Contrary to what many people think... one just simply doesn't "go and buy a sippy cup".
At about 7 months old we read that our baby should start using a sippy cup. There is major researching to do! I spent 3 days searching and this is all that I have learned:
1. Sippy Cups Develop Speech Problems and Cavities!
- Sippy cups with hard or soft spout and thumb sucking cause difficulty with articulation, lisps and clarity of speech in some children, says Sandra Holtzman, MS, a speech pathologist and certified orofacial myologist in Coconut Creek, Fla.
- "When a child sucks their thumb, it's placed on the roof of their mouth, so the tongue is misplaced," Holtzman tells WebMD. "They keep their lips apart, which encourages open-mouth breathing, and their teeth are pushed forward or outward." When the tongue is misplaced, she says, a child also can't properly suction saliva or swallow food or liquid.
- Steer clear of sippy cups and use straws instead, she urges.
- "Today, we are kind of spoiled and not as used to a mess when a cup spills, but that's a mistake," Holtzman says. Instead of cups with spouts, use cups with straws or simply place a straw in a paper or plastic cup, she says.
- "Using a pacifier is better because at least you can take it away, unlike the thumb," she says. Holtzman suggests dressing infants in outfits with mittens as a way to prevent thumb sucking.
- When toddlers drink from sippy cups, they immerse the six upper front teeth. If there's something sweet in the cup -- and there frequently is -- those teeth are literally bathed in sweet stuff all day long. "If left untreated, tooth decay can result in pain and infection," says Cindi Sherwood, DDS, spokeswoman for the Academy of General Dentistry.
- Let children drink sugary beverages only through a straw. Sippy cups with flexible rubber straws are fine.
- Get children involved in dental care early on. Wipe infant and toddler's teeth with a damp cloth once a day. By age 2, introduce brushing with a soft-bristle brush and fluoridated toothpaste.
- Children should have regularly scheduled dental visits (every six months) beginning when the first tooth appears but not later than their first birthday.
2. Sippy Cups Materials and Models Review by Gimme The Good Stuff
Source: http://www.gimmethegoodstuff.org/sippy-cups/
Source: http://www.gimmethegoodstuff.org/sippy-cups/
- BPA. Sippy cups today proclaims itself “BPA Free”, but emerging evidence reveals other BPA substitutes that are harmful and estrogen-mimickers are found in BPA-free plastics, too!
- Silicone. This plastic substitute is popular with sippy cup manufacturers like Nuby because it’s considered nontoxic. Although there aren't many studies on silicone, I feel comfortable with it.
- Latex. Like silicone, latex is a good alternative to plastic, although because it is a somewhat common allergen, not many companies go this route (NUK is an exception and has several products made of latex). Check the glossary for information on the difference between synthetic and natural (rubber) latex.
- Aluminum. The inside of aluminum water bottles or sippy cups are always coated, since aluminum is not considered “food safe.” This epoxy lining is usually plastic, and you should make sure that it is guaranteed to be free of BPA (see below, under The Sneaky Stuff, for more on this). In addition to concerns about the coating itself, I also worry that if it were to be scratched or compromised in some way, the liquid inside the cup could theoretically contain traces of aluminum, particularly if your child was drinking an acidic juice.
- Stainless steel. Long considered the safest material for cookware, even good old stainless steel has come under fire for potentially being dangerous: when heated, it may leach aluminum and other heavy metals into food. Since sippy cups generally contain only cold liquids, this doesn’t concern me, and if you wanted to be really careful you could avoid using stainless steel sippy cups for acidic drinks.
- Glass. I consider this is the best option, and thankfully glass sippy cups do exist, although I have yet to find one without a plastic mouthpiece.
- THE BAD: Anything that doesn’t SAY it’s free of BPA should obviously be avoided, but I don’t think such a cup exists anymore. I wouldn't accept hand-me-down sippy cups since they might contain BPA. I’m staying away from all plastic sippies since I don’t believe that BPA and phthalates are the only harmful chemicals in plastic (I consider the risk from a BPA-free plastic spout or straw to be acceptable, so long as the liquid is stored in glass or stainless steel).
By this criteria, Gerber and Playtex sippy cups are Bad Stuff, despite being BPA-free. The same goes for Born Free, with an added demerit for being super stinky. Even when we only filled our Born Free sippy with water and took it apart and washed it after every use, it smelled like week-old garbage within a few hours.
Nalgene water bottles were embraced by environmentalists while all the while containing BPA. These days, Nalgene uses BPA-free plastic for their sippy cups, but plastic is plastic.
Another controversial sippy cup is the one made by Sigg. After promising their aluminum water bottles would not leach BPA, it was discovered that they contained the very chemical in their coating. Sigg has since corrected the situation (although if you have a bottle manufactured prior to 2008, it probably does have BPA in it).
3. My Personal Decision
- I have banned ALL sippy cups and chose a STRAW Training Cup.
- I'm staying away from plastic since I don’t believe that BPA and Phthalates are the only harmful chemicals in plastic.
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Highest Quality Material
- 100% pure medical grade silicone / LSR (liquid silicone rubber).
- All silicone parts are free of all petroleum based chemicals.
- Nonporous material does not harbor bacteria.
- Silicone parts will not deform even with extended use & sterilization.
- Bisphenol-A free, phthalates free, pvc free, lead free.
- Product Dimensions : 7 x 2.75 x 2.75.
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