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@Foodnerd81: LOL moving our white noise machine to the other side of the room is on my list of things to do tonight. Gahhhh
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@lawbee11: wondering the same thing! we are using plastic straw cup here but if there is a better alternative i would be interested too!
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@MrsMccarthy: it is tempered glass. The ones we have are by Duralex, I bought them on Amazon. My main concern was broken glass, not so much chemicals in plastic.
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@NovBaby1112: your wooden bubble comment made me die laughing.
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@lawbee11: I moved it from right next to her crib to about 1 foot from her crib. Progress!
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I fully acknowledge that plastic is a major fixture in our lives. I think my goal at this point will be to minimize it in our kitchen. I've already been thinking about reducing our nonstick cookware, so this goes hand in hand. We'll still be exposed to a bunch of junk under plenty of circumstances, but if I can reduce the amount with direct exposure to our food and beverage, it's worth it to me. Changing out some water bottles and tupperware for our most frequent uses will not be that expensive or life altering.
I think my perspective is definitely influenced by the unexplained infertility we experienced.
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@MrsMccarthy: I guess for me it all comes down to how much I want to research everything, and I do mean everything. Shampoo, lotion, toys, clothes, cups, food, bumpers, car seats, cribs, can all be dangerous, some more than others. I could research things that are bad for my kid for the rest of my life. Personally, I don't want to research to death each of these subjects. I realize that may be a bit ignorant, but when there is a new article every day about this or that being a danger to your health...I guess I just don't have the time for that and I will use my best judgement and have a happy life instead of a worried about what will kill me next life. *shrug*
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I am sure in another year, they will come with another study that glass is bad. Every year they change on what is good and what is bad for you.
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Have you guys seen the studies about the wooden cutting boards? and how they harbor a shitload of microorganisms like salmonella? They're nearly impossible to get clean and disinfect because the wood swells. The thing with plastic is that it's easy to sanitize.
Glass is made shatterproof by processing it with polymers so that when it breaks, it doesn't just spray everywhere. So....is that better? It's up to you.
I mean....where you do cross the line? Everything is processed in this day and age. Your "safe' stainless steel has been pickled with all kinds of dangerous stuff, too.
There are issues with alternative solutions still, too, which is why there's no fantastic replacement yet.
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@dolphin: My LO is obsessed with my Starbucks cups--she's always reaching for them. I've considered buying some of the disposable kind like that that they sell at the grocery store. The hole to drink from is small so it may work well for a child? I don't know, though...it seems so wasteful.
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@Mrs. Bee: I agree, if you read enough about anything, it'll kill you!
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I think there are also stainless steel cups? Or do those have BPA too?
ETA: Oh oops, didn't see @blackbird's comment above.
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This stuff plagues me. I've eliminated most plastic but for young babies it's almost impossible. Even stainless steel sippies have plastic spouts and that's where they actually put their mouths. I think you have to just try to make educated decisions as best you can.
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Based on these comments I don't even want to read the article...! Then I'll spend the next 5 hours researching glass straw cups for babies. no thank you.
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@Mrs. Bee: well BPA was banned but it was a hard fight initially. The FDA does not go quietly. There are some things I look at like vaccines and I see that there is no good evidence out there proving that they are bad but a lot showing that they are helpful. With BPA there are a lot of variables so it can be hard to pinpoint but we also live in a culture that is owned by corporations. Science is horrifically under funded and there may never be a 100 percent credible source. Would I feel more strongly if this article were written by the New York Times? Of course I would! But they get things wrong too and in the end I feel like plastics have already been banned for a reason so limiting them or at the very least not inundating my life with something I am not sure about seems like a smart alternative. People know nothing about how mold spores effect is either but you bet your bippy we try to limit exposure. I just feel like we have to at least put things under the microscope a little more when we start seeing stuff like this.
Trust me I am bummed! I love my sons sippys.
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@blackbird: I was under the impression that some glass is also heat tempered.
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I'm of the mindset that there is so much out there now that is bad for us. While I find the article helpful, I can't get rid of all of the plastic in our life. Just way too hard. And I think all of our wireless devices and other pollutants are doing far more damage. With all of these things combined and with the average life span going up, it's inevitable that these types of diseases are going to become more prominent.
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It's so hard to eliminate plastics entirely. And WHY does my LO insist on only wanting to chew on everything plastic? Wooden toys, humph, she doesn't like them. Plastic on the high chair straps or car seat straps - ooh yummy!
As for food storage - I feel like the glass containers with plastic lids are acceptable. Food is rarely touching the lid. You don't reheat with the lid on. But this does concern me about using the Babycook. Which is worse? The entire Babycook is plastic, but microwaves are supposedly horrible too! Who has time to stove heat everything?
@lawbee11: Would also love to know which straw cups are made out of SS or glass. I might be taking a trip to WF. But then you worry about the straw.
I did a quick search on silicone safety too and found this. I mean, nothing seems to be safe anymore! http://www.theecomum.com/1/post/2011/10/eco-myth-busting-myth-2-silicone-is-totally-inert-totally-safe-not.html
@HabesBabe: I'll do my best to eliminate some plastics, but entirely is much too difficult!
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@shopaholic: LOL M is the same way about chewing on straps of high chair and car seat. She could spend all day doing that.
