Babies often switch from bottles to sippy cups as early as 6 months old or near the age of 1. Sippy cups allow infants and older babies to drink liquid more quickly and learn to use drinking motions with their mouths, rather than the sucking motion required to drink from nipple-based bottles. Some sippy cups use plastic that contain bisphenol-A (BPA), a toxic compound found to cause harm to human and animal development. Fortunately, many sippy cups on the market are designed for children without BPA and with additional safety features.
BornFree Trainer and Drinking Cups
BornFree designs trainer cups for babies 6 to 12 months old, and sippy cups for babies 9 months and older and toddlers. BornFree cups are all made without BPA and can be placed in the top rack of a dishwasher. Their trainer cups made of plastic have soft spouts designed to allow a free flow of liquid. The inner valve, situated between the spout and cup, is made to lessen the risk of ear infections by reducing vacuum and the need for hard sucking. BornFree's drinking cups have a hard spout that requires a stronger suck. Both styles are available in blue, green, orange and yellow. BornFree is committed to eco-friendliness; parents can bring used cups to one of the company's eco retailers, which will recycle them.
Munchkin Trainer Cups
Not only does Munchkin make its training cups free of BPA, it uses stainless steel--an eco-friendly, non-toxic metal that's a great choice of material for babies cups. The 7-ounce cup is made for babies aged 6 months and older, with soft spouts and the playful colors bright pink, blue and green. Munchkin manufactures cups for all stages of babies' and toddlers' development--stainless steel cups with straws, insulated straw cups, spill-proof cups and sports bottles with a variety of designs, including Dora the Explorer and Sponge Bob Squarepants. All plastics are BPA-free.
Think Baby Trainer Cups
Think Baby trainer cups are made of safe BPA-free plastic and extra soft, high-grade silicone spouts that support the transition from baby bottle to sippy cup, as babies are already used to the feeling of the baby bottle nipple. The ridged handles make the cups easy for babies to hold and the large 9-ounce size allows babies to drink to their hearts' content with one serving of formula or milk.
