BPA-Free Bottles and Sippy Cups

Photographer: Bill Flannigan 

Parents love plastic. It doesn’t chip off when bitten into or break when thrown across the room. The good stuff even survives getting run over by a car (believe me, I know).

Unfortunately, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) recently issued a report expressing “some concern” about the effects of a common plastic ingredient on fetuses, infants, and children. Specifically, the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) may affect a youngster’s brain, prostate gland, and behavioral development. The report is not conclusive, but when it comes to our children’s health, we cannot be too cautious.

 

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences offers the following suggestions on how to reduce your children’s exposure to BPA:

1)      Use glass, porcelain, or stainless steel containers.

2)      Do not microwave plastic. Polycarbonate plastic breaks down at higher temperatures.

3)      Avoid plastics with the number seven inside their recycle symbols. Plastics containing BPA are typically number seven plastics.

4)      Use BPA-free bottles and sippy cups.

Here are a few brands that offer BPA-free plastic bottles and sippy cups:

          1)      Adiri

          2)      BornFree

          3)      Green to Grow

          4)      Nalgene

          5)      Playtex