Safe Sippy Cups

I first started reading about this sippy cup issue back in January. And I was behind on it, even then! Some of this info had been out for awhile, but I had not come across it in any of my research. (Yes, some people may make fun, but I research EVERYTHING. Let me repeat that - EVERYTHING.) Many of the people I know with kids are informed on the topic by now, but I figure I'll put this out there just in case because I know there are still quite a few that have not heard of this yet. This has been on the news and there are many, many articles on the subject so you can always google it if you want even more info. (I will also have some links at the bottom for you.)

I'm going to try and make a long story short. In many of the sippy cups and bottles produced, there is a chemical in the plastic called BPA (Bisphenol A). There have been many studies that show that even low doses of the chemical cause many problems in animals, so we can only assume what they must do to humans. There have also been a couple of studies that actually do include humans and the results from those have not been positive, either. Breast cancer, prostate cancer, miscarriages, neurological issues and obesity are just a few of the concerns that are associated with BPA. It's just the tip of the iceberg, so to say. There is already legislation going on to hopefully completely ban the use of the chemical, but in the meantime, it's important that we pay attention to what we buy to make sure it is BPA-free. Especially when it comes to things that we buy for our kids. There are many countries that are ahead of us on this - for example, Canada officially declared BPA "toxic" back in April of this year and a ban on it should be issued in the coming months. Also, it's important to remember that while I'm focusing on sippy cups and bottles, there are many, many things that have BPA in them. We are in the process of switching our plastic dishes (especially those containers used for leftovers) to glass.

There is a vast selection of BPA-free sippies and bottles and there are products to fit every budget. When we first started throwing out Briley's old cups and buying new ones, there weren't that many options and her cups were very expensive. Over the past few months, though, this has become a huge deal and there are now more affordable BPA-free cups and bottles. Of course, you do get what you pay for, so the more expensive ones are nicer and more durable.

Here is a link that has more info on BPA (it also has some links that will direct you to even MORE info, if you are that interested) and also gives some ideas for safe sippies and bottles.

Info on BPA and Safe Sippy/Bottle Ideas

Also, something to note: some of the plastic sippies and bottles listed on some sites are only BPA-free if they are the newest versions. So, say you have a Gerber sippy cup from 2007 - sorry, but it may contain BPA. Unless your plastic cups have been purchased very recently, I'd be super careful about trusting that they are BPA-free. Some manufacturers only made their products BPA-free when they started getting lots of bad press, so just because they are now advertising their stuff as BPA-free doesn't mean it was always so.

Here are our favorite cups:
Thermos Foogo
Sigg Sippy
Take and Toss - We use these for mealtime because they are easier to wash than the others, but the downside is that they are NOT "no-spill" so we have to be extra careful.

Alright, I guess that's about it for now. If I come up with anything else, I'll let ya know! :o)