Tips from the Trenches: A Guide to Practical Parenting

I think the whole PBA problem is just a marketing ploy by the sippy cup manufacturers to make you replace all your sippy cups. They are tricky, too, because "old models" are still out on the market so you can just as easily replace the bad with the bad and have to start all over.

What I don't get is if it's such a problem, why on earth don't they properly recall them? I did an extensive Google search for sippy cup recalls and didn't come up with much. Overall, we have more important things to worry about so I'm going to give a quick, second lesson in sippy cup issues (click here for the first lesson).

For the sippy cup novice, common sippy cup issues include:

• They all look the same to kids (and most parents) so who knows whose sippy cup is whose. On any play date, they all end up looking the same and it usually ends up in a frantic "is that mine or yours" discussion at the end of the play date. Don't even get me started on how to control the cup sharing issue during flu season. Who needs that aggravation?
• Tip 1: Purchase wine glass ornaments and affix them to the sippy cups. A fun way to identify your child's own cup. You could even have a ornament making play date. It's even more fun if you fill the sippy cups with a wine-juice mix. (You can just call it sangria.)
• Tip 2: Oh, yeah, you could also just order some of these. Using these would probably be less likely to put you on the receiving end of a social services visit.
• Taking out and replacing the valves every time you wash them is enough to make you go crazy.
• Tip: Buy sippy cups made by the same company and all the valves should be the same.
• Matching lids to bottoms after washing them is often like taking an IQ test.
• Tip 1: You could try numbering them in permanent marker if you are so anally retentively inclined. Use the same number for the top and bottom. (Duh!)
• Tip 2: Never let your non-primary care giver unload the sippy cups from the dishwasher and reassemble them. They will never be put together properly again.
• Lost sippy cups are a horror worthy of Wes Craven.
• Tip 1: Count your sippy cup inventory at least 3 times a day to ensure that you have a full count.
• Tip 2: Never take sippy cups full of milk in the car. They may get left there.
• Sippy cups are no good without the valve. Always check to make sure the valve is secure in the correct location or you'll be doing more than just crying over spilled milk.

As always, at Tips from the Trenches, we welcome your ideas. Share the bloggy wealth if you have tips on sippy cup safety or any related issue.