# Do your kids use real plates or plastic?



## ChristyMarie (May 31, 2006)

It seems like I am the only one who has DS eat off of real plates. He doesn't have special plates, he just uses a salad plate instead of a dinner one. He does have small snack bowls that are made for kids. Everyone else seems to have special plastic plates for their kids and I've had them ask for plastic here - which I don't have. Well, I do in the picnic stuff that's in the garage. We've just always had him use our stuff.

Thoughts?


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## lemurik (Jul 26, 2007)

We have a couple of plastic plates (left from sets) that we use half the time. At other times - its regular adult plates and bowls. There was a time when DS was known to throw plates on the floor so we bought the sets. He stopped it after a while, and I prefer to use regular dishes now. It is easier than having to worry about having special plate clean and available.


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## cappuccinosmom (Dec 28, 2003)

Regular plates here! Never had a breakage.







:


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

We all use plastic plates from time to time -- we have a set of picnic plates that are stored in the cabinet because we use them frequently for backyard picnics, and many times I'll just grab those for lunch or breakfast plates. My lunch is actually next to the computer on a plastic plate right now.

At dinner time DS usually uses a salad plate, but sometimes he gets a plastic one if that's the next one on the stack and it's convenient to grab.


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## Fujiko (Nov 11, 2006)

nak

we use regular but smaller plates and bowls for dd but plastic cups and utensils. Always have.


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## moaningminny (Dec 31, 2007)

We use both, but most of the time it's the plastic ones.


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## ASusan (Jun 6, 2006)

We have two plastic plates that rotate with regular salad plates. DS did break a regular plate by dropping it off his high chair.

What I LOVE is serving him in my Grammie's old wood salad bowls.


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## caro113 (Aug 25, 2008)

If we're eating the same thing, she just eats off my plate. Other wise she either doesn't have a plate; she uses her tray. Sometimes I give her a paper plate. Sometimes.

I don't like plastics and I'm afraid to give her one of our dishes bc they are from a very old set and rather precious.


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## Caneel (Jun 13, 2007)

we use real plates and utensils. DS gets the salad size.

He is still using his plastic and stainless cups as I can't deal with breaking glasses all the time. I also use these for snacks.


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

My kids use the same dishes we do - which are real







We do end up with a good amount of broken glasses because we have ceramic tile and a counter height table - but thinking about it, the majority are broke by DH or I, and often in the dishwasher.

eta: this reminds me of a time we were visiting my sister. She had hoped I would bring kid safe dishes for them to use while were there b/c she doesn't have any (no babies, yet) and I was confused b/c they use 'adult' dishes, so it never occurred to me to buy plastic or paper dishes to bring over.


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## Evergreen (Nov 6, 2002)

We use both. The plastic ones are ones a neighbor gave us with characters on them so the little one usually wants one of those and I give it to her. Since I don't micro. the plates I don't think it is going to be that terrible healthwise for her. We tend to only use glass glasses though. I think it's funny when people make a big deal about finding them plastic cups when they have been using glass ones since they were about a year old.


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## HappilyEvrAfter (Apr 1, 2009)

Depends on whether or not I feel like doing dishes....Lol.

DS has his favorite plates that happen to be plastic, but if they're all dirty then he uses the small side plates of our glass set.

He's particular when it comes to cups though...he likes the glass ones.

Makes no difference to me....he's been really good about not dropping or breaking them.


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## Miasmamma (Sep 20, 2006)

I have a few plastic ones that were given as gifts, but only one that I bought. The one that I bought is divided into 5 compartments and I bought it just to use in the car while we were driving to my grandparents which is 7 hours away. We don't generally stop and get out to eat, just for bathroom breaks, so the plate was special! Other than that, DD1 uses what we use. I do have smaller forks in the place setting my mom has, but at home she uses regular sized utensils.


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## Caneel (Jun 13, 2007)

At nana's house, DS gets only plastic. She has all sorts of character plates and cups for him.

Considering they only use disposable stuff at their house, he is actually getting spoiled by being able to eat off a real plate, even if real in that house is plastic.


