Children's Drink bottle Review | a.glimpse.of.aMElia

We all should aim for health, hygiene, and hydration when looking to purchase a drink bottle for our children.

Finding one that doesn’t leak, one that good, one that will last longer than a year, one that’s actually healthy for your child and kind to the environment.

Did you know that BPA and phthalates are both known hormone disrupters that are common in many drink bottles? These chemicals cause bigger problems in children than adults because they have underdeveloped immune systems and a still developing liver (which works hard to detox our bodies)

Plastic drink bottles (even BPA-free ones) can leach chemicals into your water. Bottled water companies increasingly use BPA free plastic, but other potentially harmful chemicals are still present in plastic drink bottles, and they can leach into water if exposed to heat or left to sit for long periods of time.

A lovely chemical called bisphenol S, or BPS are alternatives to the now infamous plastic component BPA.

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a common building block in resins and some types of plastic. It’s what’s known as an endocrine disrupting compound as it mimics estrogen in the body, these chemicals can act like hormones or disrupt normal hormone functions.

75 Scientific studies link BPA to many adverse perinatal, childhood, and adult health effects.

In the 1950s, BPA was used in the first epoxy resins. Soon after, Bayer and General Electric discovered the molecules had a nifty trick: They could link together with a small connector compound to form a shiny, hard plastic known as polycarbonate.

BPA was everywhere: reusable water bottles, plastic plates, the liners in canned foods, sippy cups, grocery receipts, and even some dental sealants. But as people drank from their water bottles and ate their microwaved dinners, they were unknowingly dosing themselves with small amounts of BPA that leached from the plastic containers into their food and drink. Much of today’s plastic is man-made and largely dependent upon fossil fuels.

In America, the FDA has only officially banned the compound from use in baby bottles, sippy cups, and infant formula packaging.

In 2010, the Australian Government announced a voluntary phase out of BPA use in polycarbonate baby bottles. Apparently dietary exposures of Australian consumers are low and within acceptable safe limits.

Other alternatives in place of BPA are BPS, BPF, BPAF, BPZ, BPP, BHPF. They all have “BP” in their names because they share the same basic chemical structure. Each new version has only a slight difference, as if swapping a blue Lego block for a red one.

The results show that common BPA replacements BPS, BPF, BPAF and diphenyl sulphone can interfere with the very earliest part of making eggs and sperm. Not something we want for our future generations.

To find out if your drink bottle has BPA you can refer to the recycling symbols on the bottom of most plastics. The symbols, look like three arrows in the shape of a triangle that surround a number from 1 to 7. Numbers 1, 2, 4, and 5 are deemed safe to use for food and drink. Materials with a 3, 6, or 7 should be avoided for use with food and beverages.
Avoid water bottles with the recycling codes 3 or 7 because these may contain polycarbonate the type of plastic known to contain bisphenol A. Most days companies have big tags showing off BPA free as if they are doing us all a big favour.

Environmentally the production of plastic drink bottles releases several harmful carcinogenic chemicals such as dioxins, phthalates & vinyl chloride. Many other chemicals are also produced during the manufacture of plastic in general including ethylene dichloride, lead & cadmium. These chemicals can further leech into the water or liquid contained within the bottle which in turn enters our body where toxins can accumulate & chemicals pose a risk to human health.

“Toxic chemicals leach out of plastic and are found in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments”- Plastic Pollution Coalition.

Moving to stainless steel Is a much better option for our health and for the environment. Did you know that PFAS has been found in plastic water bottles? PFAS exposure can lead to liver damage, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, high cholesterol, obesity, hormone suppression and cancer. These chemicals can easily migrate into the air, dust, food, soil and water. This is a bioaccumulative chemical which means it builds up in our system over time and it has also being linked to dermatitis.

Lots of stainless steel drink bottles still contain Polypropylene lids. Whilst they are considered BPA free and lower tox, they are not tox free. This plastic is still petroleum derived. Look for bottles that say “no plastic comes into contact with your water”

Brands I can recommend based on materials: (I have not tried and tested these personally)

🥤Yum box- stainless steel drink bottle. 420ml $32.95 USA

🥤Eco vessel- The FROST – TriMax Insulated Kids Water Bottle w/ Straw (Straw made of silicone ) 355ml $49.95 Australian owned

🥤Ecococoon – DRINK BOTTLE – LEAK-FREE, OCEAN PLAY 350ml $35.95 Lids low density polyethylene resins with HCFC and CFC free gases which are chemically inert. No straw. Australian owned

🥤Country Road Dune Drink bottle $29.95 750ml stainless steel lid. Owned by the Woolworths group which is Aussie owned.

🥤Cheeky- silicone bumper 400ml $39.95. Leakproof silicone seals. No plastic touches the water. Australian owned

🥤Lion and lady- Stainless steel bottles for babies that doubles into a feeding cup as your baby grows. $29.95 + additional for teats or silicone lids. 100% recyclable. Australian owned

🥤Planet box- 330ml $42. SS. Tested to be safe from lead, phthalates, BPA, and other harmful chemicals. USA

🥤Kleen kanteen – SS lid or polypropylene spots lid for. 350ml $22.95 Australian owned

🥤Nordlife – Kids Water Bottle Anker – Safari Sandy Mix $49 375ml comes with both a sports cap or a stainless steel cap. Australian owned.

🥤Montii.co- Drink bottle lids $23.95 variety of lids. Australian owned

🥤Frank Green – Ceramic lined SS with SS straw and Polypropylene mouth piece. 595ml $49.95

🥤Pura Kiki- Sport Stainless Steel Sports Bottle 550ml $41.95 has protective silicone sleeve silicone mouth piece and straw. These bottles are eco progressive and grow with your child. They also offer stainless steel sippy cups. USA.
CHECK for lead soldering point as some bottles have them. Also the bottom cap can pop off with normal use by a child and expose a pure-Lead sealing dot! Apparently they have changed design but please be aware of this.

🥤Fressko- Insulated SS drink bottle. Lid is made from hardened silicon. 660ml $59.95 Australian owned

What to look for when choosing a drink Stainless steel drink bottle:

🔺Aim for high grade stainless steel 18/8 or 304 is the highest grade.
🔺Look for lead free paint and ask if it’s an insulated bottle to check if it has a lead free solder. (Most double-wall vacuum insulated stainless steel bottles and containers have a plug of solder on the bottom) see photos. This normally isn’t an issues if it is covered, however if it ever child or becomes exposed it will expose bare lead.
🔺Unpainted stainless won’t chip or scratch. Most powder finish bottles will over time scratch and dent and are not dishwasher safe for this reason. You can purchase silicone boots for your stainless steel bottles or silicone bands to go around it for protection, I recommend these to also extend the life of your drink bottle.
🔺Ensure if it’s painted the paint is lead free and non tox, powder finish is tox free.
🔺Check to see if the company offers replacement parts so if they ever break you can replace that part.
🔺Some companies have a made safe Certification. Worth checking
🔺Stainless steel is 100% recyclable
🔺Will it fit into a standard cup holder
🔺Always look at the underside of the lid to see if there is hidden plastic or hidden plastic straws inside.
🔺Most, if not all bottles are made in China I’m yet to find any Australian made but worth supporting Australian owned and designed companies.
🔺Some are dishwasher safe others aren’t it should say on the tag
🔺Ensure it has easy to clean parts and ideally a wide neck for easier cleaning. Any small parts often come with a small brush for cleaning.