Eating Time

So...How am I going to explain this one to my wife?

I remember those words I mumbled to myself just before I gave up scrubbing a once beautiful carpet.

All my son wanted to do is be a "big boy" and drink out of a regular bottle instead of a “sippy cup”, as he called it.

I just wasn't in the mood for a lengthy fight that day when he approached me with a bottle of juice. So I gave in and let him drink from the bottle.

His chest puffed out as if he were now a "big boy" and proceeded to carry the bottle up to the kitchen table. I smiled as I watched him sit it on the polished wood. I was thinking I did something that made him feel good and he that he was getting to be my "big boy".

I then turned to finish writing an article I had been working on forever . At least it seemed that way.

What happened next?

Deep down I knew what was going to happen, but tried to ignore my good sense anyway. As you can guess that bottle didn't stay upright for long.

Accidents happen, but this one would leave it's mark given the contents of the bottle. I rushed to blot and soak up the spill as fast as possible using the finest cleaner I had on hand. Yeah right, "removes juice stains". My foot! Well, to give the cleaner a little credit, it did work a little.

Since then my wife and I decided that we should do something to help our son be a "big boy" but also let him drink from the bottle. We also wanted our older boy to keep from spilling his just the same. So we saved those squirt bottle lids and gave them a try. You know, those pull top lids you find on water bottles. They worked fairly good so long as they shut the lid! Let me tell you that both our boys sure did get into the habit of NOT shutting the lid even after constant reminders.

Do you know what happens when a bottle with an open pull top lid gets dropped or knocked over?

Thats right. It shoots a stream of liquid about three feet long. I have seen l carbonated drinks squirt up to 6 feet in length. Brilliant idea we had there. More like a spill nightmare! After our little "experiment" we have striped carpet to boot. Oh well. Live and learn.

Here is another spill story I bet you can relate to. It comes from Jane Pavlov whom I've met recently.

My husband and I took our first son Chris for a drive. He was about a year old at the time. Chris was in his car seat crying, so I gave him his baby bottle and he didn't want it. Then I gave him his sippy cup and refused to take it. Chris started pointing at my bottled beverage of Gatorade and wanted my drink. I did not give it to him so he started screaming and crying getting louder and louder and so of course I handed him my beverage (bad idea) and he spilled most of the drink all over himself and in the car. - Jane Pavlov

Yes I remember many car trips that ended with the same result. Come to think of it. Jane's story also reminds me of how many outfits my kids ruined during car trips. Not to mention the car upholstery. Unlike me, she had a great idea to fix the spill nightmare.

Sitting in the passenger seat holding my beverage in one hand and his sippy cup in another. I stared at both of them together and thought to myself, 'Why can there be a twist on cap with a spout for common beverage bottles'. - Jane Pavlov

That's exactly what Jane invented! It is called the KiddyKap.

The Kiddy Kap enables consumers to convert regular plastic beverage bottles such as water, juice, milk and baby bottles into spill-proof bottles for use by toddlers and young children.” - Jane Pavlov

What a great idea! A special cap that allows your little ones feel like "big" kids for drinking out of plastic beverage bottle bottle at the same time help prevent costly accidents. It is a product that I believe is a must for any parent to keep on hand. Believe me, I wish I knew about it before our stuff got ruined.

KiddyKaps are a win in my book because they:

• are designed to be spill proof
• reduce the stress of the whining, crying, and fighting children do when they want to drink out of an adult bottle
• allow children to feel a sense of accomplishment by being able to drink from regular bottles that adults use
• are small and easy to carry unlike toddler cups
• are great for traveling, going to the mall, going to the park, etc.
• eliminate the need to transfer drinks to a different container and possible spills from the transfer

There are 3 different styles of KiddyKaps:

• The traditional KiddyKaps – 1 cap that fits regular plastic bottles and 1 cap that fits the larger “wide mouth” bottles.
• BabyKaps – 2 caps that fits standard baby bottles for the transition from bottle to a sipper type lids. Fits those small plastic infant juice bottles as well.
• MooKaps – 2 caps that fits single serve milk bottles.

My favorite benefit of KiddyKaps are the fact that they sell for only $2.99. Not bad at all compared to the money I spent to clean up and replace what spills have ruined.

Take it from me. You can save your carpet, your car interior, your children's clothes, your child, and even yourself from a spill nightmare. Pick up some of these KiddyKaps and have them on hand. You will be glad you did!