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## TheGirls (Jan 8, 2007)

I wish I could give DD regular plates! She thinks it is so awesome to watch them shatter on the floor. Glasses too. She throws EVERYTHING!! So, she eats directly off the table or booster tray, or she gets a plastic bowl, which I have to hold down with one hand while she eats so it doesn't get thrown, food and all. The bowls even have suction cups. DD is stronger than suction cups, and she knows it.


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## Liquesce (Nov 4, 2006)

I bought Corelle specifically with the fact that I have kids in mind.


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## riverscout (Dec 22, 2006)

My 3 year old daughter uses our regular dishes and has since she was tiny. She's never broken anything. We did get her some child size stainless flatware because ours just seemed too big, but she is starting to use some of our regular teaspoons sometimes (she calls them big girl spoons







). She does still use little plastic cups, but I was just thinking this morning that I need to get her some small glasses.

So far the baby just eats off his highchair tray. He's not quite as chill as my daughter was, so I'm thinking about getting him some stainless steel dishes before transitioning him to real dishes. Basically, he worries me







.


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## mamatoablessing (Oct 17, 2005)

Plastic for most meals. DD is almost 3yo and finds it hysterical to throw her plates on the ground when she's done. Not interested in switching to real plates anytime soon....serving them plastic plates doesn't bother me a bit.


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

My kids all use real dishes right now. I do use some plastic plates for lunch quite often, but only because I like that they're in sections, and I don't have any sectioned dishes that aren't plastic. I did use plastic when they were younger. DS1 wasn't too bad, but both dd1 and ds2 have gone through spells where they threw things a _lot_. DD1 broke at least two of mom's dishes when we lived there, and ds2 has broken a couple things, too. I don't think plastic is perfect, but it doesn't send sharp shards around the room, and it doesn't hurt so much if it hits someone.


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## henny penny (Mar 26, 2008)

Ds uses our regular plates and glasses and has never broken one. I'm one of those plastic-phobic mamas







so we avoid it whenever possible.


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## StrawberryFields (Apr 6, 2005)

Plastic. Not because of breakage, just because we don't have any small regular plates. They have used, dropped and shattered several real glasses, though.


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## velochic (May 13, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Liquesce* 
I bought Corelle specifically with the fact that I have kids in mind.

Ditto... we've had a few that have dropped onto our ceramic tiling, but no breaks.


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## Storm Bride (Mar 2, 2005)

I need new dishes, anyway - maybe I'll get Corelle. I've had my mismatched plates and such since 1991, and I'd like something a little more tidy looking.


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## Alyantavid (Sep 10, 2004)

Either. We have a few plastic dishes that they use, but if those are dirty, I just grab the real ones.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ASusan* 
What I LOVE is serving him in my Grammie's old wood salad bowls.

Love wooden dishes, but I have a hard time finding them here. We do have some bowls that the boys use though.


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## east carolina (Apr 5, 2006)

Real plates. And glasses, cups. We have a plastic bowl we take when we travel and sometimes DS wants to use it. Also, a friend of mine gave DS a plastic utensil set and he likes to eat with that sometimes.

We have broken many plates and bowls and I've glued back what I can. I much prefer real plates to plastic.


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## paxye (Mar 31, 2005)

We have a few plastic plates that come out when everything is in the dishwasher... (it's a sign we need more dishes I think) but mostly we all use Correlle plates and bowls... never had one break and with my kids they fall often...


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## Raene (Jul 24, 2008)

Corelle all the way!


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## newbymom05 (Aug 13, 2005)

Always regular for the 4 y/o w/ plastic sippies for the 15 mo old who still throws. We just use his tray, which is plastic, or I'll put real dishes on it as long as I'm there to watch. We have Corelle--which I bought w/ kids in mind--and ladies, let me tell you, it breaks! And it shatters into a million teeny shards that are light enough to travel far from the breakage source, unlike my heavier plates which just break into 3 or 4 pieces.

