Safe Sippy Cup & Water Bottle Guide

Felix never drank out of a bottle due to what I called his “reverse nipple confusion.” Once he started on water (and yes, diluted juice), he happily accepted a non-toxic sippy cup.

With Wolfie, we never even tried to give him a bottle, as I didn’t use a pump the second time around. I started him on a non-toxic sippy cup even sooner.

When I was researching non-toxic sippy cups for Felix, I was at first I was psyched that every single sippy I found was BPA-free. For once, a decision would be easy! Or not.

Since I’m neurotic, I decided to do a little more research, and sure enough I found some good reasons to avoid the plastic sippy cups they sold every baby store. Actually, I didn’t even need to go digging: even back then (in 2010 or so), major news outlets like The New York Times were reporting the dangers of BPA substitutes.

Since then, more research has emerged, and it has become clear that pretty much all plastic food and drink containers should be avoided whenever possible.

The good news is that there are lots of safe glass and stainless steel sippy cups available (see below, under “The Good Stuff.”)

In the updated version of this Safe Product Guide, I also included some kids’ water bottles—since kids really use sippy cups for such a short period of time. (Tears…it goes so fast!).

My Top Pick For Sippy Cup/Water Bottle

Pura is my pick for sippy cup. Because it fits with 4 different tops, this versatile cup goes from bottle, to sippy, to straw, to sport bottle. It’s the only one I use for both of my kids, ages 3 and 7. It’s the only plastic-free cup that’s Nontoxic Certified (by Madesafe.org).

$18.00 – $24.99Buy Now

 

Is There Lead in Your Non-Toxic Sippy Cup?

In early 2017, Natural Baby Momma blogged about sippy cups containing lead, and this freaked a lot of people out. You’ll see notes below on specific bottles, but the bottom line is basically this:

1. Don’t worry about any glass bottles except Green Sprouts (see “The Sneaky Stuff”), but even if you have a Green Spout sippy, your child probably didn’t come in contact with the lead.
2. Don’t worry about any non-insulated stainless steel bottles.
3. If you have an insulated stainless steel bottle, make sure the dot on the bottom is covered with a seal (if there is a seam instead of a dot, don’t worry–your cup doesn’t have lead).
4. If you have a stainless steel bottle AND it has a dot on the bottom AND the seal is missing, toss it and call the company, but still rest assured that the chances of your child having been exposed to unsafe lead levels is low.
5. For Pura Kiki and Eco Vessel cups: if you have a bottle that you bought in the last year or so, even if it’s insulated and that seal over the dot on the bottom is missing, it won’t have lead (but still call the company to be sure).

Do Sippy Cups Cause Lisps and Cavities?

Some experts suggest that drinking from a sippy cup can cause lisps and other speech issues. Drinking from a straw will not cause speech problems, however.

Sippy cups also can facilitate tooth decay if they contain juice or milk, but this is related to the frequency of sugars being in contact with the teeth rather than the cup itself (when children have access to a sippy full of apple juice all day, for instance).

What Sippy Cups/Water Bottles Are Made Of

1. BPA. I’m lying. Every sippy cup I researched (including all the ones sold by Babies “R” Us and Diapers.com) proclaims itself “BPA free!”  Sadly, this is meaningless, as we now know that estrogen-mimickers are found in BPA-free plastics, too.
2. Silicone. This plastic substitute seems to be non-leaching and non-toxic, although I would like to see more studies conducted on silicone. Increasingly, sippy cup manufacturers are using silicone spouts or straws in place of the old plastic ones, and this is definitely an improvement.
3. Latex. Like silicone, latex is a good alternative to plastic, although because it is a somewhat common allergen, not many companies go this route.
4. 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 or its analogs (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.
5. 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.
6. Glass. This is probably the best material in terms of safety, but it’s heavy and breakable, so most people prefer stainless steel sippies.

What About Phthalates?

Although all sippy cups and kids’ water bottles these days proudly guarantee themselves to be BPA-free, very few mention phthalates. I’ve had almost no luck getting any manufacturer to provide me with a list of all the materials they use (that includes the makers of The Good Stuff!), but the potential for phthalates to be lurking in plastic sippy cups is just another reason to stick to stainless steel or glass. That said, phthalates tend to be found in soft plastic (think bath toys), so most sippy cups are probably in the clear.

The Good Stuff

The Okay Stuff

The Bad Stuff

The Sneaky Stuff

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