Guest Picks: Cool Dinnerware for Kids

I’ve always “cheaped out” and gotten my kids’ dinnerware from dollar bins, but this collection of cool kids’ dishes has me rethinking that logic. I also have to wonder why the coolest, cleverest, best ideas in dinnerware seem to be reserved for kids. We grown-ups get pretty patterns and plenty of solids and sometimes square plates instead of round, but nothing as innovative (and sometimes interactive) as the options here. Would it be OK for us to use these too? I think we all need to update our collections with something more colorful and fun. And I’m declaring melamine the new china. — Meaghan from The Decorated Cookie

Fred & Friends Kids Plate, Dinner Winner - $19 Teach kids the satisfaction of finishing what you start, even at dinner. I find this plate terribly clever.


Petits Et Maman Kids Plate, Elephant - $17.49 I know my mom would have bought this simple wooden plate for me when I was a kid. Car, monkey and bear shapes are available too.


Rock Stars Square Plates, Set of 4 - $30 I’m a fan of any plate that’s melamine. I want to replace all my dinnerware with this miracle material, not just the kids’ stuff. Be a rock star with these.


Garden Plate - $14.95 For the future gardener, turn a meal into a farm. Or a construction site, as there is also that option.


Fred and Friends Food Face, Boy - $13.48 The Food Face plate is now well established in the awesome-plates club. I’ve seen this one everywhere. Now it comes in a Ms. too.


Dinner Do’s Girl Plates, Set of 3 - $19.99 Yay! An updated version with hair.


Innobaby Stainless Bus Divided Platter - $18 For the practical-minded parent who doesn’t want to see food slide around and does want the sturdiness of stainless steel, I give you this bus.


Boon Groovy + Modware Interlocking Plate and Bowl Set With Utensils, Blue/Orange - $8.83 Everything locks together in this set. So instead of throwing her dishes on the ground individually, my 1-year-old can throw them in one fell swoop.


Puzzle Dinner Tray for Kids - $48.75 This puzzle dinner tray is expensive and not easy to get in the U.S., but gosh, it’s cool.


DOIY Landscape Kids Dinner Set - $38.91 Here’s another clever puzzle tray that I might like even more.


Skip Hop Mate Stay Put Mate + Plate, Orange - $19.99 And finally, here’s a puzzle-like tray for half the price!


Zoo Tableware - $6 This plate makes dinner cute as can be. I’m pretty sure the maker has your favorite animal in plate form.


Tire Bowl - $19.99 OK, so this is not for kids. But it’s proving me wrong that the coolest, most fun stuff is only for children.


Planetary Plates, Set of 8 - $36.99 For your astrogeek, the planets on plates. These are not to scale, because of Mercury being puny and all.


Kate Spade 3-Piece Feeding Set - $60 Is this what being rich is like? Being able to buy designer porcelain dinner sets for your kids? This one is retro and cute, though.


Confetti Divided Dinner Plate, Magenta - $9.99 Every day is a party with this divided confetti plate. It comes in plenty of colors too.


Jane Jenni Personality Melamine Cup - $9.99 Every single personality you can imagine is represented in cup form on these Jane Jenni melamine cups.


KidsFunwares Chew Chew Train Place Setting - $24.95 This looks like a train, but it’s really a (never-put-it-back-together-again) plate, cup and utensil set. And it’s darling. My kids have one of these — someone gave it to them as a gift when my first daughter was obsessed with trains.


Tug Bowl Dinner Set - $19.99 This tugboat dinner set is much easier to assemble than the train, I think.


Taco Truck Taco Holders, Set of 2 - $12.99 Finally, a smart plate (I mean, truck) just for taco night.


Zak Designs ‘Frozen’ Dinnerware Set - $13.98 Oh dear, this set will have you singing “Let It Go” every single night. And morning. And day. If Frozen isn’t your (or your kids’) thing, there are a jillion other options: Mickey, Disney princesses, Hello Kitty, Spider Man, Muppets, Cars — I could go on.

Next: Inviting Kids Into the Kitchen: Suggestions for Nurturing Cooks

URL: Guest Picks: Cool Dinnerware for Kids http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-23497.html