https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 06 Apr 2026 09:38:31 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2711123 Wed, 15 Mar 2017 20:28:07 +0000 JoyfulKiwi 2711123@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our son never threw/dropped his plates &amp; he didn't care either way for divided vs. not. He had one divided plate and the rest were just regular. I will say having a "lip" ended up being VERY helpful! </p> <p>Our daughter (who's G's age) throws Every. Frickin. Thing. We got gifted an EZPZ divided plate and use it every night. She's not strong/savvy enough to move it yet and it's a dream! I anticipate using it until she's at least 18-20 months and can reason better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710736 Wed, 15 Mar 2017 11:27:20 +0000 snowjewelz 2710736@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Never had it and didn't feel like we needed it. DD1 never threw plates/bowls. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710504 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 23:11:23 +0000 PinkElephant 2710504@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had one suction plate/mat combo for DD1....It quit working after a use or two. I didn't care because (a) i feel like the suction was motivation for her to try to tip a plate that she wouldn't have had otherwise and (b) before it quit working, i nearly sent a plate flying bc I'd suctioned it on at a bad angle and couldn't reach the tab I needed to pull to break the suction. Whoops!</p> <p>I do love divided plates, though. Besides portion control, they're great for holding dips/sauces, or for appeasing picky kids who don't want their food to touch (aka most toddlers/preschoolers). I still use them for my oldest who is almost 5. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710498 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 22:43:53 +0000 catomd00 2710498@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ezpz was great for maybe 6 months maybe when we went from high chair to booster seat. I liked it because it was easier to clean than the high chair, she couldn't have cared less.. She learned pretty quick to use a regular plate. No dividers necessary at this point (3). The suction ones are a waste. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710496 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 22:40:01 +0000 LindsayLou 2710496@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think the suction plates/bowls really depends on your kid. My 18 month old is not a plate thrower. She throws food on occasion, but has only thrown her bowl or plate once or twice. We also don't do divided plates. I prefer to just use the regular salad plates we already have. We also usually give her small glass Tupperware style bowls that we already owned. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710445 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 21:04:50 +0000 bhbee 2710445@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We love the stainless divided plates! I saw it on here sometime. I have a bus shape and house shape. Can't be broken, bottom rack dishwasher safe, and I find it helps me provide more variety to fill up the sections. Also my kids love them. But I also use melamine plates (cheap ones) and ceramic. I've never tried suction. My 2yo is a thrower/tray clearer and so I rarely give him ceramic (for a long time I just served on the tray but now he wants a plate) but my older one never threw so could always use whatever. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710442 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 20:50:37 +0000 travellingbee 2710442@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Suction cups never work. We use cheap plastic IKEA plates. And really for the youngest one, his food just go straight onto the tray without a plate right now. It's just easier to deal with that way. But within the next couple of months I suspect we will transition to plates. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710440 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 20:46:54 +0000 Portboston 2710440@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DS has never been a plate or food thrower and he is 19 months. We got a placemat for our table since we have a hook on high chair (no tray) to make clean up easier. So we just put his food directly on the placemat. He uses spoon and forks now (hates getting his hands dirty) and putting food on a ceramic plate makes it difficult for him to pick up with utensils. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710425 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 20:17:25 +0000 ShootingStar 2710425@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We tried a few types of suction things and found them annoying. Mostly they just didn't work. And I found the EZPZ stuff way too expensive. We are just not on top of things enough to have just one kid's plate. We need more like 4, so we're talking over $100 on plates. The throwing dish phase was really short so I'm glad I didn't spend the money. We have a set of replay dishes that worked great for a couple years before we moved to real plates. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710421 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 20:12:46 +0000 SweetCaroline 2710421@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@DesertDreams88: DD is 25 months and we've never used suction. She was more interested in scooping her food out and throwing it directly on the ground :silly: </p> <p>I love the divided plates. However, today she got some noodles on the blueberry side and the world had to stop while she separated them back out, so maybe I'm just cultivating the OCD she inherited from me...</p> <p>ETA: I love reading this thread! Seems like the need for suction totally depends on your child's personality! DD is a fiesty thing but kid loves to eat... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710313 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 15:28:47 +0000 LBee 2710313@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Save your money on the suction, but definitely buy divided plates. This is embarrassing, but I struggle with portions. I've found the specific type we use (Replay, if you were wondering) helps me with portions - big part is where the meat / protein goes, one small section of fruit / veggie, and then the other small section is a carb. </p> <p>All our suction cups / plates ended up losing their suction after a couple of washes. My son was also never really a plate thrower - boy likes to eat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710310 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 15:25:42 +0000 Charm54 2710310@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I like the all in one mat/plates (like ezpz) not necessarily for the suction feature but because it makes clean up a breeze </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710284 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 14:56:58 +0000 Anya 2710284@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I used the ezpz- style mat until around 18 or 20 months (there are knockoff brands for less $$).<br /> Now my LO mostly uses regular dishes but I got a set of the replay plates from target which we use sometimes, it's also good for play dates because each LO can have their own plate and I don't have to worry about their individual skills.<br /> I have one suction plate that someone gave me, I use it if I'm running low but the suction function itself is pretty useless. There are probably better versions out there (bjorn maybe?) but I never felt I needed to seek out suction. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710270 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 14:35:40 +0000 gingerbebe 2710270@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We used the EZPZ plate and bowl for a long time. DS1 is 30 months and he's been using a combo of EZPZ and Target's cheap divided kids dinner plates and bowls for a few months now. The Target ones are my fave non sticking ones because they are microwave safe and BPA free (RePlay is not micro safe). However RePlay makes our favorite utensils.</p> <p>ETA: my kids are messy eaters and slower on fine motor skills so they DO need the special plates and what not because they constantly drop and knock things over. It's personality driven. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710269 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 14:35:40 +0000 PawPrints 2710269@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I vote save your money. We never bought any special plates, bowls, or placemats for DD and it's been fine. We use our normal ceramic salad plates and bowls and place them on her highchair tray (or we used to; now she refuses to use the tray so we just scoot her up to the table and put her dishes onto the normal placemats). She has never broken or dropped anything. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/suction-bowls-placemats-divided-plates#post-2710266 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 14:31:33 +0000 DesertDreams88 2710266@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Is the suction aspect really necessary, helpful, or a waste of money?<br /> What ages / stages for each?<br /> We need more plates anyway, and we have bowls that are too deep for toddlers.</p> <p>ETA: I don't really need brand recommendations, the post is more just wondering when to start and necessity / helpfulness. Thanks!</p> <p>LO sits at a space-saving highchair attached to a dining room chair. He is starting to experiment with utensils. </p>