouts get worn through in no time at all. I initially used to tell Juliette off for not looking after them and chewing them, then I realised that it was just the pressure of her teeth on the soft spouts when she sucked hard to get the liquid out that was their downfall.

Dr Brown's have obviously considered this because their trainer cups come not only in a choice of pink or blue (as well as other funkier unisex colours) but also with a choice of soft or hard spouts. As Pierre is currently teething and also because Juliette always wants to try out every single new trainer cup that comes through the door, I opted for the hard spout.

Pierre has had a good chew on several occasions, as you can see in the photos above, but it is still in pristine condition so it is obviously very hardwearing, especially as it has also been through the dishwasher a few times. I've been using it with water to keep him hydrated when we go the park in the hot weather but the cups come in two sizes, 180ml (6oz) or 270ml (9oz), so they could also be used for milk feeds.

The cups have a sip-activated valve which means that you can turn them upside down or knock them over and nothing will leak out - brilliant news if you have a clumsy baby or toddler who's not very good at holding on to the cup yet. I even tried shaking them upside down to try and make a mess - not a drop came out ! I asked Juliette to try out the cup and she told me it was much easier to get drink out of than with some of the other cups she's tried because she didn't have to suck so hard. Pierre does tend to drink a bit too fast and choke if I don't stop every few seconds but I think that's because he's still a breast-fed baby so he's used to sucking hard.

The cups are interchangeable so you only need to replace one element (spout, valve, handles) when they get worn out. They can also be used with or without the handles, depending on the age of your baby, so they can grow with your child and be used over a longer period of time. They come with a protective cap to keep them clean in between drinks or when out and about. They're really easy to assemble without the annoying tilted-lid syndrome that you get with some brands that results in leaky cups or an irritating waste of time as you desperately try to get the lid on straight !

It also pretty much goes without saying now but Dr Brown's training cups are BPA-free. They do their job really well and I'm impressed at how well they're standing up to Pierre chonking away on them on a daily basis !

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £4.99