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I try to avoid plastics but DS does have plastic straw cups. I get a lot of resistance from DH too so I haven't made too many changes. He does have a Klean Kanteen sippy he likes to use. I wish there was a straw version. Maybe I'll just have to do an open cup with a straw.
@blackbird: I didn't realize stainless steel can have stuff in it. I have Klean Kanteens. How are you supposed to know they're safe? They say no BPA, phthalates, lead or other toxins. But I guess you can't know for sure? Ugh
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I feel like you could literally drive yourself insane trying to stay on top of all of this. As a child, I was exposed to things that are now deemed unsafe, and I'm fine. My parents were exposed to worse things, and they are fine. I don't plan on burying my head in the sand and ignoring all warnings and recommendations, but there has to be balance and compromise. I refuse to put my future children in a bubble. Just do the best that you can.
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@PermaStudent: the "I turned out fine" argument is also used by people who's parents smoked or drank heavily when they were conceived/ born too. Its a total cop out and a reason to avoid looking deeper. Some people won't get cancer if they smoke their whole lives but it doesn't meant smoking isn't harmful, it's just not wise to use that as an argument against anything. If you do your research and something seems safe enough for you then I can respect that.
To me living in a bubble means living without questioning anything. Of course there is a balance to be had and to me that's all we can do. Find balance. No one is suggesting panic.
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@MrsMccarthy: Living in a bubble, as in sheltered from anything and everything that someone may consider harmful. As soon as you rid your lives of one bad thing, research will point out another. Like I said, do the best that you can.
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@MrsMccarthy: I think the point is that even when you learn something carries risk, you sometimes have to accept that risk. I can understand trying to limit the amount of plastic in your life. I pay more for canned goods with bpa free lining. But this kind of thing quickly escalates into judging other people for being willing to take the risk you are avoiding. We could drive ourselves crazy trying to avoid anything with a potential health risk, and to be honest, we'd likely end up with a pretty restricted existence.
I appreciate the article you linked, and it definitely made me notice the plastic straw cups we've been using for travel. I don't think I will make any immediate changes, but the next time we need to buy a cup I will likely look to stainless steel.
I don't want to overstep here, but you seem pretty anxious about this topic (or maybe I'm projecting? Or maybe it's because others have been dismissive of your concerns so you feel defensive?). I just wanted to encourage you to consider the need for balance. Life is dangerous and risky. The possibility of my child dying or being injured or harmed does not leave my mind, and living with that cold harsh reality of mortality has been the single most challenging part of parenthood. But I also don't want my child to grow up dealing with her parents' anxieties (my husband and I both struggle with this) so instead I try very hard to practice the art of letting go, breathing deep, and doing what I can do to foster and bring in good health, simplicity and safety to our lives rather than what I need to restrict. -
Its also worth noting that a lot of the things in today's products were not in what we had growing up. A lot of them are very very new.
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@Silva: no where did I suggest that there should be wide spread panic, but speculation? Absolutely, yes. I think I am finding the happy medium but when I see someone make a statement like "whatever! I'm ignoring this completely." That makes me sad.
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@Silva: Very well said. I agree with every word you wrote
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@MrsMccarthy: I think maybe folks are interpreting "sad" as judgement about their parenting choices.
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Again I feel frustrated because I feel like people are jumping to the old argument of everything is bad for you anyway and I just don't think that's at all thoughtful or constructive. I nevertheless any suggestions about people changes their lifestyle blindly. U in fact made no suggestion at all but to say maybe we should take a closer look at this.
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@Silva: I totally judge someone who isn't willing to be open minded. Sorry but we all judge and franky they are making a judgement too when they suggest that parents who are concerned about such things are wasting their time or somehow panicking. It's all relative. I'm open to other perspectives but I don't feel like its constructive when someone just blindly decides something.
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I stopped storing our food in plastic a couple years ago. I bought some glass containers at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. They have plastic lids, but I remove those before putting them in the microwave. A set of 10 costs $19.
https://m.bedbathandbeyond.com/m/product/Store-N-39-Lock-10-Piece-Glass-Food-Storage-Set/1017057456
Otherwise I can't think of anything else to switch out. I'm sure it will be different once I have a LO. I don't think it is realistic to say that I will never expose myself or my future children to anything plastic though.