Anyway, I"m trying to get away from all plastics, so for the 4 y/o I use the small quilted canning jars--they're the perfect size for his hands and heavy enough that they should be able to w/stand a drop. Highly recommend!


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

We have one small plastic bowl/tray thing that my 2yo dd uses sometimes. And we have a set of plastic dishes that are supposed to be used for picnics but they get used if we have been too busy to wash the others. But mostly we prefer glass. They all use glass cups at the table. My husband grew up with only glass and he prefers we do the same.

ETA: I save all my jelly jars and such to use with the kids because I figure if they break them I am not out anything.

Also, how do the wooden dishes hold up? I presume they have to be washed by hand?


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## Liquesce (Nov 4, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *newbymom05* 
We have Corelle--which I bought w/ kids in mind--and ladies, let me tell you, it breaks! And it shatters into a million teeny shards that are light enough to travel far from the breakage source, unlike my heavier plates which just break into 3 or 4 pieces.

My parents had it when I was growing up ... I have broken many, many Corelle dishes in the course of my lifetime myself. And it's usually the slightest bump that will do it ... all those times being dropped without breaking seem to cause stress points just waiting to be breathed upon. For me, though, all those times being dropped without breaking count for more than the PITA that is cleaning up the broken ones when it does happen.


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## staceychev (Mar 5, 2005)

For sit down meals, DD (4) has used real plates (the salad plate size) and real cutlery for as long as I can remember. We do have plastic plates, but they're mostly for scarfing down breakfast during the commute.


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## LaLaLaLa (Oct 29, 2007)

My kids use regular dishes, too. And glass glasses instead of the plastic colored ones, since they used to fight about who got which color. Grrr.

This morning DD, who is five, bumped a mug the wrong way and broke the handle off, but we've never had more damage than that. And I broke a handle off of one of the other matching mugs just the other day when moving it from the sink to the dishwasher, so I'd tend to think this is more a dish problem than a being careful issue.


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## GardenStream (Aug 21, 2007)

DS did receive some plastic plates, bowls and cups when he was a baby. He used them for a while, but they eventually were destroyed by the dishwasher. Now, the kids use fiesta bowls and plates. They drop them all the time and they have never broken or chipped one. We still use plastic cups and mugs most of the time. I have tried glasses a couple times, but they just shatter when dropped on tile floors. We're a barefoot family, so broken glass is a much bigger concern for me than plastic.


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## crl (May 9, 2004)

Real plates all along and he's never broken one. Now, he does have plastic cups, mostly because our glasses are HUGE.

Catherine


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## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

we used both when the kids were little (and still do). not because we were scared of them breaking (except for our good bowls which broke rediculously easy but then we also used plastic bowls for everyday stuff and a seperate soup mug for hot stuff) but just because its fun to have dishes with cartoon characters. they liked having their own matching set. it would have never occured to me to ask for plastic at someone elses house.


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## octobermom (Aug 31, 2005)

Till my DD was around 3 or 4 we pretty consitantly used "plastic" now she uses the exact same as us. The big reason was we were always someplace with hard tile floors and I've dropped plates and glasses enough to know that ONE drop and they shattered into a million tiny pieces. Till around 4 years my DD couldn't manage to go a day without dropping something so till she was ready we used non breakable with her. I still tend to use non breakable cups but its more a size thing than anything else.

Deanna


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## octobermom (Aug 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Liquesce* 
I bought Corelle specifically with the fact that I have kids in mind.









I soo wish all our stuff is corelle and that stuff would shatter into a billion teny tiny pieces we'd be cleaning up for months.







:

Deanna


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## elmh23 (Jul 1, 2004)

We use a mixture. They have real plates at dinner time, but I tend to give them plastic plates at lunch or snack times.


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## eclipse (Mar 13, 2003)

Usually plastic. My older two kids are fine with real plates, but my almost 4 year old still randomly flings anything he can get ahold of, and the big kids are not good about putting their dishes away when they're done, so they all get plastic. Sometimes for dinner, they'll get real plates, because that gets cleaned up as soon as we're done. Breakfast, lunch, and snack dishes tend to spend a lot of time left on the table, as the kids like to graze. DS likes to throw things that have some weight to them, so he's way more likely to toss a real plate than a plastic one.


