Introducing a sippy cup to your little one is an exciting time. Walking down the sippy cup isle on the other hand can be overwhelming. Which sippy cup do you get? Which is the best for your baby? How do you know your baby will even take to it? These are all valid questions. One question you need to be asking though is which sippy cup is the safest. It may not even be in that isle! Here is a list of non-toxic sippy cups we have fallen in love with and swear you and your baby will too!
When to Introduce Sippy Cups
First, if you are a new parent, you may not know the importance of sippy cups. Sippy cups are spill-proof cups made specifically for toddlers. Well… because toddlers spill everything! They can come with or without handles depending on which is easier for your little one to use. Typically, parents will introduce a sippy cup to their babe at around 6 months of age because this is about the time most pediatricians recommend introducing water.
In the transition from breast or bottle to cup, as the parent, you will want to be patient with your child. It can be a difficult learning curve for some children as they learn to drink water or regular milk instead of breastmilk or formula. This is even harder when it is through a different route than usual as well.
Toxins in Traditional Sippy Cups
Of all times in your child’s life, mealtime should be one that is monitored the closest. Of course, we only want the best for our children but the safety of your child should never be higher than when eating or drinking. Unfortunately, it is also a time that they can be exposed to toxins because of certain chemicals used in many well-known brands. These can include heavy metals like lead.
Parents need to be on the lookout for these toxins and avidly seek better alternatives. That may mean avoiding mainstream products found at larger box stores.
What to Look for in Non-Toxic Sippy Cups
There are a few important things you need to look for in a sippy cup and some very crucial things to avoid. Most traditional sippy cups provide a rigid spout for your munchkin to drink from. This, unfortunately, causes issues down the road concerning the shape of their mouth. There are particular aspects of some newer sippy cups, however, that are absolutely perfect for the development of your kiddo!
Types
360 Cups
360 cups are absolutely amazing. These cups are spoutless helping mimic drinking from a real cup but without the mess.
Straw Cups
Unlike the spouts offered with traditional sippy cups, drinking from a straw is considered safe for the development of your child. This may be a great alternative for a child going from bottle to cup as it is similar to the sucking motion needed to drink from a bottle.
Learning Cups
Learning cups are simply cups that are made to a smaller scale to help teach children to drink from regular glasses. This can also be achieved with shot glasses. Of course, you will want to find the plastic ones in the beginning!
Plastic-free
One of the easiest things you can look out for is plastic. Make sure the sippy cups you choose have no harmful plastic and are BPA-free!
Well-known brands
When we say well-known brands, we mean well-known brands in the non-toxic sippy cup world. We don’t mean well-known in the mainstream world. Several mainstream brands have what they call “non-toxic” sippy cups but have been found to house levels of lead and other harmful toxins. This is why doing your research on reputable non-toxic sippy cup brands is crucial! You will find that some of the non-toxic sippy cups we have on our list come from the same brand. Why? Because we trust them and they have proven again and again that they provide safety to our kiddos with their non-toxic sippy cups!
Top 8 Non-Toxic Sippy Cups and Plastic-Free Alternatives
Silikids Silicone Cups
These silicone cups are a great option if you are looking for simple learning cups for your child. They do not come with handles so they mimic a regular cup more closely than other learning cups. They do have small ridges on the sides of the cups for an easier grip that may help your little one grasp the cup better.
Green Sprouts Silicone Learning Cup
If your little one is ready for a cup, this learning cup is a great way to get started. It is non-breakable but still gives your child everything they need for success when drinking from a regular cup like two easy-grip handles! This way, they can learn to their heart’s content on how to drink from a regular cup and you can relax knowing it can’t be broken.
Silikids Silicone Straw Tops
If you are looking for the most minimalistic way to give your children non-toxic sippy cups, this may just be it! The Siliskin silicone straw tops can be placed on any cup to create the perfect straw cup. In the set you only get one silicone straw so I would make sure to purchase more silicone straws when you buy them (because who wants to continuously wash the one straw?).
The lids stretch over cups sized up to 3.75” in diameter. That means almost any cup you have in your cupboard. It also houses any straw size. So, if you decide to buy straws elsewhere and not through this company in particular, they will still fit!
Green Sprouts Glass Sip & Straw Cup
Being both glass and silicone, this cup is one of the safest for your child! Both of these materials have been cleared to be used safely for non-toxic sippy cups as these materials do not leach into the liquids the cup holds. Being glass, there may be concern for this cup breaking. Trust me, there shouldn’t be!
While glass, the cup has a shock-absorbent synthetic rubber shell that helps prevent breakage whenever it falls!
Wait. There’s more!
This cup also comes with two different tops you can use. One is a no-drip silicone sippy top and another is a silicone straw top. The sippy top is not necessarily recommended as we have discussed above (issues related to mouth development). However, the silicone straw top is perfect!
Munchkin’s Miracle Stainless Steel 360 Cup
Being a 360 cup, it is no surprise that the Munchkin’s Miracle Stainless Steel cup is on our list. This design involves a spoutless rim helping teach your little one to use a regular cup but without the mess that would come with using a normal cup.
Not only is it great that this cup does not have a traditional spout, but the child can also drink anywhere around the rim of the cup. Just like a regular cup! There is no one location the child has to drink from. This helps support muscle development in your child’s mouth.
This cup does have silicone and polypropylene #5 plastic but is a great sippy cup alternative nonetheless! You will actually find silicone in many non-toxic sippy cups as it has been deemed, along with glass, to be completely safe for your little one!
Contigo Stainless Steel Autospout Kids Water Bottle
While not our favorite (because of its spout), the Contigo Stainless Steel Autospout bottle still makes the list. Why? Simply put… convenience. Many parents like having a bottle of this sort for outings. We would say this cup is second tier in comparison to the others on this list but still worthy of our times because we need non-toxic sippy cup ideas for every situation!
Lifefactory Glass Bottle with Sippy Lid
Another of the non-toxic sippy cups that provides a straw component, this bottle is made completely BPA-, BPS-, and phthalate-free! It is a glass cup with a silicone straw meaning no leaching into the liquid inside. Silicone is also used for the outside sleeve!
These bottles are dishwasher safe which is a huge bonus for those busy parents needing something easy to clean.
Mason Jars or Child-Size Glasses
Finally, we have regular mason jars and child-size glasses. There is nothing special about these non-toxic sippy cups as you can find them at nearly any big box store. You could even take a small trip to the local dollar store and find smaller-sized glasses perfect for teaching your little one.
The important thing to consider with these glasses is the fact that they are breakable. Many non-toxic sippy cups we have talked about have components protecting themselves from accidents. If you plan to monitor your child during use until they master drinking from a regular cup, these may be the cheapest and quickest way to do so!
Drink Safely
At the beginning of this article, you may not have known where to start when looking for a sippy cup for your baby. Now, you are a pro! Asking all of the important questions regarding your baby’s development is crucial and the question of safety should never be left unasked. Any one of these non-toxic sippy cups is a perfect choice regarding the safety of your little one. Now, it is simply up to them which they prefer!