Toddler Mealtime Tools

We are gearing up for our third round of baby led weaning in a few months and we can’t wait to share some of our favorite ‘recipes’ and simpler foods for starting out with solid foods soon! In the meantime, I wanted to share some of our favorite tools/products for getting started. We also use most of the same items for our toddlers and they transition well as they grow!

These items are not only convenient at home, but also help to make traveling, eating at family/friend’s houses, or other outings easier and less stressful knowing that we set our children up for success. We find this also helps us to create/maintain a routine, even if not eating at home.

For at home – we love our silicone place mats and suction plates. These plates stick great to the highchair tabletop or the placemat on the table to avoid tossing on the floor. We also love a good silicone bib for catching any drips or food that may fall and they wipe right out. Great for easy cleanup! 

For travel – we keep a “go bag” in the car with silicone mats/bibs, wipes, and other essential items. We also keep a pair of kitchen scissors packed so that we can easily cut/prepare their meals. We also love to have disposable stick-on placemats for restaurants in place of using a glass plate for little ones.

For babies – we love the Bumkins silicone bowls and NumNum baby spoons to help them practice holding a utensil and bringing food to their mouth. Of course hands work great too!

For toddlers – some of our favorite transition/sippy cups are the Dr. Brown’s Narrow Sippy Straw Bottle which is similar to their Dr. Brown’s bottle and then the Dr. Brown’s 360 Training Cups to prepare them for open top cups. 

We try to focus on teaching and promoting independence in our children while also creating some ease in cleanup and transition from different environments. Our toddlers love having a setting at the table similar to mom/dad and we love that it is adapted to fit their needs – a win win for everyone!