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## rightkindofme (Apr 14, 2008)

I have the same plastic plates I used as a kid. I'm still using them.







That said: our daughter uses regular glass plates about as often as I do.


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## confustication (Mar 18, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Liquesce* 
I bought Corelle specifically with the fact that I have kids in mind.

This is what my kids use as well. I don't care for plastic in general- though I'll certainly use it if I need to, but the Corelle seems to hold up to kid abuse just fine.


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## ChetMC (Aug 27, 2005)

Our girls always used real dishes until very recently. Not even sippy cups. I hate sippy cups.

Recently, we switched them to metal camping dishes because our current set up has the kids eating together in a room with a tile floor, and 15 month old DS often causes accidents. All three kids are eating together at a kiddie table.

Our oldest has never, ever broken anything. Our middle DD has broken about half a dozen glasses and maybe two plates, but I'm okay with that. It's a lesson to learn that stuff breaks when you drop it.


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## My3guys (May 27, 2009)

We have always used real plates and silverware. We didn't go to real glasses until they were about 4, though. Our glassware is very heavy and big and there is no way their little hands could hold even a juice glass. However, once they could, we switched.


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## mummyofan (Jun 25, 2008)

mine use real but smaller versions of ours for inside and plastic small ones for out side.

They're always well behaved with them.
They use small forks and tea spoons, not plastic ones, too.

not that I dislike plastic, but even if you threw mine across the floor, I think they'd be ok (Italian make)


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## Anastasiya (Jun 13, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ChristyMarie* 
It seems like I am the only one who has DS eat off of real plates. He doesn't have special plates, he just uses a salad plate instead of a dinner one. He does have small snack bowls that are made for kids. Everyone else seems to have special plastic plates for their kids and I've had them ask for plastic here - which I don't have. Well, I do in the picnic stuff that's in the garage. We've just always had him use our stuff.

Thoughts?

Real plates. Corelle.

They are special "kid" plates though - we bought the luncheon ones that are the perfectly right size for a kid plate, and bought small bowls for their cereal and soups. Everything's "real", just smaller. Smaller flatware too in stainless steel.

We don't even own any plastic plates.

It's funny though because I get lots of comments on that, too, when people come over. I've never really thought about it till you mentioned it.


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## oceanbaby (Nov 19, 2001)

Regular dishes. We have a few plastic, mainly for if they eat outside.


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## meemee (Mar 30, 2005)

me too. i just find them easier to wash. though she does have a few plastic ones. which she used in her play area. her thing is glasses. she loves different kind of glasses to drink out of. so i got her all different shapes and sizes of wine, sherry, champagne, etc glasses and she has always drunk out of those. she for some reason prefered that to sippy cups or straw cups. she did drink a little bit out of straw cups.

when she turned 5 THAT's when she wanted a sippy cup







:


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## kwilki8 (May 24, 2005)

Dd uses plastic plates, but that's mainly just because she's really attached to "her" plates, which were mostly different colored or decorated sets people gave her as gifts. She uses regular silverware and glasses though.


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## Peppermint Poppies (Jan 7, 2007)

We use plastic and real plates - it just depends on what is clean or dirty. The plastic bowls actually have a steeper side to them than our real bowls, so it is easier for DS to scoop up some foods in those.

All of the plastic bowls we own have matching lids, so I use them if we're eating snacks or lunch away from the house.


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## aprons_and_acorns (Sep 28, 2004)

We all use the same dishes here. They're ceramic and so far I'm the only one who's broken any of them. Actually I've broken a couple. I need to slow down when I do the dishes. LOL


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## artgoddess (Jun 29, 2004)

DS never "needed" anything other than regular ceramic dishes. DD is a bit of a thrower, so she gets the plastic. Also DS has always been a little on the OCD side when it comes to mess. He was 4 before he would feed himself yogurt because he would freak if he got some on himself. DD on the other hand is happy to feed herself yogurt with her hands. the plastic kid plates with the high side lip are really helpful for her, so she doesn't chase food off the plate with her fork.

so I guess my answer is every kids is different.


