Check out my review on the New Glass Sippy!
A few months ago I wrote a lengthy review of BPA free sippy cups. I reviewed, compared, and rated 5 major sippy cups that are BPA free…Klean Kanteen, the Sigg, the Foogo, Born Free, and Avent Naturally. A few months before that I also wrote about BPA free baby bottles and particularly glass baby bottles. I wrote another one just a few weeks ago. All of these posts draw a lot of daily traffic to this blog so I know this is a topic of great importance to parents. It also turns out that ever since I wrote that sippy cup post I have been contacted by several companies that make BPA free products to ask me to review their products and to keep writing about this important issue…keeping BPA or Bisphenol A out of the products we give to our babies.
I recently heard about a mom that wrote a letter to a baby formula manufacturer asking them to remove BPA from their product. The response she got was essentially that “the government says the tiny amount of BPA in our product is safe…we aren’t breaking any laws…tough cookies”.
This response infuriates me. Yes that one can of formula may have “safe limits” of BPA but what happens when parents go home and feed their babies that BPA tainted formula inside a BPA tainted bottle? After feeding time maybe they give that child a teething toy that has BPA in it and for nap time maybe the child sucks on a pacifier with BPA in it. The total exposure to BPA is getting quite large when you look at ALL the products in their small lives that may contain this harmful chemical. For ANY company to sit back and say that they don’t care about that is morally reprehensible IMO. We as consumers need to withhold our financial support of such companies until they clean up their act.
I am happy to report that MANY new companies, and some not so new companies, are stepping up the the plate and making safer products. In fact I have six new BPA free sippy cups to review! Several of these came to us gratis from some great companies so thank you! We now have an amazing collection of BPA cups including a cup that is perfect for older kids.
Fluid No Spill Toddler Cup from Boon (Price $6.00) – This cup is really kind of special and you can see why immediately. It has a very unique shape….kind of like a doughnut. It is uber stylish drink-ware for kids. The Fluid has an ergonomic two handled grip and an angled spout that requires less heading tipping. The price is very reasonable too.
A big plus for me is that it is a two piece system unlike so many other sippy cups. I am also happy to report that it is dishwasher safe because washing this thing by hand wouldn’t be very easy. The drying time required is a little long IMO though. I wondered how my son would react to the shape of this cup and at first it seemed we had a dud on our hands because he screamed and refused to drink out of it. :) But I left it front of him during dinner and he eventually took a cautious sip and now he likes to drink out of it. However I usually try to reserve this cup for meal times because while it will not spill if knocked over, it will drip if turned upside down…a bonus feature for my two year old. My kids give this cup an A+ but mom gives it a B.
The Safe Sippy by Kid Basix (Price $16.95) – This cup is kind of deceiving. Just by looking at a picture I would not have discerned that it is stainless steel…but it is. It is a non-leaching stainless steel cup with a hard plastic, angled spout, removable plastic handles, and a cool rubber-like plastic sheath similar to the ones we are know seeing on some glass baby bottles. All plastics used to make these cups are free of BPA, DEHA, and phthalates. This is even declared on the packaging which is a HUGE bonus IMO. The packaging is also made from recycled paper and soy based inks. The cups come in pink, blue, and teal.
My 4 year old daughter LOVES this cup. She opted to remove the handles as they were awkward for her but now that they are gone this is her favorite cup…knocking her Sigg and her Klean Kanteen down to seconds. She tosses it around quite a bit and it does not leak. What I like about this cup is the sheath on top of the stainless steel. It keeps her little hands from getting cold when a cold drink is put inside of it. The other two cups I mentioned do get pretty darn cold and cold is not cool in winter time. She tells me that the pink color is perfect for princesses too. She gives it an A+ and so do I.
