Kids plates plastic free

[Pinklilly]

Hi all I have a 3 year old daughter who eats relatively well and on a dining table. Nonetheless she is as most children her age probably are a little heavy handed and can knock things etc. when she was a baby we used bamboo plates but as she got older we now use the ikea multicoloured plastic plates. We don’t really ever use a microwave but on occasion have. I am concerned about plastic leaching when heated and in general microplastics and wondered what non breakable alternatives do others use?
I would like it to be microwave friendly (just in case for the odd occasion). Appreciate any recommendations.

My 2 year old has always used the same as us, we've had 2 broken bowls though. You could always microwave and then transfer to a bamboo plate?

I used to microwave anything for them on a normal china plate or Pyrex dish or similar, then transfer to their plate, when they had plastic / melamine etc kids plates.

TBH I wouldn’t give them the microwaved plate as it could get hot - best to transfer it to another one anyway.

Hi thanks for your comments- so is it microwaving that causes the leaching? Or is there a risk of plastic leaching if hot food is put on the plate. It would be easy for us to just continue to not use microwave often and instead never use it. I always warm food in a pan etc anyway, but do pop milk in to warm which I can do in a pan instead. So if microwave is the factor I can just stop doing it. I am finding it hard to find definitive answers from googling

I think if a plastic water bottle leaches microplastics in the water it's unavoidable unless you stop using plastic.

My daughter has a metal water bottle, glass beaker for milk (she had glass baby bottles and they're really strong) and uses the same plates at cutlery as me, she sits at the table and I just need to keep an eye and if she's getting bored or fidgeting I know to move things out of the way

I really don’t know anything particular about microwaves causing leaching. I didn’t microwave the kids’ melamine plates because melamine is not microwaveable. I never know if plastic is or not so unless it’s specifically a microwaveable takeaway container or a soup pot or something, I don’t put it in in case it melts.

You sound maybe a bit nervous or suspicious about microwaves in general? We use it loads as a perfectly sensible way of heating up food etc, but just make sure we use Pyrex or china or whatever that’s def “microwave safe” and then put the food where needed. The only “dodgy” thing about microwaving milk is that it might get hot spots. So just stir it or swirl it etc.

We use these for the kids.
They are heavy enough to not move around on the table and still have the lip around the side to stop food sliding off when the kids scoop their food.

I stopped using the plastic IKEA ones because they stained badly and I never felt that they were properly clean.

How old were your little ones when you started giving them those? I've seen them in Tesco and did like the look of them

They were about three but I think they would have been fine as soon as they learned not to throw plates.

Yeah, we used this sort of thing for ages - it’s quite heavy and has good sides to it to help with scooping!

Hi everyone thanks so much. I really appreciate it.
I think this thread has made me realise my 3 year old can just use the same plates we do!

@Talipesmum im not nervous persay about microwaving food it’s more I find the food doesn’t taste the same or as good. I prefer warming in a pan but reading it back it did read more like a lifestyle choice as opposed to a taste preference.

We use Recette at home! They don't break, can go in the dishwasher and microwave, and are made from plant-based materials so I don't worry about leaching.

We use Recette at home! They don't break, can go in the dishwasher and microwave, and are made from plant-based materials so I don't worry about leaching.

Microwaving doesn't cause leaching, it's heating the plastic or it coming into contact with hot food/liquid. I think it's only food over a certain temp as well.

Maybe just microwave in a normal bowl and the put onto an adult side plate? This will minimise the risk of breakage as it won't be very often. And use the plastic plates for cold or cooler food.

I had an old plastic bowl from when DS1 was weaning, which probably isn't BPA free as it was before it was banned. That seems to get hotter in the microwave whereas the IKEA plates don't.