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## Marlet (Sep 9, 2004)

We always use regular dishes for the kids. I do give them the smaller ones but only because they get smaller portions and I don't want to wash a big dish.







I don't see the point in having seperate dishes and find that most plastic wear starts looking nasty after standard kid use. We don't use sippy cups either. I'm always surprised when parents of small kids around us are surprised mine uses glasses and have no issues with spilling or breaking. I've been told it's because I treat my kids like min adults and not kids.














Who knew handing my kid a regular glass meant I was denying them a childhood?







:


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## crunchymamatobe (Jul 8, 2004)

Real plates. DS has broken one in the two years he's been eating solid foods - which means, I think, that he has a better breakage record than I do.







:

He does drink from sippy/plastic cups, but that's largely because we don't have any glasses that are a good size for his hands.

We have some plastic/melamine that were gifts and that we use for snacks or travel, but meals at the table are almost always off real plates.


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## pjs (Mar 30, 2005)

For the most part, we all use corelle. The kids do use small juice glasses (non corelle) too.


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## amandaleigh37 (Jul 13, 2006)

DS is 2. We use real plates & silverware too. Salad plates are perfect size. I got some child-sized flatware at Ikea, but he uses adult sized sometimes too. He does still use plastic cups (regular cups, not sippy) because I haven't found good sized "real" ones for him yet. Ours are too big & heavy.


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## mistymama (Oct 12, 2004)

Ds has been eating off of real plates for as long as I can remember. He has always eatten at the table with us and so far, no breakage - and he's going on 7.









Only recently (like in the last 6 months) have I let him start drinking out of glass cups. Before then I felt it was too risky since he sometimes walks around with his drink.


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## Jojo F. (Apr 7, 2007)

Regular plates, I don't like plastic either and DH wishes they'd just stop making it!!









*I'M* the one who breaks our glasses and plates (darn handwashing!!)


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## bethanyclaire (Dec 17, 2004)

Real plates here, too. Real glasses and utensils as well. The few times we've eaten at a friend's house with plastic plates DS and DD both looked at me kind of funny (partly because kids aren't "allowed" at the adult table there, either). People do occasionally comment on it when they eat with us but I never thought much of it. I have broken WAY more dishes than they have (DS has broken 1 in almost 6 years, DD hasn't broken any... we won't discuss how many *I've* broken, lol!).

I really try to avoid plastic, though, so that has something to do with it. When they are really young (under 18 months) I sometimes use plastic divided plates and rubber coated stainless spoons if I have a "thrower"... LOL! DS was great for that... he could've been a discus champ at about 9 months old!!


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## ShadowMoon (Oct 18, 2006)

We use "regular" plates around here. Always have. I try to avoid plastics as much as possible. I avoid plastic utensils as well.


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## moms angels (Oct 15, 2004)

We use the Corell divided ceramic plates, the sections are great for dinners when they want to use salad dressing as a dip or ketchup for meat etc.


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## kirstenb (Oct 4, 2007)

We have wood salad plates that DS uses, as well as regular salad plates. We bought the wood plates during his throwing stage, but he likes to use them still because he knows that they are "his" plates. He doesn't have a problem using regular dishes either. Our glasses are pretty heavy so we don't usually let him use those- he uses plastic tumblers or his KK.


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## beckyand3littlemonsters (Sep 16, 2006)

chloe, cameron and caitlin use both it depends whats the first thing i grab when i go into the cupboard. caden always has plastic because he has a habit of emptying his food onto his tray and throwing his dish/plate onto the floor.


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## Ericka1999 (Aug 4, 2009)

We all use real plates in our household..


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## swd12422 (Nov 9, 2007)

Regular plates, but plastic cups here...


