I give my DD water after each meal, and I use a starter sippy cup with handles on both sides. I take that stopper thingy out and just give it to her. She tries to hold it sometimes, but then water gets everywhere. She doesn't get how to suck the water out of it, so that's why I do it for her. But I want to make sure she gets a few sips of water after the meal so I take the stopper out. I let her play with the cups on the floor with the stopper in for practice. I think it's good to differentiate between milk/bottle and water or juice in the cup.