Feeding children is an adventure that can have you jumping for joy (they ate the broccoli!!), or crying with frustration (they won’t eat the broccoli!!!). As parents, we go to extraordinary lengths to ensure our children are eating nutritious food. Our mealtime worries include additives, preservatives, refined sugar, hormones – the list goes on. One thing you might not have thought to worry about however, is the harmful effects that can come from what we SERVE our children’s lovingly prepared meals on.
Whether you’re trying baby-led-weaning, trying to persuade your toddler that their dinner belongs in their bellies and not down their pants, or cleaning Bolognese from the ceiling – you know this to be true: mealtimes are messy. Plates are thrown, cups are dropped, food is spattered all over you, your children, your carpet and the dog. This is where plastic tableware comes in. Easy to clean, hard to break, bright and attractive to little ones. Sounds good right?
Unfortunately, despite its convenience, PLASTIC IS HARMFUL in every way imaginable.
Some reasons you should get rid of plastic tableware in favor of more sustainable products are:
Plastic contain a plethora of highly dangerous chemicals and toxins. Despite the almost worldwide removal of known harmful chemicals such as DEHP and BPA, scientists are continually finding that replacement chemicals are equally as harmful – disrupting endocrine systems and interfering with healthy bodily function.
The millions of tonnes of plastic dumped in landfill worldwide each year results in these harmful chemicals leaching into the groundwater and polluting our rivers, streams and waterways. Plastic consumption is not slowing down, in the last 10 years we have produced more plastic than in the last century.
Every piece of plastic that has ever been made is STILL in existence today. It can never be entirely broken down, only made into smaller and smaller pieces. Plankton, the smallest creatures in the ocean continually ingest tonnes of these ‘micro plastics’. The plankton are then in turn ingested by larger animals, resulting in harmful toxins from plastics slowly work up the food chain.
Scary, right? So what can you do to reduce your children’s exposure to plastics? Stop using plastic, and start using tableware from sustainable, non-toxic, earth-friendly materials such as bamboo or stainless steel. Here at Okiddoky all our children’s mealtime products are sustainable, BPA-free and non-toxic. Find them Here.