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## One_Girl (Feb 8, 2008)

I had dd use plastic plates for a long time and she still uses plastic cups. We don't have a lot of plates, cups, or bowls and I don't want to react out of stress when one gets broken and I have to replace it. I have very bad memories of breaking dishes a lot as a child, it was both scary to break them and have glass all around and the scary to hear my mom scolding me afterwards. It is something that really pushed my buttons even with visualization so I chose to use plastic until recently. She doesn't typically carry her plate anywhere so I didn't replace our plastic ones that have broken down over the years. Her cups she does carry and she likes to be in charge of filling them so I have her use plastic still.


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## Bug-a-Boo's Mama (Jan 15, 2008)

DS uses both. Usually it is the same type we are using. Unless he is having something small that doesn't require a big plate. But he does have special cups.


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## readytobedone (Apr 6, 2007)

real. we do have a child's one that is like tin. but otherwise, she uses the same plates we do. if she threw plates, i would re-think it, but she never has.


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## *Erin* (Mar 18, 2002)

nope, the kids, toddler included, eat off the same (glass) plates we do. usually, like the op, they use the salad plate/dessert bowl sizes, but if those are all dirty, they'll use the regular sized ones. they get regular utinsils as well. now, i will do plastic drinking cups if i know they're roaming with their water, but we use glasses for meals.


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## katiesk (Nov 6, 2007)

dd usses regular plates and bowls. i have fiesta ware and it is evidently quite durable as it has been tested almost daily for the past several months. i also have one small wooden bowl that dd uses sometimes as well.

i hate plastic. mostly i think it looks tacky, but you know, whatever potential toxins and stuff too...


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## SeekingJoy (Apr 30, 2007)

Tempered glass. And the kids drink out of half pint mason jars for the most part.


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## OkiMom (Nov 21, 2007)

DD had a time where she use to throw her plate when she got bored and didn't want anymore food. We got into the habit of giving her plastic plates because of that. I haven't gotten out of that habit. She hasn't thrown a plate or glass in a while so I might start transitioning her soon but shes shown DD2 the wonder of dropping plates so it might be a while before not needing plastic plates.


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## Trinitty (Jul 15, 2004)

we use stainless steel.


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## JennTheMomma (Jun 19, 2008)

Hunter has little glass plates that are his size, and also plates for kids that are plastic. It depends on what we're having and the size of it that determines which plate he has.


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## Norasmomma (Feb 26, 2008)

We use both. DD has some plastic bowls for snacks, but mostly I use a salad plate. She has these monkey faced plates too, but those only come out once in awhile. We used them the other day because our friend was here and she always uses "kid" plates, so we did that day.


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## DaughterOfKali (Jul 15, 2007)

Regular plates/cups. I must say that I love the small square plates from Crate & Barrel.

He uses small glass juice cups that I also bought at Crate & Barrel. They are thick and super strong (they've been dropped repeatedly but haven't even chipped or cracked).


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## boheime (Oct 25, 2005)

real plates, although the kids usually eat off of the salad plates.


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## MOM2ANSLEY (May 19, 2003)

We use both. have some plastic like kids plates and bowls that were gifts, but cant be microwaved. So I also use corelle al lot.....kids never broke one but I did. I have some small jelly jars ?welches? with characters on them kids drink out of, they were perfect for toddlers. still use them...I even like them for a quick sip


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## sweetpeppers (Dec 19, 2007)

real here too, he's never broken anything in the year and a halfish he's been eating (in that same year and a half, I've broken at least four things )


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## AutumnMama (Jan 2, 2004)

We have some Melamine plates I like to use simply because of the lip/edge that they have. Kiddos are still at the stage where things slide quite easily off their plates


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## Thalia (Apr 9, 2003)

Real plates. No breakage so far, but we've been lucky and for some reason DD just doesn't like to throw them (every other kid I've ever met went throw a phase of tossing dishes). We use BPA-free plastic sippy cups around the house, when DD is walking and drinking at the same time, but use a real glass at the table.


