The world’s first toddler-proof cup, the Tommee Tippee No Knock Cup is the open-top cup that won't knock over. It has clever grip technology, which means the eye-catching cup resists knocks, bumps and bashes from little hands.
Why do you think this product is so different to anything else on the market?
Jemma: This is the only cup that I have seen that has this type of suction, others seem quite bulky whereas this cup sits very neatly and is not obvious that it includes the suction. When you view all of the cups on the market, for young children, it seems that they all have lids, so it is different to see a cup that offers a way of drinking safely and cleanly without a lid. The design at the bottom, that includes the suction is not something I have ever seen before, and the design is good quality and attractive. The suction part of the cup is very clever as it allows you to pick the cup up, but not knock or spill, for little hands the suction part can be hard to get used to and I found that sometimes the strength needed to pick it up led my son to almost throw it, once he had got used to it usage was a lot easier.
Angela: The cup is the first I have come across that has an open-top but is also no spill. Most of the other cups we have used have a closed top. I try to avoid straw cups as these are bad for my son's teeth. We try to use open cups but this often leads to spills which isn't ideal, especially if we are out.
Rachel: I understand the premise of the Tommee Tippee No Knock Cup and in theory, it is a good bridge between sippy cups and regular cups. There are not a huge number of similar products on the market in my experience, certainly not open flow ones. It encourages careful drinking and supports children in learning not to spill.
Why does it change your life with your baby?
Jemma: This doesn’t absolutely change my life, I found that maybe my son was slightly too old for this product (2 years 3 months) as he decided to pick the cup up himself and check the suction on the bottom. My son is able to use cups himself so this may be better suited to a younger child however I did find that he was unable to knock the contents out of the cup by accident when he moved his arm or ran around near it, which made it very helpful. This would definitely help younger children to learn how to pick a cup up properly (although they may need adult help as it can stick quite hard if you pick it up at the wrong angle), it is very useful to know that you can leave the cup on the side, or next to the food on the high chair, and it won’t topple over or spill.
Angela: In theory, the Tommee Tippee No Knock Cup would help is avoid spills while teaching my son to drink from an open-top cup. Unfortunately, I found that the cup was difficult for him to lift and he often got frustrated. The cup has really good suction and I even found myself that unless you have it in a very specific position it is difficult to lift it with ease.
Rachel: It doesn’t, to be honest. My daughter enjoys using the cup and if has been good seeing her mimic the way adults drink from cups. But it is another step on the journey from bottle to a regular cup, so either you are somebody who enjoys this intermediate stage, or somebody who finds it unnecessary.
What excites you about this product?
Jemma: The design is attractive, and the idea is very good, this doesn’t necessarily excite me however it is nice to know that new products by Tommy Tippee are being designed and created exactly for parents, to make their lives easier. Although I do feel that this product is innovative, I feel that as it has use mainly at home (as parents would take out with them a cup with a lid rather than an open cup) and it may not be something that is used for a huge amount of time, due to the age of the child. Another positive is that it encourages children to use cups, and get away from bottles and other drinking cups that can damage teeth, the design is lovely, I especially liked the cat design on the cup that I was sent!
Angela: The idea of a non-spill open-top cup really excited me, but unfortunately my son found it too difficult to lift the Tommee Tippee No Knock Cup and often got frustrated. We have resorted back to using a 360 lid cup.
Rachel: The theory is good, and there were a few occasions where were it a regular cup, my daughter would have spilt it. I would call it useful as opposed to groundbreaking.
What one thing would you change about this product?
Rachel: The Tommee Tippee No Knock Cup design I had was a bit plastic and garish, which was probably intended to appeal to the children but might put the adults off. The cup works well in that if it is knocked it doesn’t tend to fall and therefore spill, but sometimes the suction was too strong and my daughter struggled to pick it up.
Angela: The product would be great if it was just a little bit easier to lift, especially for little hands. The anti-knock system does work but for me, it wasn't worth the frustration when my son was trying to take a drink and couldn't lift the cup.
Jemma: I did find a slight drawback that when you are cleaning it the cup tends to stick to everything in the sink via the suction, this made it quite annoying to clean and I found that I sometimes did not use it as I knew it would be difficult when cleaning later. The cost of the cup I feel may put people off as this would normally be a cup that you would use at home, and £6.99 for one cup is quite pricey. One extra that may help would be to add grips to the side of the cup, I found that sometimes when my son was trying to pick it up to drink, his hand slipped and he either yanked the cup up too quickly or couldn’t do it and I had to help, rubber grips would help with this and justify the price more I think.