Sake cup or shotglass for beginner cup-drinkers

Sara in Austin, TX came across a good tip in the premiere issue of Cookie magazine:

Use little sake cups to help your child learn to drink from a cup. I've been looking for some plastic or melamine sake cups ever since reading that, but haven't found any. (Help locating some would be great.)

We gave our little one water in a shotglass -- she liked the fact that it was glass (breakable, that is)...made her feel grown-up.

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Comments

[Kirky]

melmine sake cup tea cup:

http://www.sushifoods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=2014&Category_Code=ST-MS&Product_Count=13

[Jennifer DeVivo]

I've been giving my baby a shot glass of water for several months now. He loves it and is getting better and better at setting it down on its bottom instead of its side. He's one now and can handle pretty much any cup.

[Larry Wright]

Neat tip, but it would certainly seem strange to give a shot glass full of anything to a baby...

[Mal]

Have you tried your local restaurant supply store? Many are open to the public and sell a mishmash of things...items from broken case packs, cutomer returns, etc...look for melmine or perhaps stainless condiment cups. They come in all shapes and sizes...who knows, you may even find a melmine shot glass. For added fun, start storing your filtered water in an old Absolut bottle...nothing scares in in-laws more than sitting your two year old at the breakfast bar with a shot glass and bottle of "Absolut"!! I swear something about the thickness of the glass keeps your water in the fridge at least 10 degrees colder...plus is makes for a great party trick. :)

Tupperware also makes something called a midget container which is about the size of a shot glass and comes with a lid. I believe they come in packs of 6 for about $10 and they're great for all kinds of little things you carry around as the parent of a young child (a couple scoops of formula, m&m's for when the line at the bank is insane, salad dressing for your lunch, the uses are endless...)

[foodmomiac]

My daughter has been drinking from a glass since she started at her Montessori school when she was 22 months. They use votive candle holders at her school instead of shot glasses.

[jack]

Espresso mug. One of the little single-shot ones. My local kitchen supply shop had a variety of them in a number of patterns and styles for under UKP2. They look stylish, they're the right size, and they have a handle on the side. Bonus: although they're real ceramic, they're usually thick enough that they bounce when dropped.

[Christy]

A lot of times kitchen toy sets come with tiny little cups. My daughter loves to drink from the little "coffee mugs" and they are about that size.

Also, my son in 3.5 and he really like drinking out of travel mugs with the lids. I think it makes him feel more grown up that drinking from a sippy and it prevents any major disasters if the cup gets knocked over by him or his little sister.

[Andi]

We got a bunch of these at Ikea!

[Melanie Rock]

The lids that come with Avent bottles can double as a glass, we have found. Puts the plastic that we have already purchased to maximum use. Our little guy, who will have his first birthday next week, is getting the hang of drinking this way. He also is enjoying putting the lid back on the bottle -- a portable game.

[Sara in Austin]

Wow! So many good suggestions on where to get similar glasses! I love the espresso cup idea (they come in pretty colors and have handles...)

Rubbermaid also has some small little containers they call Minis. Target has them. (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-10/qid=1138126048/ref=sr_1_10/602-0533239-0493429?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0004F7HH0) I use them for cheerios and other small things like Mal does, but now that I think about it, they would work great for drinking from, too.

[Parent Hacks Editor]

Medicine dosage cups also work well.

[Colorado Mom]

I can't believe the comments on this hack have been here for over a year and no one has seen the obvious problems with "Mal's" post of keeping water in the Absolut bottle!!! Great party trick???? Suppose you grab the wrong bottle and get the one that DOES have alcohol in it? Suppose a 7 year old is visiting and doesn't get the "very funny joke" and thinks it's ok to drink Absolut out of shot glasses? A few months ago, here in Colorado Springs a 3 month old baby got severe alcohol poisoning because her father put his vodka in a water bottle, the mother didn't know it & mixed it with the baby's formula. Mistakes happen, as parents we should use our heads and not invite huge problems. If you're an alcoholic, get help. Don't bring the next generation down with you! Editors, that post should be removed before someone else thinks it's a fun idea.

[Amien]

Wow! Great info. I wish, I could have such a writing skills.

[Michelle]

These are great ideas! I love the Absolute idea too! That hilarious!! hahah

BTW Colorado Mom you need to calm down a bit. Vodka should be stored in the freezer not the fridge. (vodka doesn't freeze) a vodka bottle with water in it should never be put in the freezer since the water WILL freeze and could break the bottle.

It's unfortunate that the baby you mentioned was poisoned but there is obviously something seriously wrong with that family since storing vodka in a water bottle unmarked in the fridge with a baby in the house isn't 'normal' or smart behavior.

[zch]

i also found plastic shot glasses and bread plates for feeding my sons at crate & barrel (for $2ish dollars each) and cost plus world imports. easier to find during the summer.

[daddyBen]

We use all of our saved baby food jars as cups since our son was about 20 months old. They hold up very well to accidental drops and the rim makes them a tad more spill proof than a plain old cup. Works great for us and him!

[BW]

We also use small glass baby bottles.