Feb

Wooden Bowls and Utensils for Kids

— by Tiffany in A Green Home

Eating Yogurt

Last year parents everywhere became concerned about BPA in their kid’s feeding gear… bowls, cups, plates, spoons. Parents are still concerned about it. My posts with compilations of BPA free cups and BPA free plates, bowls, and utensils are still get huge amounts of daily traffic. One option that was slow to catch on back then was that of wooden feeding items. Why is a mystery to me because even if it is BPA free plastic… this feeding set:

Dora plastic plates and utensils

… is UGLY. This would be an eyesore at my table and in my cupboards.

But this set:

… is lovely! This Camden Rose bowl and spoon is a great non-plastic option. As is their wood plate. I am excited to see more options for people who like wooden feeding gear!

Sustainable Wood Bowls

Monday, February 15th, 2010

20 Comments

Elizabeth

You’re right, the plastic ones seems so tacky. But those wooden ones are beautiful!
http://bonavas.blogspot.com deb

ha! I totally agree. I think those plastic sets are so ugly. I could never bring myself to buy them for my girls or any other child. I love the wooden bowls though!!
http://www.yourwildchild.com Melynda

I don’t like the plastic sets either, but an even easier way to be safe and save money is to use the same dishes with the kids as you do with yourself. Both my boys (18 mos and 3) have been using “grown-up” dishes since they started using dishes. We watch them, of course, but so far nothing has been broken.
Connie

I love wooden bowls and serving utensils. They are so beautiful and add a special appeal to all foods that are displayed in them. I love the elegant simplicity of the rectangle plate and square bowl. I’ll have to search for some in my area. I have a large wooden salad bowl that I often set out on the table with oranges. When I set fruit out, everyone knows they are welcome to it and eat more of it than if it were hidden in the fridge. I always keep a variety of organic apples and bananas readily available and other fruits like strawberries and grapes when in season. Thank you for sharing your ideas with us.
Laura

I love the wooden ones, but I can’t bring myself to buy them – both I and my husband work, which means if it can’t go in the dishwasher it is an extra burden in an already-busy life. I feel bad about that but I have bought a few things in violation of it and they sit around dirty forever, or never get used because we know they will sit around dirty forever. :(
- http://andiscandis.blogspot.com andiscandis
  
  Laura,
  
  Corelle plates/bowls are glass (so they can go in the dishwasher – I do NOT do dishes by hand), but are virtually unbreakable. I’ve seen them bounce when dropped from heights of 5 feet or more. In a lifetime of use, I’ve never seen one break. Because they never break, you can always get them in the Salvation Army for slightly more than free.
  - Carol
    
    Hi, I just want to let you know Corelle DOES break. Over the years, about 3 or 4 plates fell and shattered. They break so severly that they splinter into very large long ,dangerous splinter and tiny ones too. Into thousands of pieces. You need a wet paper towel to get the shreds all up.
    very dangerous for kids.
    
    the glass flies all over the room, it totally shocked me. Please be very careful aound children with corelle.
    - http://www.naturemoms.com Tiffany
      
      I agree about Corelle. When it breaks (and it can break) it is WAAAAY dangerous. The shards are like long, tiny, knives. After two injuries we stopped using it.
- http://lildaisies.blogspot.com/ Bella
  
  Corelle can break…but rarely….and if it does, the company will replace it for free. We had a bowl that shattered in the sink when we poured hot water on it…and really it should have been fine…but, sometimes there are always flukes…and we returned it and was given a new one with no problem.
  I like Corelle and believe it to be a good company that supplies good quality dishes.
  IMHO,
  
  Blessings,
  Bella
  http://lildaisies.blogspot.com/
http://andiscandis.blogspot.com andiscandis

My 2 year old uses glass bowls/plates and stainless steel forks/spoons, just like a grown-up. She’s never broken any of it (versus the many that I’ve broken).
Ann

The wooden bowls are lovely! My kids are 5 and 9 now and these look like they are for very young children. I’m not sure I would buy them anyway. My kids are like some of the others, having used mainly our regular plates and silverware since they could eat. We also like to let them use our Pyrex bowls that have lids as then we can just put their leftovers right in the fridge! Maybe a very cool baby gift though – I will try to remember this post. Thanks!
http://www.indiebarefootbooks.com christina

I’m so happy to read this review..because i had seen this reviewed elsewhere and people didn’t have good things to say. Mostly it being because of hand washing. What we have always done is bought the wooden salad server sets online or places like Bed Bath & Beyond, the bowls are light and durable enough for my 2 year old to hold and big enough for us all to use the bowls for everything! We currently have 3 sets with one big bowl and 4 smaller ones…we use them plenty. I am used to having to hand wash everything as we rent and have never owned a dishwasher so it’s no bother.
- http://www.naturemoms.com Tiffany
  
  I hand wash everything anyway (no dishwasher) so not a problem here but I still fail to see how hand washing a couple dishes is a big deal.
http://www.greenbabygreenmama.com Heather

I agree – the tacky character stuff has got to go! Go wood!
http://www.savvysciencemom.com Sandi Schwartz

I love the wooden bowl and spoon set. Where can you buy it?
Brenna

I have also seen the wooden bowl reviewed negatively elsewhere. I love the look of the bowl, but can’t see my kids liking the wooden utensils. We use the Kidishes (tempered glass) and have been extremely happy. We do use a dishwasher and they have been great! I can’t stand the plastic dishes, and definitely not the characters, yuck!
Sarah

I know this sounds paranoid, but I don’t even trust the pba-free products. I stay away from all plastics whenever possible. It’s just not likely that anything made from a petroleum derivative is safe to use, let alone keep our food in. My philosophy is when it comes to safety, there are no shortcuts. This is why my friends don’t answer the phone when they see my # on caller id!
Cindy

I just wanted to mention a warning about the wooden bowls and plates. They should never have raw meat on them since the juices can soak into the wood. Just want everybody to be safe.
EJ Shames

I LOVE wooden bowls.. and spoons. I have yet to find any wooden forks though.

I started buying the wooden bowls years ago at garage sales and second hand stores. They are pretty inexpensive when they come in sets from the garage sales!

Here are some advantages I have found to wood..

they are practically indestructible when tossed, thrown, dropped, bounced, or left outside for a short time. ( though many of these activities are NOT encouraged!! lol)

However, they don’t do too well if we are letting dishes soak and somebody leaves them in the sink by mistake! We have had a few that swelled and cracked on the join.

We go through glass/ ceramic dishes fast.. they are chipped or broken easily somehow in our family. So we find them at second hand stores.. and it is not so bad to lose a few. ( except when they are reallly pretty, then we feel sad for a bit.)

Peace and light
EJ
http://www.wholisticmama.com
EJ Shames

OH! And the Corelle dishes..yup they break.. and duralex too.

They will break, like somebody said, with temperature fluctuations like out of the freezer into the oven, or from hot to cool water.

We have also found that they break for reasons we have not determined.. perhaps it is just the right spot that gets knocked.

EJ
http://www.wholisticmama.com