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## weliveintheforest (Sep 3, 2005)

the kids use regular plates if they are having hot food or a sit-down meal, but if it's a cold snack during the day I usually give them plastic.


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## amma_mama (May 20, 2008)

DD still uses mostly melamine or plastic. We are living in a furnished apartment which included dishes that are not ours, so I preferred to not have to replace the set if too much broke. We are moving again soon and will be using our own dishes (which are currently in storage), so the policy may change with the exception of glasses, which seem more prone to breakage and potential injury.


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## Pepper44 (May 16, 2006)

We use a mixture of both. We have a set of Ikea plastic dishes and cups that my in-laws gave DD, and she loves to pick what colors she uses for each meal. We also have Correlle wear, which doesn't break 9 times out of 10 when dropped, but if you hit that 10th time...wow it sure does shatter in a thousand tiny pieces!


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

We've always used regular plates. We have divided tupperware plates with lids...but we save those for picnics and camping....times when we may have to eat on our laps. I do use thicker glasses for the kids when they are small though. I use small jelly jars.


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## EnviroBecca (Jun 5, 2002)

Real plates. We have some Corelle and some tempered glass.

Quote:

I have broken many, many Corelle dishes in the course of my lifetime myself. And it's usually the slightest bump that will do it ... all those times being dropped without breaking seem to cause stress points just waiting to be breathed upon. For me, though, all those times being dropped without breaking count for more than the PITA that is cleaning up the broken ones when it does happen.








That's exactly how I feel!

We do have a lot of plastic cups, and he sometimes chooses to use those, but mostly he prefers glasses. When he first started drinking from a cup, we gave him our Ikea juice glasses, which are regular glass but very sturdy; EnviroDaddy has had the set of 8 for 17 years and none has broken!

EnviroKid is startlingly well-coordinated (he doesn't get it from me!!) and the only times he's broken "breakable" dishes have been when he was angry and purposely threw something into the sink. However, he has accidentally broken cups that were supposed to be kid-safe: The semi-disposable lightweight plastic sippy cups will EXPLODE LIKE A BOMB if you drop them onto a hard surface when full! Restaurants often give him a styrofoam cup with lid and straw, which will explode the same way, or his finger can poke through it all of a sudden, or the lid can pop off--they're really horrible! Of course we don't like styrofoam anyway for environmental and health reasons, so we always say, "Water in A REAL GLASS, please," but some servers just don't listen.


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## PPK (Feb 15, 2007)

Regular, and we never had a break.

DH calls ds' bowl a 'cat-food' dish though because its a small clear glass bowl...I guess he's right, but its durable and it works


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## LittleBlessings (May 26, 2008)

plastic


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## AutumnAir (Jun 10, 2008)

Plastic plates here. Partly because they're nice and colourful, but our dinner set is really 'blah'. But mostly because she thinks it's great to scrape the ceramic plates with her cutlery (which is kid-sized but metal like grown-ups') and it damages the plates plus it makes the most awful sound which I just absolutely *can't stand*!!


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## Tellera (Oct 28, 2005)

We started with plastic but pretty soon moved to our regular "everyday" type china plates (we don't have any other type), because he didn't really throw the plates or anything so we didn't see the need. If, however, he was the kind to toss them or be rough with them we would have stayed with plastic.


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## treemom2 (Oct 1, 2003)

We only use plastic at parties or picnics. Our children have always either just eaten off their highchair tray (no plate) or off a real plate. In the beginning we used Corelle (it's cheaper) and within the last year we've switched to Japanese porcelain. I hate eating off plastic. . .I don't want my kids to eat off plastic. When they were first learning to use a cup, they drank out of plastic cups. . .but at a little over a year we switched them to glass or their stainless steel thermoses. For snacks, they use the porcelain plates.


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## gmvh (Nov 26, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AutumnMama* 
We have some Melamine plates I like to use simply because of the lip/edge that they have. Kiddos are still at the stage where things slide quite easily off their plates









We had this trouble too (and still have it sometimes, on the cusp of turning five) and our Fiestaware bowls have been great as "plates" with wall!

