food-safe tea sets?

[SweetPotato]

My 3yo desperately wants to buy a tea set with her birthday money, but insists that she wants a "real" one "NOT pretend." So I was wondering whether one can just assume that any tea set will be safe to actually use with water or tea (obviously not super hot tea in a plastic set)? There are some cute ones at Target and a local toy store, but I guess I just can't tell what is really intended for eating and drinking with, and which are just for pantomiming. I did notice that some of the Target ones said on their label to wash before use- so that sounds promising. I was just wondering if there's anything I might be missing, since she'll be putting her mouth alllllll over this stuff!

[4evermom]

I'd consider an actual real porcelain tea set. I gave a niece a set of tea cups and saucers from a thrift store and found a small tea pot at Marshall's that had a similar design. I've seen cute espresso sets there, too. They are a nice size for younger kids.

[mamamelia]

well all i can say is thankgoodness there is another child who wants a real tea set and not a pretend one. i thought mine was the only one. i was starting to feel a little wierd!

we got dd a real tea set for christmas... this one... very expensive but completely safe - no cadmium or lead in glazing - and not MIC (which i do not trust). this is not based on the general consensus here that MIC is bad, this is based on stuff my dh has told me and seen for himself (since he deals with the manufacturers first hand). believe me, there is now very little i would buy from china when it comes to kids toys. china printed books (which i can't help) and chelona puzzles are the only MIC brands/products we have.

anyway, goodluck with your search!

[mommy2abigail]

My 3 year old wants a tea set as well, and I know that if she has one, she will want to actually USE it...which means no MIC for us. We also have either hardwood flooring or tile all throughout the house, and a baby, so most porcelain is out. She wanted a 'fragile' one, which I think is just for the clinking noise factor. So, after much searching and deliberating, we have decided to get the stainless steel ones from Crate And Barrel. They are pricey (for us anyway) $10 per set of espresso cup and saucer. We will probably get just two sets for now and a then a stainless steel cream pourer thingy. We have little spoons that came with our silverware set, so we can include two of those. We will also buy some chamomile tea and some sugar cubes, and viola! A 'real' safe tea set for about $30.

[riverscout]

We have this set, and my 3 year old daughter loves it. It's suitable for food contact, dishwasher safe, and not MIC.