I finally found a way to keep my three kids from losing their water bottles every single day

For months I was buying those cheap plastic water bottles and they'd disappear within a week at school or daycare. I must have spent close to $80 replacing them over the summer alone. Then I tried those silicone bands that wrap around the bottle with a name tag printed on them. Not the stick-on labels that peel off, but the ones that slide on and stay put. It's been three weeks now and all three bottles are still with us. I feel like I cracked some secret parenting code or something. Has anyone else tried those bands or found a different trick that works better?

2 comments

2 Comments

umak898d ago

Gave those silicone bands a try myself last year after my daughter went through four bottles in one month. They worked okay but I found the biggest problem was the bottles themselves getting left behind on the playground, so I started buying ones with those pop-up straws that are a little more expensive. Figured if I'm spending money on the bottle anyway, might as well make it one that stands out and is harder to forget. The bands are still on there though, holding strong through the dishwasher.

adams.henry8d ago

Started reading about this exact problem in a parenting newsletter my wife subscribes to, and they mentioned the same thing about silicone bands being a game changer. Funny enough, @umak89, I heard that some schools are actually banning those pop-up straw bottles now because kids chew on them and they leak everywhere, so maybe stick with the bands if you can. The newsletter also said that putting a bright-colored duct tape strip on the bottom of the bottle helps kids spot them from across the playground - we tried that with my son's bottle and it's worked pretty well so far. I was skeptical at first about the bands but after seeing my kids come home with the wrong bottles from daycare almost every day, I finally caved and ordered a four-pack from Amazon. It's crazy how something so simple can save you from that daily "where's my bottle?" meltdown at 7 AM.