Real Dishes

[olien]

OK, before I open the package, are real dishes really the way to go??

I read M from the start & that is what they recommend, but I'd like to hear what your experiences are.

LO is almost 8mo & has been using a glass shot glass since 6mo. I was in IKEA today & they had these great kids dishes for $10. I couldnt resist. Before I open them I wanted some input - I could always return them.

[Aufilia]

Like real glass dishes, or plastic ones? We have some nice plastic kids' dishes form IKEA but I don't recall seeing glass ones....

Personally I wouldn't do glass dishes with a kid under 18mo. I haven't read Montessori from the Start but IME little kids don't have the impulse control to think, "If I toss this glass plate off the table it will break," before they throw something on the floor.

We DID start using glass cups with DD around 18mo or so, and our regular dishes thereafter. Really, we just use whatever dishes are the right size for whatever she's eating, whether it's a full-sized regular dinner plate or a half-sized plastic IKEA plate...

[olien]

sorry about that. I did mean real glass dishes.

[mommajb]

We use real glasses and plates with all our kiddos. That said it seems we run out of juice size glasses and are down to 4 salad plates so it might be bad idea. We don't do it to line up with a philosophy, we do it because our first had no problems with it and plenty of supervision. Several children later I would just say that we are slow learners.

[Jes'sBeth]

We use VERY STURDY real bowls (actually custard cups - square white ones) that are very cheap and very sturdy (did I mention very sturdy? lol) with our 12 mth old. We used them the 1st time around too but we don't hand them to her that often. When she does more than put the spoon in her hair she will get goopy food and a spoon in them for sure. Otherwise she just gets food on her tray. When she moves from tray to directly at the table (as in she stops throwing everything she grabs off the table onto the floor...) we will find a non-breakable plate for her to use. We used plastic the first time around but will likely use metal this time around. For glasses... we'll use metal there too. I'm not into cleaning up glass shards with little ones around. Our 4 yr old uses real dishes, but it took a long long time to get her to give up the brightly coloured plastic ones. The last of the plastic ones are leaving in 3 weeks on her 4th birthday.

[henny penny]

Ds is 17m and has always used real plates and shot-size glasses for meals. We use our regular china/ceramic dishes which won't shatter quite like a glass plate would. We do have a set of enamelware child dishes (from Nova Natural) that we use, too. No problems with any of these and I'm the only person who has broken a glass in the last year! You could get some inexpensive china dishes at the thrift store so it won't be a big deal if one gets broken and the dc won't have to eat from plastic tableware.

[Lillianna]

Yes! Real glass and ceramic as well as wood and metal.
This is what my dd used from day 1, what you will find in authentic Montessori Nidos and Toddler Communities, and what Montessori advised for aesthetic as well as kinetic development.
Don't get too attached to them though. I keep up our supply by visiting second hand stores and buying them for pennies.
The whole point is that they are breakable. The young child is very sensitive to object permanence and harsh sounds so it is quite a negative experience when one breaks. This leads to refinement of movement and to the development of coordination as the child has to control his movements to avert the breaking of a dish.
Good luck!

[MommaShark]

Hi - we use(d) the salad plates from our dish set and he's never broken one......he's now 3 and we started at about 18 months.....before that he didn't really eat solids and sat in the highchair and the food when on the tray or in those little glass custard cups. We also use bell canning jars in the 6oz size for glasses - they were on sale $5 for a dozen - still haven't broken one.....I've broken a ton of normal glasses though doing dishes - so we all use the canning glass jars.....in different sizes.

[Flor]

Originally Posted by Aufilia

Like real glass dishes, or plastic ones? We have some nice plastic kids' dishes form IKEA but I don't recall seeing glass ones....

Personally I wouldn't do glass dishes with a kid under 18mo. I haven't read Montessori from the Start but IME little kids don't have the impulse control to think, "If I toss this glass plate off the table it will break," before they throw something on the floor.

We DID start using glass cups with DD around 18mo or so, and our regular dishes thereafter. Really, we just use whatever dishes are the right size for whatever she's eating, whether it's a full-sized regular dinner plate or a half-sized plastic IKEA plate...

I think they figure out really quickly. Yes we use all glass. Ds is 5 now and I can't remember him ever breaking one (and we have tile floors) but my 13 is constantly breaking dishes. I use corelle plates because they are glass, but don't seem to break, and inexpensive glass "juice" cups.

[freistms]

My girls have the ikea dishes (for a few years now), and we've only lost one teacup. Even that was no big deal. The handle came off. I think they are pretty nice for what they cost, actually.

[burke-a-bee]

If using real (glass )dishes for kids, I'd buy a set (or mix match) from a thrift store. That way no loss if broken.

[desertmarigold]

We use the cheap enamal coated plates, bowls, and cups from camping stores. They come in cute kids sizes.

[olien]

Originally Posted by desertmarigold

We use the cheap enamal coated plates, bowls, and cups from camping stores. They come in cute kids sizes.

do any of those camping stores have web sites??

After all of your replies I decided to go with enamel coated plates - he already uses glass shot glasses - until he is around 18mo.

I could only find adult ones on the web except for expensive kids sets with characters on them , but I was able to find ones that were almost the sizes in the michael olaf catalog. I just cant bring myself to spend $12 on shipping with them for dishes. Why do they charge so much for s&h:

[chekhovgirl]

Yes, we use real dishes and glasses as well. DS uses our small dishes as well as custard cups, as someone mentioned, but my favorite bowl type thing to use are the Anchor Hocking 1 cup storage bowls, which we also use for lunches, leftovers, etc.

http://www.anchorhocking.com/prodd_4...n_storage.html