if you don't use melamine plates for kids.....

Discussion in 'The Toddler Years(1-3)' started by naomi02, Mar 3, 2009.

  1. naomi02

    naomi02 Well-Known Member

    I've been doing a little research on melamine dishware & am starting to think I might not want to keep using it. But all the kids plates & bowls are melamine & I don't remember seeing any that aren't. They aren't ready for glass dishes......so what's the alternative?
     
  2. sharongl

    sharongl Well-Known Member

    At the age yours are, I was using regular plates. The other option would be regular plastic plates. Tupperware carries a line of kids dinnerware.
     
  3. akameme

    akameme Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    QUOTE(naomi02 @ Mar 3 2009, 10:45 AM) [snapback]1212737[/snapback]
    I've been doing a little research on melamine dishware & am starting to think I might not want to keep using it. But all the kids plates & bowls are melamine & I don't remember seeing any that aren't. They aren't ready for glass dishes......so what's the alternative?



    Oh no, what's the issue...???? I love the melamine - I've been using it myself (smaller plate, smaller portions, easier to clean - we don't have a dishwasher).
     
  4. twoin2005

    twoin2005 Well-Known Member

    We have Ikea plates and cups that are plastic. But we also have been using regular plates for awhile. They even clear their own dishes and have yet to break one (knock on wood).
     
  5. Minette

    Minette Well-Known Member

    We mostly use a pair of handmade ceramic plates that a neighbor gave us for their first birthday. It terrifies me, of course, but they've each only been broken twice. :D DH just keeps super-glueing them back together. We've now warned the kids that the next time the plates get broken, they might not be fixable, and the kids are very careful.

    You might try buying a set of really cheap breakable plates at Target or something. A friend who sends her kid to Montessori school says they use all breakable dishware there, to help teach the kids to be careful with things.

    We do use some melamine things -- our picnic plates, for instance -- but not for everyday use.
     
  6. naomi02

    naomi02 Well-Known Member

    I'm kicking myself for not getting more at Ikea when we were there last year; I got 2 of the cup sets & we love them. I'll have to look & see if you can order them online.

    Unfortunately, my dish set is a really heavy/easily chipped kind & there aren't many plates left. So I'm not really comfortable letting them use those yet. :(



    Miriam ...... I still am undecided how I feel about it. I didn't realize the way they make the dishes is some kind of combination of melamine & formaldehyde. Here's a link to an article:

    http://thesoftlandingbaby.com/2008/10/07/m...-in-dinnerware/
     
  7. meganguttman

    meganguttman Well-Known Member

    So I had no idea there was anything other than hard plastic for our plates and I just went to check them. I have been collecting the plates/bowls from the Target $1 area for months now even though the boys don't use them yet. They are all melamine. Sigh. Should we not be using them? They aren't microwave safe, but what about the dishwasher? I won't use anything that I can't throw in there!
     
  8. naomi02

    naomi02 Well-Known Member

    I believe melamine is dishwasher safe.
     
  9. Becca34

    Becca34 Well-Known Member

    Another vote for IKEA plates....bonus is that they aren't polycarbonate, so no BPA.

    But, we use Corelle for our every day stuff, and Nadia has been using those since she was about 3. They're light and virtually unbreakable. If you can't get to IKEA, try getting a few Corelle items at Walmart -- I bet you'll like them. They do sell them individually.

    Of course, my little ones still throw plates, so they get food on their high chair trays. :)
     
  10. FirstTimeMom814

    FirstTimeMom814 Well-Known Member

    We also use the IKEA cups/plate/bowls.
     
  11. momotwinsmom

    momotwinsmom Well-Known Member

    How do we know if our tableware is made of melamine?
     
  12. MrsBQ02

    MrsBQ02 Well-Known Member

    I can pretty much echo Becca's post- they still eat off their tray mostly, but we use corelle here too. You really have to try hard to break that stuff! It's possible, but doesn't happen easily or often. I think my mom still has the same set she got when they got married 30+ years ago, and I don't remember any of us kids ever breaking any. Bonus is it's microwave safe, unlike melamine!
     
  13. Trishandthegirls

    Trishandthegirls Well-Known Member

    We just use our regular china/pottery dishes for the girls. They get the salad plates usually and have never had a problem. Sometimes they pick them up and I just tell them we don't play with plates. I don't know, maybe I'm lucky but my kids do all sorts of other stuff (like throwing napkins on the floor), but so far haven't tried to break the plates. We switched from BPA-free plastic plates designed for kids when they were about 18 months old to regular dishes.
     
  14. Rach1137

    Rach1137 Well-Known Member

    We have corelle plates and I planned on using the little plates for the boys. My nieces use them (2 and 4) and we've never had a problem. I got mine at the outlets for super cheap and I know you can get corelle at wal-mart, k-mart, meijer etc. Check garage sales too, I always seem to see them at garage sales and then if they did manage to break any it wouldn't be a big deal.
     
  15. Minette

    Minette Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(naomi02 @ Mar 3 2009, 07:19 PM) [snapback]1212808[/snapback]
    I believe melamine is dishwasher safe.

    It may be, but I'm pretty sure the melamine plates I bought at Target say "dishwasher top rack only." I always handwash them because they don't fit well on the top rack anyway.

    But I'll be looking for some Corelle!
     
  16. SweetpeaG

    SweetpeaG Well-Known Member

    Corelle here, too.

