If you’re like me and have gone down the rabbit hole of plastic-free dishes for kids, then you’ll know how hard it is to find better alternatives. Like with anything, there are many pros and cons to going plastic-free, but I want to emphasize that at the end of the day – whatever you choose and what you feel is best for your family is entirely up to you. Making these types of changes is very overwhelming, and there’s no way you can completely eliminate plastics from your life (hospitals, dining, grocery, visiting family/friends, etc). So, whatever you decide, it can be a good idea to refrain from using an all-or-nothing approach.

In recent years, it seems that parents are becoming much more aware of what goes into our children’s food and products. Tableware is no exception! There’s so many different materials used for kids’ dishes, such as plastic, silicone, bamboo, wood, metal, etc. The effects of plastic on our health is not yet entirely understood, but there have been studies that have shown that chemicals and micro plastics in plastic can get into our food potentially causing negative health effects:

–Microplastics from food packaging: An overview of human consumption, health threats, and alternative solutions

–Plastic containers can contain PFAS — and it’s getting into food

-Plastics and Health Risks

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There is a children’s page in The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences that discusses how plastic can cause adverse effects on the brain, endocrine system, immune system, reproductive system, and behavior. At such young ages, the use of plastics with our food could be affecting our kids’ development. I am no professional or scientist, but I did want to include some of my resources above for you to research yourself. Not only does plastic affect our health, but it’s also not great for the environment. That’s a topic to save for another day!

At first, I tried giving our daughter our usual stoneware dishes as some baby-led weaning pages suggest. It went well until she broke quite a few, causing me to look for unbreakable dishes. While looking for unbreakable dishes for our daughter, it seems that bamboo, wood, and metal are the safest options. This article does a good overview of silicone. My takeaway from it is that silicone is a lot better than plastic, but you have to make sure it is food grade silicone and isn’t combined with plastic. Melamine is another common material in kids’ dishes that may seem like a good option, but it is still considered a plastic that can leach into food.

Plant-Based

Plant-based dishes are a newer option that haven’t been around for long! There are several different types of plant materials available, including bamboo, wheat, and corn. These can be tough to shop for, because you have to be really careful to check the materials as some will still have plastic or melamine. The upside is that there are some really affordable options that come in large sets. The first set below is what I got for our daughter, but it is important to note that they are still breakable if dropped hard enough. These options are also dishwasher safe, which is a huge plus for me.

Wood

Wood is a good option because it’s much easier to find out if there’s other materials in it. Wood is also much healthier in terms of leaching into food. My only con with these dishes is that they are typically hand washable only. Putting them in the dishwasher can reduce their longevity and ruin them. The upside to this is that you know they will break down much faster than other options if you have to throw them out in the future.

Stainless Steel

I think if I have to buy more kids’ dishes in the future, I’m going to go with one of these metal options. Stainless steel is a really nice option because they it will not leach chemicals into your food. Stainless steel is also unbreakable and usually dishwasher safe. The only thing is it’s not microwave safe, but that’s somewhat common with a lot of children’s tableware. I’ve been seeing the Ahimsa brand everywhere, which is the first option below. This brand was designed by a pediatrician, prevents bacterial growth, and is made from recycled stainless steel.

Silicone

As stated above, silicone is a good option if it is verified as food-grade. Food-grade silicone is designed to be safe for use with food, is BPA-free, lead-free, phthalate-free, and PVC-free. Not a great deal of research has been done on this, but a study did find that silicone does not leach into food with short-term use (up to 6 hours). Silicone dishes are also very easy to clean. They are typically machine-washable and microwave-safe. There’s really cute options out there for silicone dishes too.

Glass & Ceramic

I included this option for last because I’m a little wary about giving young kids glass or ceramic dishes. They’ve come out with options specifically for kids that are harder to break, and I haven’t tried these yet so I can’t say for sure if they’re a good option or not. In terms of being healthier than plastic, they’re definitely a great option in that aspect. They could also help prepare kids for using regular ceramic dishes in the future. There’s a few ceramic options that have a silicone bottom to help prevent breakage, which is such an amazing idea! Ceramic or glass would also be good for older kids that know to be more careful with their dishes.

I hope this post has been helpful for you if you and your family are trying to go plastic-free in the kitchen. Like I said at the beginning of this post, it can be very overwhelming if you’re just starting out! Just give yourself grace, because no matter what, you’re doing amazing. Please let me know in the comments if there’s any tips or personal favorites you’d like to add, because I’m always open to learning more. Thanks for reading!