I originally started picking up Fiestaware pieces because my husband seemed to manage to ding and chip everything and I noticed that a friend with a husband with similar dish-handling habits didn't have any chips, etc., in hers and the stuff has held up amazingly well. We used it from the start with my children. I also think pulling them right up to the table helped encourage good table "manners" and curbed some of the chucking stuff overboard...


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## Bluegoat (Nov 30, 2008)

I used real for both girls until recently, when dd2 very deliberately smashed hers on the floor. So now she gets plastic if it isn't a very sturdy dish. At my moms we use plastic, since her floor is ceramic tile and anything you drop breaks.


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## SuburbanHippie (Aug 29, 2008)

We have some plastic kiddie plates, but I don't own a microwave and we only use them for snacks (nothing hot or cold) so I don't feel too bad about them.

My kids have never broken a real plate or glass. My sister is the only one who has. She's about as clumsy as the day is long. She also broke my blender trying to wash it. LOL.

I wouldn't care if the kids broke a glass anyway. They use old jelly jars or peanut butter jars instead of traditional cups.


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## valsblondies (Jul 1, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *henny penny* 
Ds uses our regular plates and glasses and has never broken one. I'm one of those plastic-phobic mamas







so we avoid it whenever possible.

Yes-plastic phobic here, too. For DS age9 he uses regular dishware and glass cups. For DS age 2, I use Corelle dishes- (he has shattered 2 in about a year which isnt so bad...) and drinks out of a stainless steel cup and water out of his klean kanteen. No sippys and people cant believe how careful he is.


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## staceychev (Mar 5, 2005)

DD uses regular plates, glasses, and cutlery at the table... salad plate, small glass (cheap Ikea, so no heartbreak if it breaks), salad fork and real knife if it's something she'd be able to cut herself. We do have plastic, though. It's used for snacks in the backyard, or in the car on the way to school. But when we sit at the table, we use the real stuff!

FWIW, we switched DD when she was about 2. At that point, we were really good at intercepting plates at the throwing stage (throwing with her meant she didn't want to eat anymore, so why leave the plate in front of her). I also found that the heavier "real" plate wasn't easy to push around and there was something about it that made it not as appealing to wing across the room.


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## ChetMC (Aug 27, 2005)

In general, our kids have used regular plates and glasses.

However, with our current setup they've been eating at a small table in our sunroom, which has a hard tile floor. DS also sits with our girls on his own kiddle chair, and things have been more llikely to land on a the floor. For this reason, they've been using stainless steel dishes.

When the kids eat outside or in the car they get plastic dishes.


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## ann_of_loxley (Sep 21, 2007)

Both. He has some fun character ones that unfortunatly don't come in 'real' lmao. Otherwise, tbh, there is no specific reason why we use either.


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## Purple Sage (Apr 23, 2007)

We have some plastic kids plates, but they don't always use them. It just depends on what's clean.


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## ~PurityLake~ (Jul 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ChristyMarie* 
It seems like I am the only one who has DS eat off of real plates. He doesn't have special plates, he just uses a salad plate instead of a dinner one. He does have small snack bowls that are made for kids. Everyone else seems to have special plastic plates for their kids and I've had them ask for plastic here - which I don't have. Well, I do in the picnic stuff that's in the garage. We've just always had him use our stuff.

Thoughts?


Sophia hasn't been allowed to eat from glass/ceramic plate since she dropped one on Abigail's head, gashing her forehead wide open, which warranted an ER visit and a huge traumatic event for poor Abigail (she had to lie flat on her back for 15 minutes so the liquid analgesic wouldn't drip down from the gash on her forehead into her eyes before the dr could glue the gash closed).

I just read the thread. Broken dishes never was a concern for me. But broken heads cannot be returned to normal/pre-injury. Abigail still has a scar over a year later.


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## Sharlla (Jul 14, 2005)

We don't have plastic plates or bowls. If something gets broke oh well, we just buy another one.


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