    And for all of you who live too far from an IKEA to make a trip worth it, our Seattle store takes phone orders that they can ship to you. I imagine all the stores do this, but not sure. We live about 45 min away from our store, so it's not convenient for me to drag myself there (and feel like a rat running a maze :rolleyes: ) more than once a year. A phone order (who says you can't have it shipped from the Seattle store?) for something as lightweight as dinnerware can't be much for shipping.

    I'm actually not a fan of IKEA in general, but have been very pleased with these children's items:
    The Kalas line is nice and BPA-free.
    nice wooden table/chairs set we got for a good deal.
    TALL stepstools that allow my little hobbits to reach the sink. Truth be told, I prefer my folding step stools, b/c they can be discretely tucked away, but the IKEA ones are 3" taller, sturdy and inexpensive, and make good 'kitchen helper' stools. They do stack nicely, even though they don't fold up.
     
  17. AmynTony

    AmynTony Well-Known Member

    Hefty Zoo Pals paper plates
     
  18. Becky02

    Becky02 Well-Known Member

    We use corelle here too. All my kids have been using since before they turned 2. We would give them the small dessert plates when they were in highchairs and then the small plates (one size bigger than the desert plates) for when they are in boosters and not highchairs anymore. We haven't broke one yet in over 5 yrs of them using those plates.
     
  19. Trishandthegirls

    Trishandthegirls Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(SweetpeaG @ Mar 3 2009, 03:36 PM) [snapback]1213163[/snapback]
    And for all of you who live too far from an IKEA to make a trip worth it, our Seattle store takes phone orders that they can ship to you. I imagine all the stores do this, but not sure. We live about 45 min away from our store, so it's not convenient for me to drag myself there (and feel like a rat running a maze :rolleyes: ) more than once a year. A phone order (who says you can't have it shipped from the Seattle store?) for something as lightweight as dinnerware can't be much for shipping.


    You have just made my day. I have a list of fifteen things (all light) that I want from Ikea, but since we moved, the closest is six hours away. As soon as the Seattle IKEA opens, I'm calling! Thank you thank you thank you.
     
  20. Tivanni

    Tivanni Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the post...

    We were using the cute heavy Target sectioned Melamine plates, bowls and really liked them but after reading this, we made a trip to WalMart for Corelle and Ikea today. I checked Target but they sell only their own brand of dishes.

    Just wanted to mention that there are a few sets on Amazon that are comparable or cheaper than even WalMart with the Free Shipping.
     
  21. hilly

    hilly Well-Known Member

    Right now we use mostly the ceramic plates from Ikea unless we're eating outside, then we use plastic. So far, so good. We haven't had much of a problem with plate throwing since they were around a year. We'll see what the future holds :lol:.
     
  22. naomi02

    naomi02 Well-Known Member

    I am so bummed; I called Ikea & they told me you can only phone order the stuff that's available for internet orders. Which isn't much, really. And does not include the plates. :( :( I even asked if they were going to put any new stores in my state......but no plans for that yet.

    So, if anyone following this post is planning on making a trip to Ikea for plates, would you be willing to pick up extras for me? :) I have a Paypal account & could pay for shipping, too. I found some on ebay, but with the shipping they were starting at $9 a pack. :(
     
  23. SweetpeaG

    SweetpeaG Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(naomi02 @ Mar 5 2009, 09:43 AM) [snapback]1215384[/snapback]
    I am so bummed; I called Ikea & they told me you can only phone order the stuff that's available for internet orders. Which isn't much, really. And does not include the plates. :( :( I even asked if they were going to put any new stores in my state......but no plans for that yet.

    So, if anyone following this post is planning on making a trip to Ikea for plates, would you be willing to pick up extras for me? :) I have a Paypal account & could pay for shipping, too. I found some on ebay, but with the shipping they were starting at $9 a pack. :(


    Really? That is a bummer. I'll PM you.
     
  24. ahmerl

    ahmerl Well-Known Member

    Is it still okay to use the Melamine if you are not microwaving? In other words, I put the food on a glass plate to microwave or heat and then transfer to our cute as a button Target Melamine divider plates.
     
  25. Username

    Username Well-Known Member

    We use corelle plates and bowls. Glass glasses (from ikea. I usually buy 24 at a time and that lasts us about 9-12 months.) For sippies we use Klean Kanteens. I'd never use paper plates (but we don't use any paper products other than tp.) and I don't like plastic. Not just because of the chemical leaching issues but because they never feel fully clean to me. My neurosis I guess. ;)
     
  26. marcy874

    marcy874 Well-Known Member

    We have corelle too. I love it, its virtually indestructable and they have some really cute patterns now. I think they even have some cute square plate sets.
     
  27. gina_leigh

    gina_leigh Well-Known Member

    My kids still eat off their highchair trays. But just wanted to chime in and add that I love our Corelle set. I dropped a bowl the other day and it bounced and hit the dog's ceramic bowl, but still didn't break or chip. Love that stuff! And it's pretty inexpensive and easy to find.
     
  28. julesbabies

    julesbabies Well-Known Member

    By babies are not that old yet but I was planning on using Baby Bjorn's set for babies for this exact reason. Then I will go to a handmade ceramic as soon as they can handle it. Bennington Pottery is pretty rugged stuff and is not far from here.
     
  29. akameme

    akameme Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    QUOTE(ahmerl @ Mar 5 2009, 11:56 AM) [snapback]1215647[/snapback]
    Is it still okay to use the Melamine if you are not microwaving? In other words, I put the food on a glass plate to microwave or heat and then transfer to our cute as a button Target Melamine divider plates.


    thanks, i was wondering the same thing.

    A lot of people mentioned Corelle and plastic, what is considered an "ok" material for these plates???
     
Loading...

Share This Page