BPA Free Sippy Cups (Bisphenol A Free Sippy Cups) - What's the Controversy?

For all of the moms and dads and grandparents who are concerned, please rest assured that the manufacturer of the world's leading Nuby Sippy Cup (10 oz) is now advertising that their 10 oz sippy cups are and always have been [bisphenol A free sippy cups] aka [BPA free].

For those of you who don't have a clue as to what a Nuby sippy cup is, please see the pictures above and below. You can buy these and the replacement spouts for these at http://shop.nubysippycup.com   They even ship internationally to some countries upon approval.

The Nuby sippy cup is rated as the number one best selling sippy cup in popularity. This cup, if used correctly, is a no spill, no drip sippy cup that your toddler can shake shake shake all over the place without a drop spilling to the ground. They come in fun, bright colors and they are dishwasher safe.

This particular BPA free sippy cup is also great for any baby transitioning from bottle to sippy cup. The spout is nice and soft. (the spout is also BPA free). The bottle has a great shape that allows your baby to grip it easily. It only leaks on purpose when the spout is pressed down so that the holes open up on the top and that should only occur if your baby is drinking. If it is leaking around the rim, it's important to look at the lid and line up the two grooves on each side of the spout with the lines on the rim of the lid. If it is lined up properly, it should not leak.

After watching my own kids run across the living room floor with a variety of other sippy cups in hand, and spilling drinks in the car and on the kitchen floor, at home and in other friend's houses, time and time again, I discovered the no drip, no spill 10 oz Bisphenol A free Nuby sippy cup.

At first I didn't believe the hype that it was no drip and no spill. In fact, when I got the first Nuby sippy cup and I washed it out and got ready to use it, it leaked! Yes, it leaked right out of the side around the rim. Another time, I was in a real hurry and wasn't watching what I was doing so I screwed the lid on, picked it up and shook it and milk flew all over the place.

Peeved, the first time I thought I had been ripped off. So I re-read the directions. It said to make sure the lid was on properly. It didn't take me long to realize that the lid was not on the right way. In fact, when I had put it on, I put it on crooked. I unscrewed it and put more water in it. I fixed it. Then I shook it numerous times watching for the slightest drop, but it didn't leak! That's what happened the second time. The lid was on crooked. When I fixed it, it didn't leak.

The true test came recently when giving my 8 month old granddaughter Ava her first BPA free Nuby sippy cup. She is still on the bottle, but I needed a diversion one day so I filled it with water and gave it to her. Nothing was coming out. Not only wouldn't it drip or spill, but it wouldn't come out even in her mouth. I finally tilted it enough that she started sucking on it like a nipple.

Then the water came out. After she was done with it, she took it out of her mouth and began to toss it back and forth in her hand. It didn't drip. She finally tossed it to the rug and not a drop could be found on the rug. The Nuby sippy cup had passed it's rigorous inspection testing.

The 10 oz Nuby sippy cup had lived up to it's fine reputation! I highly recommend this cup to anyone who has a toddler. In addition, for babies, the silicone spout is nice and soft and seems to be a great transition spout from bottle to sippy cup.

If you do have a cup that leaks, check the lid and try again. If it still leaks then you should take it back and get a replacement. I don't care what brand product you buy today, there are bound to be defects in a few of the millions of products manufactured.

Also, with this cup, as noted above, if you press on the spout part a certain way, the spout will open. If you put the cup in your diaper bag and it turns upside down with liquid in it, if the spout is pressing on the bottom of the bag, the valve may open up and leak so you will want to keep that in mind.

As with any item that goes into your baby's mouth, you must also regularly check the spout to see if it is worn or torn, especially if your toddler is getting teeth. Nuby is now making the replacement spouts but only for the 10 oz sippy cups you see pictured here. Not for the ones with handles.

If your toddler is chewing on the spout, it will eventually break down and leak. As you would with any pacifier or bottle nipple, check your toddler's spouts frequently for wear and then replace them. You can find out more about Nuby at http://www.nubysippycup.com

Although the chemical in question, Bisphenol A (BPA), is controversial and has not proven harmful to humans in many studies that have been done, there are other studies who disagree. Most parents have never heard of BPA and once they read about it, they have to decide if it is truly a detriment to their child's health in the form of a sippy cup, or if, in addition, they will might need to throw out every piece of plastic they have been using for themselves and their families.

There are parents who are concerned about BPA just because they have heard about it, but really don't know what it is. They just know there is a controversy and unless they further investigate what BPA is, they just assume that it is a bad thing. Consequently, in response to parental concerns, Nuby and the parent company, Luv n Care in Monroe Louisiana have responded to their concerns by labeling their BPA products as BPA free. Not all of the Nuby products are BPA free, but once again, that does not mean the products are harmful.

For those who don't know, Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic resins, epoxy resins, and other products. There have been numerous studies on this chemical in relation to manufactured products. It is important to do your own research on google by typing in BPA and reading the various articles.

One such article states the following:

"Researchers from government agencies, academia, and industry worldwide have studied the potential for bisphenol A (BPA) to migrate from polycarbonate products into foods and beverages. These studies consistently show that the potential migration of BPA into food is extremely low, generally less than 5 parts per billion under conditions typical for uses of polycarbonate products. At this level, a consumer would have to ingest more than 1,300 pounds of food and beverages in contact with polycarbonate every day for an entire lifetime to exceed the safe level of BPA set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Consequently, human exposure to BPA from polycarbonate plastics is minimal and poses no known health risk.

The use of polycarbonate plastic for food contact applications continues to be recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Commission Scientific Committee on Food, the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency, the Japan Ministry for Health and Welfare and other regulatory authorities worldwide." You can find more information on this at: http://www.bisphenol-a.org/about/faq.html#a

For an opposing viewpoint you should visit: http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/bisphenola/bpauses.htm

My personal viewpoint on the subject is this. My kids and my friend's children have been using Nuby sippy cups for years. No one has been diagnosed with any illness resulting from the chemical BPA that I am aware of (although some of the articles would say that BPA contributes to a myriad of illnesses and with that, you would have to judge for yourself).

If I have anything plastic that I am serving food in, for adult or baby, I take the food out of the plastic to heat it. I don't heat baby bottles. I warm the milk before I put it in the bottle (not boiling it). I don't put hot liquids in plastic bottles, just luke warm. The newest controversy is that spring water and other water served in plastic bottles may contain BPA. We only give the babies bottled water.

That means, if there is BPA in bottled water, tap water is safer. No, wait a minute. I read an article recently that told me not to drink the tap water because of all of the chlorine and chemicals in it. I also read an article about bottled water that said we are just drinking tap water that is being bottled as spring water but really isn't spring water after all.

It would seem that there are so many things that are harmful to us according to all different kinds of groups that we can't keep up with all of them. Therefore, it is wise to check everything out and decide for yourself if BPA is a serious threat. In my own opinion, once again, I would think in the case of any Nuby sippy cup, BPA free or otherwise, if you don't heat the liquid in them, or put them in a microwave (microwaves are also controversial), or chew on them to the point where you ingest the plastic materials, there is, according to the first article above, no chance of harm. Your baby will be well into grade school when other, even more serious issues like drugs and alcohol will take the place of BPA.