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I don't judge them as parents on the whole but I do feel strongly that the position of "whatever" is not adding much to the dialogue.
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@MrsMccarthy: It becomes difficult to add to the conversation when it feels like playing devil's advocate will lead others to believe you are a terrible parent.
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@MrsMccarthy: I think for some people it's about prioritizing which dangers are easier to control and focusing on them. I can pretty much guarantee fastening all the furniture to the wall will prevent my kid from pulling it over. I can't guarantee my kid won't eat or drink something with something in it that could possibly cause cancer. Do I worry about it? Yes, for myself and my family. Do I try to pick the healthiest choices? Yes, but can only do so within reason and budget. Personally, I am far more worried about furniture falling on top of my kid than a tiny percentage of bpa seepage into their drinking water...
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I'm not trying to be contentious but I feel like when I read a statement that poo poos anything outright without scrutiny then that in itself is a bit contentious. Why comment at all? Some people did have their own theories like Blackbird and I appreciate that even if I don't agree. And many of you dr make me look deeper into it because of your comments. But those who just discarded it entirely didn't contribute much but negative energy in my view.
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@MrsMccarthy: I'm honestly not judging you for choosing to buy your son different cups or being concerned about plastics. Like I said, I get it. I'm uncomfortable with your defensiveness toward those who don't agree with you. You have provided one article, other users have provided other information, there is a lot out there. Other People get to decide what is important or not important to them.
This is, quite frankly, starting to smell like "mommy wars." -
@.twist.: I totally agree and I think there is value in stating that. I certainly not trying to cause pandemonium. I just wanted to bring it to people's attention, and they can make what they want of it.
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@MrsMccarthy: also, thank you for sharing the article. I did appreciate it.
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Sharing research is AMAZING. Judging what people do (or don't do) with that information is not.
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@MrsMccarthy: totally. And as far as negative energy, I didn't mean to sound like that at all. It was more about feeling relieved that I'm not the only one who probably isn't going to switch over all the plastic in my house.
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@PermaStudent: I think this is the point I was trying to make about "mommy wars." When one opinion gets defined as "the caring, conscientious opinion" and the other opinion gets the "close minded, ignorant, blind, etc." label- it's pretty hard for people to feel comfortable defending their stance.
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@Silva: That is what I was getting at exactly. Thank you.
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@Silva: Hmm I do see your point and I totally don't want it to become that. I felt a bit offended that people were trivializing it or poo pooing without observation but at the end of the day that's their absolute right.
I withdraw anything that I may have said that seemed hurtful or judgmental. I hope that no one means to judge those of us who are concerned with this type of thing either. I only posted it because I care about the health and safety of our children.
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@MrsMccarthy: Just catching up on this thread. I noticed that one of the comments you made was switching to silicone straws. We have seen a trend of using silicone for baking. Doesn't it worry you that you are switching to silicone? In 5 years or less, a study might come out that might say that silicone is bad. We don't know. There are a lot of unknowns out there.
I don't know what to think about plastic and I have no idea how I will feel about it when I do get pregnant.
I do know that when I visited my family in Vietnam last year (for the first time), it opened my eyes. My family live in countries where their standards are much lower than ours. BPA what??Everyone I met seemed fine and happy to me. As much as I love data and studies as a scientist, I think too much info can be confusing. As others have mentioned, there are risks to everything and we all have to decide how much of it we wil listen to.
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@bluestriped bee: we can't know everything about every product. what we do know is that plastics have been linked to some very serious issues in scientific studies. Serious enough that the FDA made some of them illegal. they were illegal much earlier in europe. There isnt enough evidence out there on silicone yet and it seems to be the lesser of the evils. i will still pay attention to what i read about it in the future as i would with anything.
I am not even suggesting that people give up plastics if they don't want to. I am just suggesting that they examine the issue before they decide.
We could point to anything and say that it's not worth examining for any number of reasons and i think that is totally within someones rights but i don't think it's an argument against scrutiny.
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@MrsMccarthy: Sorry, I'm not trying to attack you. What I should have said was that, as a scientist, I know data is out there. I'm sure it's compelling. Even with my background, you can't force me to stop using plastic. Call me stupid. I'm sure sometimes I am, but you can be mad at me and others if they choose not to do anything with this info.
