The Girl in the Red Sweater

Wiggle Worm outgrew the Gerber Graduates meals months ago. He’s growing fast, and he eats more than I do at most meals. This presented a problem.

Wiggle Worm’s day care does not provide lunch. I had been sending the Graduates meals because they were so easy to keep track of. But now I needed to send him Big Boy lunches.

I searched all over the internet for toddler plates, divided plates, preschool plates, toddler plates with lids. Hardly anything came up. Almost all the toddler plates on the market are made of that hard plastic (melamine) which is NOT microwave safe. Since I wanted to send pasta and vegetables and other warm foods, the containers had to be microwave safe.

I thought I had finally found a winner: Kinderville divided plates. They were expensive, but they were silicone, and we could afford good toddler plates if it meant Wiggle Worm wouldn’t have to eat off unsafe plastic.

The reviews said the plates were great for preschool, so I ordered two. I was disappointed as soon as they arrived: there were no lids! How can a plate be good for preschool or day care without a lid?

I was especially disappointed because I could see how great the plates were — the silicone never gets hot, the plates are just the right size for toddlers, and they’re nice and deep so the food doesn’t mix and the toddler doesn’t spill.

I had really wanted to avoid plastic altogether, but I can’t exactly give my rambunctious 2-year-old glass plates. I returned the Kinderville plates and had just about decided it was hopeless when I saw the Rubbermaid section at Target.

There they were at last: the perfect toddler plates.

Toddler plates (photo courtesy of Amazon.com)

These are the right size for Wiggle Worm, with a large section for the entree and two smaller sections for sides. The lids snap on super-tight with handles on each side. They haven’t gotten stained yet; they’re dishwasher safe, BPA free, and microwave safe.

And Wiggle Worm loves the new plates so much he requests them at every meal, instead of the old divided melamine plates we had been using at home just for fresh meals that weren’t terribly hot.