We’ve tried a fair few training cups with our toddler. Some are useless (so useless that you end up spending more on kitchen roll to mop up the spills from the ‘no spill’ element than you did on the cup), and some are excellent but get phased out over time, like our Oxo sippy cup. Looking to help our little girl as she is now confident enough to start drinking from a nearly normal cup, we tested out one of the new Skip Hop turn and learn cups, which form part of their ZOO collection.

With a nice range of cups to choose from, including some colourful options like Brooklyn Bee and Otis Owl, we ended up choosing Blossom Butterfly. This unique character made a nice change from the standard characters she likes (Thomas the Tank Engine at the moment!).

Of course, the proof is in the sipping. With a two speed system that you can set to be more or less free flowing, and with the challenge to overcome of having no handles, this cup is not suitable as a toddler’s first cup (unless you have infinite patience and a floor that can get very wet!). You can see why Skip Hop suggest the cup is suitable from 12 months onward – with our toddler closer to two than to one.

The twisted top is easy to close and open up (and doesn’t come off easily with little hands playing with it!) and the cup is dishwasher safe. Our little lady has continued to improve each time she uses it, and we can see that she will enjoy using the cup and seeing the butterfly character long after she has learned to use the cup properly.

This isn’t the only cup that can be drunk from using any side, but the advantage it really has over many of the other brands is that you can see how much water is left in the cup, so you know how your little one is getting on – very handy for busy parents!

We’d love to hear from you if you have a training cup that is brilliant for toddler use, and if you fancy getting a Skip Hop one, they are available for around £10.