Skip, Hop, and Drink Water

The Best Kids’ Water Bottle

If you’re like me, you like to have water to take out with you wherever you go. Or maybe your kid takes a water bottle to school everyday instead of a juice box or pouch, in which case you already know you’re awesome. I’ve been through a lot of sippy cups and water bottles, and I now have a favorite.

My main requirement? How hardy a water bottle is. Can it stand up to more than one day of my kid swinging it around? Two days? A week? I love Skip Hop’s stainless steel water bottle because of its extreme durability. We’ve dropped it (multiple times but who’s counting?) during bike rides and it’s come out slightly dented but otherwise unharmed. Not a single piece has broken. My kids like straws best, and I like cups that cover the part where their mouth goes for my peace of mind. These have a snap top lid that opens with the click of a button, and as a bonus, come with a spare straw in case you need a replacement. So far, we haven’t had to use a single spare. Despite the fact that my eldest will chew on anything, especially if it’s not meant for mouths, the straw doesn’t show any wear and tear. It holds 12 ounces.

Skip Hop Stainless Steel Toddler Water Bottle on Amazon

The only downside is the cost, as it retails for around $17. But once I factor in the fact that I feverishly repaired bottles or searched for a substitute so I could send water to school, it’s probably come out cheaper in the end than buying multiple ones that break.

My friends all used CamelBak straw water bottles, and I totally got on board and bought several. But it turns out that although nothing broke and the straw flips into the cover, the bottles still somehow leaked all over my front seat. Since I toss them loose into the seat while trying to corral all three kids, the water got all over my passenger seat. It’s only water, but it still doesn’t look nice and takes a while to dry out unless I have the time to take a couple towels and go deal with it immediately. (I’ve never had that opportunity.) While it’s rare on the way to school because my kids might hold their water bottles, they are not so inclined on the way home when they are tired and whiny. The Camelbak holds 14 ounces, a mere two more ounces than the Skip Hop Stainless Steel version.

CamelBak Eddy .4 Liter Kids Water Bottle on Amazon

I also tried the cheaper, plastic version Skip Hop makes. That one lasted one day before my kid broke the strap. Then once I managed to repair that, the plastic ring that holds the strap on fell off. The day after that? The lid that slides back to allow the straw to pop up didn’t come home. Definite parenting purchase fail. I upgraded to the stainless steel version, which has a different mechanism for the the lid, and haven’t had an issue since. I’m sold.

But if your kids don’t immediately destroy everything you hand them, you can probably save some bucks and go for the plastic version instead. My daughter has had her plastic one for several years with zero issues, but needed one like her older brother’s, so we got her a stainless steel one, too. As an added bonus, it stays cooler longer than the plastic version, though that’s not a huge factor for us as we don’t send milk to school. Even better, Skip Hop offers a zoo of animals to adorn it in a variety of colors, increasing the odds I’ll be able to sell my kids on it.

Skip Hop Zoo Toddler Sippy Cup on Amazon