Nuby No-Spill Sport Sipper (Price $3.95) – This cup is probably the most affordable BPA free option for parents and as such it gets big props from me. Yes I personally prefer some of the more expensive cups but lower income families should not be relegated to using toxics because that is all they can afford. This Nuby cup is very durable and attractive with lovely shades of purple, red, blue, yellow, and green. We have the green cup and it is a very pretty lime hue. It too has a hint of that rubber-like sheath that is getting so popular with a no-slip grip around the middle of the cup. The middle of the cup is also curved allowing little hands to get a good grip. I think the easy grip is one reason my two year old REALLY likes this cup. It also has a soft silicone nipple-shaped straw. I am not sure how long the straw part will last in comparison to the rest of the cup but time will tell. My kids gave this cup a B. I think it wasn’t fancy enough for them but the low price and the overall appeal have prompted me to give it an A.
Nuby 10oz Sippy Cup with Handles (Price $4.95) – This is another great cup from Nuby. It is smaller and is made with a harder plastic than the one above. It has twin handles with a wide soft silicone spout, and a pressure sensitive Vari-Flo feature that regulates fluid intake and doesn’t leak. This Nuby is probably ideal for kids just making the transition to a sippy cup but the quality is really very nice for such an affordable cup. My youngest son didn’t seem to prefer this cup but we didn’t have any leaks when he used it. Overall my kids gave this cup a C…but the affordability once again can’t be ignored. I gave this one a B.
Note: I need to mention that Nubi has MANY sippy cups on the market that are not BPA free so use caution. My reviews of the two cups above are product specific and do not apply to the whole Nuby line.
Think Baby 9oz Training Cup (Price $8.95) – The Think Baby line is free of BPA, PVC, Nitrosamines and Lead. The sippy cups are made from a safe, durable and heat resistant plastic called PES (Polyethersulfone). The actual cup body is a lovely honey color and the top and handles are melon colored. The color scheme was hit for me as was the fact that it came in recycled packaging. This cup is ideal for training babies to use a sippy cup so the handles are kind of big and chunky and the spout is soft and nipple-like. Other nice features inlcude the fact that all Think Baby bottle and training cup parts are interchangeable and it is dishwasher safe. We removed the handles and it is working well for my youngest although I think if left unattended he would chew on the spout and ruin it. I think this cup is definitely for younger kids. My kids gave it a B and since it does have a specific and narrow market I would also give it a B. For the same price I could buy each of the Nuby cups described above and have a transition cup AND a toddler cup.
The FUNtainer Straw Bottle by Thermos (Price $12.99-14.99) – This is the BPA free cup option that will appeal to older kids. It is made by Thermos who also makes my favorite sippy cup…the Foogo. In fact the taller Foogo straw cup is pretty darn similar. The FUNtainer is a fantastic stainless steel straw bottle with a plastic lid made of non-toxic polypropylene and the straw is made of silicone. The lid stays attached to the cup so losing it is not an issue as it is with so many other cups. You simple push a little tab and the lid pops up and falls back to allow drinking. It is really very nifty. It came with an extra straw for the inside and the out which is nice too. I would have to say that this cup is a bit hard to clean though so I only allow water in it. Which really is good because I want my kids to drink more water.
Another big plus for this cup is the fact that it comes in a lot of great styles. You can get a FUNtainer designed with Barbie, Pirates of the Caribbean, Cars the Movie, Scooby Doo…there are many different options. The lower price is for more generic designs like flowers and the upper price is for cups with licensed characters like Barbie. We have the Cars FUNtainer for my seven year who is a big fan of Lightning McQueen. He carries this cup in his Laptop Lunchbox bag or in his backpack if he doesn’t pack a lunch. He gives it an A+ rating and I would have to give it the same.
So, which cup rates the best in our family? Well, for this round we have to pick two different cups. The Safe Sippy comes out a winner because it is stainless steel and has a protective sheath that makes it more practical for cold beverages (or cold weather – I live in Ohio). The FUNtainer is also a big winner because it is perfect for older kids and my oldest son wants his own special cups that don’t look babyish.
Now if I include the cups from my previous sippy cup review I would have to say that overall I still like the Foogo with its Thermos ability to insulate drink temperatures and its gorgeous design. The Safe Sippy may just have to be our colder weather cup though. And my favorite cup for older kids is the FUNtainer. Lots of readers asked about cups for older kids so I was happy to find a nice solution.
Make sure to check out our reviews on BPA Free Plates, Bowls, and Utensils!
