How safe is your child's sippy cup?
Call me a paranoid mother, but not a day goes by when I don't freak out about something I think will adversely affect my daughter's health, be it a chemical laden bubble bath, or a gel filled despicable disposable nappy. I avoid both those things, and many other widely available baby items, but there's always something new that rears its ugly head just when I think she's safe! This week it's her plastic sippy cups. I've always known I should have avoided all these gimmicky plastic weaning goodies when she was first introduced to food, and taught her to use metal and crockery, just like us. Unfortunately I was weak and gave in to the bright coloured cups with cute designs and iddy biddy straws. A decision I now regret, and which I have taken steps to rectify.
Related: Does Wal-Mart milk contain a dangerous growth hormone?
Studies carried out in the US show that many plastic food and drink containers contain trace levels of dangerous chemicals. Bisphenol-A for example, is a plastic softener found in polycarbonate plastics which is widely used in sports bottles and baby cups. It contains high enough levels of oestrogen to have affected the reproductive organs, brain function, and immune system of animals used in tests. The Bisphenol-A can leach out, in tiny amounts, into liquids placed into containers where it is present, and this can occur to a greater extent if the liquid is heated, so baby cups containing warm milk is a particular concern. Plastics manufacturers obviously refute these findings, and have brought out many of their own reports to the contrary, but I'm not buying it!
If you're worried about the plastics in your child's sippy cup, bowls etc. you can contact the manufacturer for a list of ingredients, which can then be cross checked against this useful chart, produced by Healthy Child. Some sippy cups actually have these numbers on the bottom, as they are a guide for recycling. If you do have an iffy cup there's a great review of safe alternatives, plus more on this subject, over at Mindful Momma.
