BPA & Phthalate Free Bath Toys

Since doing research on the harm certain chemicals in plastic can do to your children I have been surveying my daughters toys to weed out the unsafe ones.

The other day while she was taking a bath I realized that EVERY toy she was playing with probably contained these harmful chemicals. And she was bathing in them for at least 10 minutes every night, yikes!

So of course I took off on my internet search for safe bath toys. And was very happy to find many companies that offer BPA & Phthalate free bath toys.

Boon Inc. has a line of bath toys that are all perfectly safe for your little ones to bath in. I ordered the Designer toys & scrubbies for my daughter.

"This collection of fifteen bath appliqués, three balls, and two mini-scrubbies makes bath time a creative and playful experience. These designer toys do not absorb water, reducing mold and mildew. Their contemporary colors and funky forms look great in the modern bath. The mini-scrubbies are designed to fit little hands perfectly."

My daughter has so much fun with these!

I also found this site which gives you a guide to all the companies that make bath toys free of harmful chemicals.

Enjoy!

Kid Basix Review + Giveaway - Stainless Steel BPA & Phthalate Free Sippy Cup

I am extremely excited about this review and giveaway and I know you will be too. After reading my last two posts on the dangers of certain chemicals in plastics, namely BPA and Phthalates, I am thrilled to tell you about Kid Basix! I am going to give you an overview of their items and also share my personal experience with The Safe Sippy2™ .

Kid Basix offers bottles, sippy/straw cups, and water bottles with one simple goal in mind: Clean in, Clean out. As a mother that sounds like my kind of motto!


All of Kid Basix's items are free of BPA and other harmful chemicals present in many plastic bottles.

Now what is so special about stainless steel? Let's have them tell you in their own words:

"Why go stainless when so many BPA-free plastic bottles are available now? We can give you 300 billion reasons. That’s the approximate number of plastic water bottles discarded around the world every year. Enough to power 12 million cars for an entire year. And that’s just the water bottles! It doesn’t include all the plastic bottles used for sodas, sports drinks, fruit juices and the like. All told, the plastic bottles we throw away each year would reach to the moon and back – 1500 times. So using reusable stainless steel bottles makes sense on every level: personal, local and global."


Bret, the founder of Kid Basix, personally sent me The Safe Sippy2™ to try for my daughter. This is the world's first and only 2-in-1 sippy to straw bottle. When I received it in the mail I was immediately in love with the look, feel and versatility of this product. But of course the real test was on my daughter. She has never mastered the straw concept. I have used a traditional sippy cup with her from day one. But I thought this fancy cup would be up for the challenge.


When I first gave her the cup, she immediately loved it! She didn't let go of it for an hour! She loved the handles that perfectly fit in her chubby little hands, and of course the color and texture of the cup helped too. It took her a couple times to really get the hang of drinking from the cup since the spout is shaped differently from the sippy cups she was used to, but she was soon a pro. AND I am proud to say she was drinking from the cup using the straw method within 5 minutes, I was astonished!


The Safe Sippy2™ comes with a straw & straw adaptor, travel plug and sippy plug. Also included is a dust cap which comes in handy when you have to throw the cup in your purse. I haven't had to use the travel plug yet since it doesn't leak at all with the sippy plug in.




Overall I would give this item 5 stars! And I am REALLY looking forward to trying one of Kid Basix's Safe Sporter Water bottles.


Now for what you've been waiting for......Kid Basix is giving away one free Safe Sippy 2 to one of you!


To enter into this great giveaway: (Only open to U.S. Residents)

You must be a follower of this blog and visit Kid Basix and leave a comment here telling me what you love most about the Safe Sippy 2 and what color you would choose!


Additional entries:

(please leave a comment per additional entry telling me you did so)
1. Add my blog button to your blog/website (leave url)
2. Add my Sweety Baby button to your blog/website (leave url)
3. Subscribe via email to my blog.
4. Become a follower on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (leave username)
5. Blog about this giveaway (leave url)
6. Purchase something from Kid Basix (5 extra entries, leave 5 additional comments telling me what you purchased)

The winner will be chosen at random Wednesday August 19th!

Why plastics can harm your children - Part 2 - Phthalates

So I'm back again to tell you more about the things that could be harmful for your children :) Sounds like a great read right? Although it may not be FUN to read about these things, I consider it my duty to stay educated.

So here goes.

Phthalates are another harmful substance in plastics, especially for chilren, including those in utero.

Phthalates are a family of chemical compounds that are used to stabilize fragrances and increase the flexibility of plastics. They have been used in plastics since the 1930's and it's only recently that concerns have been raised. Phthalates are under attack by many environmental organizations who claim that there is strong evidence that these chemicals cause reproductive defects and early-onset of puberty in children.



Phthalates are a hormone-altering chemical. Baby powders, oils, lotions, shampoos and other products with phthalate additives, are linked to endocrine and reproductive system problems. Babies who are cared for with phthalate-laced products and cosmetics show developmental problems, especially in reproductive development of male children.


If you wish to error on the side of caution, how do you avoid phthalates? In terms of food and beverage containers and children's toys you should avoid any soft PVC. You can identify PVC on containers by examining the recycling triangle that appears on the bottom of most containers. PVC has a number 3 in the triangle. I was so happy to learn this great tip!



Otherwise only buy products that say Phthalate free on them.



Stay tuned for a BPA, Phthalate free giveaway later in the week! You will absolutely love this item for your child! (I do!)

Why plastics can harm your children - Part 1 - BPA

If you haven't heard the hype over BPA and phthlates in plastics, I hope to give a brief overview in a two part post.

I feel sometimes like I just want to cover my ears about all that is bad for us, but when it comes to my own child I feel I have a responsibility to know the truth and really try to protect my daughter from all that is harmful.

This post will just be a brief overview pointing you to broader resources since there is SO much info out there on the dangers of BPA. Although it may seem a little technical at times, believe me it is WORTH READING.

Okay here we go.

"Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical building block that is used primarily to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastic is a lightweight, high-performance plastic that possesses a unique balance of toughness, optical clarity, high heat resistance, and excellent electrical resistance. Because of these attributes, polycarbonate is used in a wide variety of common products including digital media (e.g., CDs, DVDs), electrical and electronic equipment, automobiles, sports safety equipment, reusable food and drink containers , and many other products."

"BPA is also used in the production of epoxy resins....Cured epoxy resins are inert materials used as protective liners in metal cans to maintain the quality of canned foods and beverages..." (referenced here)

The main problems comes about because BPA actually leaches out of the plastic and into our food, drinks, etc.

What comes about is various health problems and dangers especially for children.

Here are some excellent references to help you understand the dangers more fully:

The chemical BPA is especially bad for babies

U.S. News and world report

5 Ways to keep BPA out of your food

U.S. News and world report

Food Packaging leaks BPA, Phthalates

Global Life

A Survey of BPA is US Canned Foods

Enviromental Working Group

Thankfully there are a variety of products out there that are free of these harmful chemicals. AND I will be reviewing an EXCELLENT sippy cup for children in the next week or so and offering a giveaway to all of you. So don't go out and buy new cups yet!