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@bluestriped bee: no need to apologize and i would never call you stupid. You are a very thought provoking individual and i admire your strength in your point of view.
and i really feel that way about everyone on here. i have learned so much from posting and other posters on here.
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@PermaStudent: i really didnt mean to make you feel that way and i'm sorry if i did. I did feel it was necessary to point out how i felt about the "i turned out fine" statement but i in no way meant for it to be personal and i never wanted to suggest that people should worry. I just wanted people to know that this was out there as concerned parents. thank you for contributing.
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@MrsMccarthy: So I did a quick literature search and found this.
http://m.toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/114/1/1.full
I would believe a publication like this over a blog or website you posted earlier.
Yeah, research is research and its always changing.
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@bluestriped bee: VERY INTERESTING! thank you for posting this.i would love for that to be true and i am going to continue to follow it's progress. I kind of think it deserves its own thread.
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Hm. I don't think there's much of a proven safe alternative out there so I don't really think I'll be switching dd's cups. I'll probably see if I can find any more info next time I have to buy but that's as far as I'm going to say now.
I do agree with @silva (and others!) about having to accept certain levels of risk. Every decision we make means we are forgoing another choice, and every choice has consequences. We just have to decide what is most important to us and what we have time/money for.
One last thing about the comment made about corporations profiting from plastics. Yes, someone does make money. But when we all make alternative purchases like SS cups someone else pockets that money. I mean, all of the *green* stuff brings in a lot of money too, right? The figures may not align perfectly but nonetheless, someone could profit from that article too. So I just don't make decisions based on that alone (not saying you do, just addressing that one point.)
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hmm.... I didn't read the entire chain of responses, yes it is concerning, but what can we do? We have to use plastic cups and lunch boxes at LO's daycare... I guess I could look at the thermo cups but the straw is plastic I am sure. One thing for sure is I will stick with glass and ceramic dishware when we are doing meals...
There is a camp of people saying cow's milk is poison too. And there is no alternative. I can only take that much to a certain point.
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@mrsmccarthy I'm waiting on a safe sippy 2 that I bought off amazon last week..But I realized even then the straw is made of *something*.....does the Kiki come with a straw option or just a sippy option?
Ive been trying to use the top part of my mojito shaker, which is like a tiny stainless steel cup.
I love how plastic toys people give to us boast that they're bpa free but often say nothing about being phthalate free. I've always been pretty unconvinced that whatever they replaced the bpa with was all that much better anyway. I'm sure a lot of the toys our parents grew up with were full of lead paint, so there's always something
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@MrsMccarthy: One of the docs in Seattle feels very strongly about plastics...to the point that he recommends to his parents to get rid of all plastic that contacts food and never heat it with food inside. I guess time will tell.
In healthcare, plastic is everywhere. The bags of IV fluid that keep you hydrated? Plastic. And where are they kept? In warmers. The IV lines? Plastic. So, the new question that is being raised, are we pumping our patients full of toxins? Is there any such thing as a truly inert substance?
I see the +/- comments and, for myself, I'm not freaking out that my son is fed from plastic bottles, but I can see the concern. (I will qualify that I did check to see what type of plastic they are.) Estrogens are frequently found naturally in many biological materials. Heck, they had to stop a Vitamin E trial because men who took it seemed to have worse prostate cancer. And that is "natural" as well.
There is no winning in our industrialized culture.
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Agh! Ok so what about sterilizing my pump parts/bottles the night I used it? (I use it three times per week.) all of it is plastic. Will sterilizing it in the medela bags unleash even more chemicals/horrors? Should I just wash the parts and not sterilize? I'm stressed
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@espion who is the doc? Is it a ped? I'm considering finding a crunchier doctor...
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@MrsLilybugg: that's a really good question. I honestly feel like you shouldn't worry too much. Maybe justice sure to let them cool thoroughly before using them and use glass bottles for feeds.
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@Mrs. Chipmunk: He treats kids, but he's a sub specialist. I wish I was more in tune with the pediatricians down there to help you out.
You might try walling Mrs. Jacks. I believe she did her training there.
You might try walling Mrs. Jacks. I believe she did her training there.
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