I did a brief search on SS sippy/straw cups and all of the ones I found had at least some plastic/silicone. It doesn't seem like there's much of a choice until they're able to drink from an open container with no straw.
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This doesn't surprise me at all. Most everything is made in China, and sorry, but claims of BPA-freeness or not, China doesn't exactly have a spotless manufacturing/safety record.
I wonder if the cups manufactured in the US/Europe tested positive or not.
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I was happily using a SIGG bottle to carry water (and feeling very virtuous), until the coating around the lip of the bottle started peeling off. I hand washed the bottle with a gentle liquid dish soap--it wasn't maltreated. I'm not sure that there is a perfect option for carrying liquids. I've been in the market for an uncoated/unpainted stainless bottle, but they're fairly hard to find. I've had a couple others that leaked.
As for drinking at home, we use glass or ceramic. For little children who can hold a cup, I really like espresso mugs. They're easy to find, cheap, and don't create as big a mess when they drop and break as regular coffee mugs or glasses do. Also, because the pieces are white or colored, I feel like it's easier to feel confident that I'm not overlooking a shard when I do have clean up a broken one.
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@2PeasinaPod: I agree that we all have to find a happy medium because in the end nothing feels safe. To be honest I've always felt a little bit skeptical of the "safe" plastic anyway. I'm not sure what anyone would have to gain from scaring us into using less plastic but I sure can think of a lot of gains for corporations if we use more.
In the end i feel like the hassle of doing research and then coming to my own conclusions based on that is worth it.
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This is the kind of stuff that stresses me out so much that it paralyzes me and I don't do anything...
I definitely do not heat plastic and I try to hand-wash as much as possible. I'm slowly in the process of transitioning to glass, but some products are very difficult to switch from!
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I won't be changing either. As techniques to quantitate chemicals become more sensitive, everything is going to have something that's going to kill us. Now I have to get rid of my plastic, my wooden cutting boards (and spoons too, I imagine), can't BBQ, the wifi is going to get me, the suds in my shampoo and the flame redardants in my furniture/kids clothing is going to give me cancer. Really, it's a miracle I'm still alive.
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We have a goal to phase all plastic out of our home. We can't afford to throw out everything at once and replace with glass, but we can do it little by little.
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@looch, ooo bulletproof glass. I wonder how you know which you're getting?
@yoursilverlining, good point. Made in the USA is typically a much safer bet!
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@blackbird: I think you're getting whatever is cheaper, in all honesty.
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Sooo probably the chemical laden stuff, not the fancy heat treated stuff
Although I will say that a lot of things are stamped ASTM for manufacturing standards and you can look those up for more information
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@Mrs Green Grass: I completely agree. I want to hide from it too. What's good about articles like these in our day and age though is that it seems to lead to more research. I'm not saying you or anyone should feel bad if your kid is still drinking from their sippy. Hell my son is drinking out of his right now as I type. I just feel like we will maybe use a but less of this stuff if we have a choice because there may be a benefit in doing so.
I know we are all overwhelmed but that doesn't mean we should stick our heads in the sand anymore than it means we should all start living like cave people. There is a happy medium. I swear.
I probably won't completely give up all plastic just because of this article but I trust non BPA a lot less abd in looking into alternatives.
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@blackbird: yeah, especially for things like drinking glasses, you know?
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@shopaholic: I SO feel your pain. My son is the same way. He would much rather chew on a plastic leggo than the apple I give him sometimes but I still take it away when I can.
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Maybe I'll start giving LO water and milk out of glasses with paper straws... double bonus, that way I don't need to worry about him walking/running while drinking out of a straw cup!
ETA - triple bonus - that way we wouldn't have to wash any more straw cups!
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@MrsMccarthy: @Beehive: And we need a glass straw cup with a LID. Because LO seems to think it's hilarious to stick her hand in the water/cups these days.
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@shopaholic: Definitely, LO loves to play with the straw in the water now, and gets "slightly" annoyed when he can't grab the straw and use it to splash the water. Let me know if you find just the thing...
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Here is some stuff I just bought. I think I may return the sippy for a Kiki with silicone straw
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I totally agree that it's impossible to avoid any toxins today, but after reading this I am definitely going to re-evaluate certain products that LO eats off of and any items I use for food storage/cooking. The way I see it, our bodies are over-loaded from chemicals and toxins coming from every direction so I might as well try to eliminate things where I can. That being said, it is SO frustrating how expensive clean alternatives are.
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Oh and I'd like to add that I also think overall exposure it important to think about. A plastic straw may not be so bad if the vessel is not plastic as well and I think heating things or letting them sit in these plastics makes a hue difference. I feel like cutting back overall exposure is a friendy alternative to panic at the disco.
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@Dagny: its totally frustrating but on a more positive note I have noticed that prices go down with mass consumption so if more people but better products they will e a bit more afforadablefor all. Think how much iPods used to be compared to now, it's always better when something is popular. Plus competitors get in the game.
We are very fortunate to live in Portland Oregon which is a Mecca for natural and environment friendly products. Of course some of the people here are also the reason for the return of childhood diseases because they refuse to vaccinate their kids. It's a slippery slope for sure, that's why I think we all owe it to ourselves and our children to do our homework no matter how tedious it might seem.
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@.twist.: +1
Although I will say that a lot of things are stamped ASTM for manufacturing standards and you can look those up for more information
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