How to Buy a Stainless-Steel Sippy Cup
Many parents want to avoid plastic sippy cups because of the chemical additives they contain. Both Bisphenol-a (BPA), an industrial chemical used in polycarbonate plastic, and phthalates, a class of chemicals added to plastics to increase its flexibility, alarm parents since they are known endocrine disruptors to which children are particularly vulnerable. As a result, stainless-steel sippy sales have skyrocketed with parents buying them faster than retailers can stock them.
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Instructions
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Know what chemicals or additives you want to avoid. Thoroughly familiarize yourself with chemicals like BPA and phthalates.
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Research sippy spouts carefully. Many stainless-steel sippies on the market have bodies cast from stainless steel, but sippy or sports bottle tops that are plastic may contain chemicals like BPA and phthalates that you do not want in or near your child's mouth. Choose a sippy bottle with a plastic top that contains the recycling code 1, 2 or 5. Recycling codes 3 and 7 are more likely to contain phthalates and BPA.
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Decide how spill proof you'd like your top to be. Some stainless-steel sippies have sports caps which are no more spill-resistant than your average sports top on a container of bottled water.
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Determine what shape of sippy your child needs. Some sippies have handles, others have an ergonomic shape to fit a child's small hands, while some have no special grip features at all. You may need a different cup depending on your child's age and skill with a sippy in general.
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Consider price. Compared with plastic sippies that frequently cost only a few dollars per cup, stainless-steel sippies are considerably more expensive. This could be a problem if your child is the type to toss a sippy aside and lose it.
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Tips & Warnings
You will not necessarily find recycling codes on all products. You may have to call the manufacturer to obtain this information.
