Baby Tableware

Everything you need to know to buy the best baby tableware

Weaning your baby is an exciting, important, but sometimes stressful, developmental milestone. Make the experience as smooth as possible by buying the best baby plates and bowls, cups and utensils designed to transition your baby happily from milk to food.

Feeding essentials for your baby and toddler

To get your little one started on solids, here are some essential items you’ll first need to buy:
● Highchair
● Bibs
● Baby bowls, plates and cups
● Placemats
● Cutlery sets

While not essential, a baby food maker is a super convenient gadget if you are planning on making your own baby purees.

Things to look out for when buying baby tableware

When buying baby tableware first ensure it is appropriate for your child’s age and developmental stage. Other considerations are that it is durable, functional, easy to clean, dishwasher safe and non-toxic (i.e. lead, phthalate and bpa-free).

Plates and bowls to make mealtime easy

Make mealtime easier and less messy with divided, non-slip, suction bowls and other dinnerware designed to help get more food in baby’s mouth and less everywhere else!

Best baby spoons when you are starting solids

When starting your baby on solid foods, make the transition smooth with a starter spoon ergonomically designed just for baby’s needs. Here are some types of baby spoons to choose from:
● Eco-friendly
● Self-feeding
● Heat sensor
● Silicone spoon sets
● Travel

Spoon and fork sets for your toddler

Encourage independent feeding and soothe teething gums with spoon and fork sets made specifically for toddlers. Self-feeding spoons and textured spoons and forks are great for toddlers to help them develop skills as they grow.

Cutlery features to look out for which you can’t go past

No dinner set is complete without accompanying cutlery. Look out for cutlery with these helpful features:
● Non-slip grip and short, fat, rounded handles to make it easier for little hands to hold.
● Textured handles to help develop sensory awareness.
● Double-ended self-feeding spoons to dip into puree or scoop up pieces of food.
● Durable, but soft tipped utensils.
● Spoons or forks that help stimulate and soothe teething gums.

Best plates and bowls for when you are starting your baby on solids

When starting to introduce baby food, you’ll need non-slip, shatterproof bowls and plates that are easy to clean and non-toxic. Plates with separate sections allow you to separate out savoury and sweet purees. Bowls with silicone lids are super helpful to store leftovers and some lids are even designed to allow you to write on them!

Feeding sets, Plates and bowls for your growing toddler

As your child grows they will develop enough strength and dexterity to grab whatever is close to them so it’s important to buy sturdy, durable, suction-bottomed plates and bowls that stay put. As a toddler is likely to at least be partly feeding themselves, these features are super important.

Why it is all about suction plates

Silicone suction plates are enormously helpful to secure plates or bowls to a counter or highchair tray, making it very difficult (hopefully impossible) for bub to grab or tip over a plate and send food flying!

Best plates, bowls and cutlery for travel

Here are some features that make on-the-go feeding easy, whether it’s for a picnic, park outing or mums group.
● Foldable utensils; Utensils in hygienic carry cases; Items that can be stored inside other items to save space; Bowls with storage lids

Why silicone dishes are the way to go

Food-grade silicone dishes are durable, easy to clean, non-toxic and heat resistant, which makes them ideal for baby tableware. Whether you pop them in the dishwasher or microwave or your baby throws them across the room, silicone plates, bowls, cups and cutlery are the perfect blend of safety, durability and convenience.

Cups babies can use and their features

Transitioning from a bottle to a sippy cup to a “big kid” cup is an important developmental milestone for a child, and one that often requires patience. To make the process go as smoothly as possible, buy a sippy cup with a soft spout or straw and easy to grip handles made for little hands. When your baby has mastered the sippy cup, consider moving on to a 360 trainer cup with a spoutless construction before moving on to trialing an open cup under supervision.

Brands to look out for

Brands like Haakaa, Mushie, B.Box, Liewood, Wean Meister, Olababy, Ezpz and We Might Be Tiny are just some options for colourful and stylish ergonomically designed baby tableware.

Buying baby tableware online with Metro Baby

Shopping for baby tableware online with Metro Baby is simple and fun with our plethora of brands and products. If you’re having trouble deciding on the right tableware to give as a gift, consider a gift card and leave the choice up to the mum-to-be!

Frequently Asked Questions About baby tableware:

What age do babies need plates?

Babies usually don’t need their own bowls or plates until they begin feeding themselves and then it is best to get an unbreakable, partitioned suction plate. Until then you can use a normal plate or bowl (that you are holding well away from baby’s reach). Whether you use a normal plate or a baby plate initially, as soon as you introduce solids, you’ll need a lot of bibs to help keep the mess to a minimum!

Why are toddler plates divided?

Toddler plates are divided to keep different foods separate and help make it easier for your toddler to feed him or herself by using the walls of the partitions to scoop food onto a utensil. Another item that helps make life with a toddler easier is a baby food processing machine which easily steams, blends and reheats/defrosts to create quick and nutritious home-made baby food.

When should babies start using cutlery?

Babies usually start using cutlery after they are introduced to solid food around 6 months of age (for some that is a couple of months after introducing solids and for others that could be many months later). Transitioning from milk to solids is an important milestone as is developing the hand dexterity and hand-eye coordination to use cutlery. Baby cutlery is also an easy and affordable gift option to add to your registry wishlist.

How do you choose the best utensils and dishes?

Once you’ve done your research, read reviews and asked friends, choosing the best utensils and dishes for you and your baby ultimately comes down to trial-and-error. Decide on the features most important to you, then pick styles and colours you like from a quality brand you trust. Remember that what often makes an item great is its ease of use. Check out our cleaning section to find a selection of brushes, cleanser and drying racks to make cleaning your baby tableware easy.