Review: Brother Max 4-in-1 cup

When your baby reaches the ‘magic’ age of six months, health professionals recommend the introduction of a freeflowing sippy cup with a view to getting your baby using a cup full time (except if you’re breastfeeding) from the age of one year.  Many parents find that introducing a cup is harder than they thought it would be – babies naturally prefer the comfort that sucking on a nipple or teat brings and may struggle with the spout of a sippy cup, or be reluctant to drink anything other than milk!  If your baby is fussy about drinking from a cup, it can be worth trying a few different designs to see if they prefer a particular type of cup.  Some cups are specially designed to help baby transition from bottle to sippy cup while others, like the Brother Max 4-in-1 Cup, are suitable from birth and designed to grow with your child from infancy right through to toddlerhood – saving you money as well as making space in your kitchen cupboards!  As Bubs is already happy to drink from a beaker, I asked my good friend and fellow writer Emma to review this product, using 8-month-old K as her tester.  Here’s how she got on:

“I have had previous knowledge of Brother Max after using their 6 small food portioners to store and freeze baby pureés and knew they were famous for their innovative products that helped busy parents save time.  The 4 in 1 cup is aimed at helping growing babies learn how to drink from a cup in four easy steps, as they say ‘because 4 little steps are easier than 1 big one, our cup is designed to make the transition from bottle to cup go more smoothly.’

“A lot of research and testing has obviously been done on the cup as it is very well thought out. It has a big, chunky silicone teat that doesn’t spill, it leans forward slightly at an angle to help baby move it to their mouth easily and it has been made deliberately smaller than most cups to help babies get used to independent drinking, which along with its forward-angled handles makes it perfect for young babies.

“The cup is aimed at babies of four months and over, but my little man was nearing eight months before he got his hands on it and after a couple of days he was more interested in testing its strength than actually drinking from it. I was panicking slightly as every time I encouraged him to put it to his mouth to drink from he started to chew on the teat, but with time he did start to drink from it and now he uses it everyday unaided. It took him about a week to start to suck from the teat and I did find I had to tilt the cup up slightly to help him get the water out, but I soon realised that if I fill it up he doesn’t have to tip his head back as far. This would be my only criticism of the cup, if there is only a little liquid in the bottom of it he has to tip his head back very far to get the water up to the top, however I think this will change as I guide him on to step 2 – taking the handles off.

“Converting the cup through the various stages is simple – you can remove the handles and leave the teat on for older babies, then remove the teat and reattach the handles as your baby reaches toddler stage.  Finally you can leave both teat and handles off and the cup becomes a beaker for older toddlers.  With the teat removed the cup has a special ’sipper ring’ which slows the flow of liquid and makes it easier (and less messy!) for baby to learn to drink from the rim of a cup.

“I am very happy with the cup and would be happy to pay the £5.99 it retails at. It has proved to be seriously strong as it’s been thrown from the highchair to the tiled floor hundreds of times, the teat doesn’t drip unlike other cups I’ve had that free flow once turned upside down, it’s dishwasher safe which for all busy mums is a blessing, it has given me back some cupboard space as it’s the only cup we use – and it looks pretty cool too!  All in all a great buy that grows with your child and one that I would definitely recommend.”