Nearly every household has one or two children, and similarly, all families attach great importance to their children’s healthy growth. When choosing feeding bottles for our kids, most people usually prioritize silicone feeding bottles. Of course, this is because they are won over by its various advantages. So, what aspects should we pay attention to when selecting silicone products for our babies?

To ensure the healthy growth of our little ones, we must strictly prevent diseases from entering through the mouth. We should not only guarantee the safety of the food itself, but also ensure the cleanliness of tableware. Not only feeding bottles, nipples, bowls and spoons used by babies, but even toys—any items that may be put into babies’ mouths—must not have their safety overlooked.

Then how to ensure the safety of babies’ tableware and utensils? Most people only focus on cleaning and disinfection, while neglecting the fundamental factor: material safety. Baby products are generally made of shatterproof materials such as plastic, silicone and stainless steel. For products that come into contact with the mouth, silicone is mostly adopted, such as silicone feeding bottles, silicone nipples and silicone toothbrushes… Why should we choose silicone for these common baby products that go into the mouth? Are products made of other materials unsafe? We will explain these questions one by one below.

A feeding bottle is the first piece of “tableware” for newborns. It is used not only for feeding milk, but also for giving babies water or other medicinal drinks.

In fact, silicone is not the only option for feeding bottles. In terms of materials, feeding bottles are roughly divided into three categories: glass feeding bottles, plastic feeding bottles and silicone feeding bottles. Among them, plastic feeding bottles include subcategories like PC bottles, PP bottles, PES bottles and PPSU bottles. It is generally recommended that babies aged 0 – 6 months use glass feeding bottles. After babies turn 7 months old and can hold the bottle to drink on their own, safe and shatterproof silicone feeding bottles are a better choice.

Among the three types, glass is the safest material but not shatterproof. This raises the question: why choose silicone feeding bottles instead of plastic ones for babies over 7 months old?

First and foremost, it is about safety.

Silicone nipples are generally transparent and made of food – grade materials, while rubber nipples are yellowish in color. The sulfur content in rubber nipples is prone to exceeding the standard, posing a potential risk of diseases entering through the mouth.

In fact, both silicone and plastic are highly shatterproof, but silicone has a moderate hardness and a better touch. Therefore, apart from glass feeding bottles, people tend to buy food – grade silicone ones.

The nipple is the part that directly contacts the baby’s mouth, so the material requirements for it are stricter than those for the feeding bottle itself. Nipples can be made of either silicone or rubber. When selecting materials, in addition to ensuring safety, the material should also achieve the softness that a nipple requires. Hence, most people opt for silicone.

Silicone boasts excellent flexibility. Liquid silicone, in particular, can be stretched and is tear – resistant, which makes it ideal for shaping products. Moreover, the flexibility of silicone can mimic the texture of a mother’s nipple, helping to soothe the baby. In contrast, rubber is relatively hard and hard to achieve such an effect. Therefore, most baby nipples—whether those that come with feeding bottles or standalone pacifiers—are best made from liquid silicone.

Silicone feeding bottles are made of liquid silicone, which is non – toxic and odorless, making it suitable for food – related use. However, to achieve good product properties, plastic needs to be added with a large number of antioxidants, plasticizers, stabilizers and other additives, which are harmful to the human body. Secondly, there is the advantage of stable properties. Since feeding bottles need to be cleaned and disinfected regularly, silicone’s stable properties—its resistance to acids, alkalis and moisture, as well as its ability to withstand a wide temperature range from – 60°C to 200°C—make it a perfect fit. In contrast, plastic has relatively poor stability. Some plastics (such as PC materials) may release harmful substances when exposed to high temperatures.