LiteCup (Bedside Drink)

LiteCup is a cleverly designed resource for helping children to balance the body’s needs by ensuring that late-night thirst will not get in the way of a good night’s sleep!

The LiteCup features;

• A light sensitive LED Light – situated in the base of the cup to provide a soft, comforting glow at night. You don’t need to worry about turning it off and on, the LED light will respond to the natural changes in ambient lighting (there is a manual off-switch if needed).
• A 360 degree lid with no-spill valve* – so the child can take a sip from any spot on the lid without spilling.
• Age ambiguous design – the cup does not look like a toddler’s “sippy cup”, it simply looks like a normal drinking cup. This ensures that even older children can feel comfortable using it and will not associate it with being “for little kids”. Recommended for use from 12 months up.
• BPA and latex free – to ensure that your little one is protected from harmful chemicals and allergens.
• Cup measures 16 cm tall and holds up to 330ml liquid.

Available in a range of colours – Blue, Green, Pink, Purple - please choose your preference from the dropdown menu.

So how does a plastic cup with a light in it relate to the Montessori method?

Quite simply – it promotes independence and care of the self in a completely unique context.

The LiteCup encourages a child to sleep more soundly through the night (and therefore let mum and dad sleep easier too!) by making it possible for the child to independently respond to thirst.

Many parents will know that familiar cry of “muuuuuuuuum, daaaaaaad, I’m thirsty!!!” that suddenly comes piercing through your bedroom wall long after you thought your child was asleep. In most families this call results in mum or dad getting out of bed, going to the kitchen and delivering a drink to the child’s bedroom. This is disruptive for the parent, but it also means that the child is sitting awake waiting for the delivery. This length of time awake and alert can often snap a child completely out of the sleep cycle. Once the drink is finished the child is back to ‘square one’ with the bedtime routine, having to settle in and start drifting back to sleep. This can take a long time (and can, again, require mum or dad to be close by).

The LiteCup puts an entirely new spin on this familiar scenario. This time, when the physical cue of thirst starts to interrupt the child’s slumber, there is no need for the child to call out for mum or dad. Instead the child’s eyes only need to flutter open enough to spot the soft glow of the Lite Cup beside the bed. The child can independently reach over, take a sip (from the spill-free lid*), pop it back down and then drift straight back to sleep. The interruption to the child’s sleep is brief and the interruption to the parent’s sleep is non-existent!

The glowing light emanating from the cup serves the practical purpose of letting the child quickly find it in a dark room but it also provides a sense of comfort. Many children are reluctant to sleep in an entirely dark room and ‘night lights’ are a common solution for this problem. The Lite Cup solves two potential sleep disturbances with a single innovation. The soft light provides comfort (and it is portable – so a child going to the toilet during the night could carry it with him/her) and the cup allows thirst to be quenched!

The Montessori method generally recommends that children use real drinking glasses rather than plastic cups.  The use of plastic for the LiteCup simply responds to the specific context of using it at night. It recognizes that a sleepy, bleary eyed child who is groping around for a drink in the night is not always able to safely handle real glass in that state. This also applies to the ‘no-spill’ element of the LiteCup, which might not be so 'Montessori-friendly' in the daytime but is perfect for sleepy sippers at night time!

Please wash your LiteCup before its first use. The LiteCup is not microwave safe and is not intended for use with hot drinks. It can be washed by hand or in the top rack of a dishwasher.

Please note: to promote strong dental hygiene we recommend using the Lite Cup only for water. Providing other drinks at bedtime (or during the night) can lead to plaque and decay as the fluid can settle on/behind the teeth while the child sleeps.