Help your littles gain independence at mealtimes, and enjoy your food hot using both hands!

With four children at home, mealtimes can be…energetic. It had literally been six years since I last ate a hot meal. Six years since I ate with two utensils instead of cutting and shovelling food with a fork, as you do when you’re holding a baby, wrangling a toddler, or wiping a pre-schooler (all at the same time). You would think I’d have my mom-expert badge by now and have this eating as a family thing on lockdown. But parenting teaches you new things everyday.

Being the youngest of four, my toddler is dedicated to the philosophy of, “I can do it!” with a vigor none of my older children possessed. If he sees his siblings climbing into the car by themselves, he will be doing that too. Dressing all by himself? Most mornings I’m rescuing him from a head half way up an armhole. If that means pouring his own glass of water or carrying his own plate to the table, he’s on it.  And we try to give him the space to grow (and make a mess), because we’ve recently realized it’s worth the investment. The faster he hones these skills, the faster we’ll be back to eating like grown humans.

So, we decided we could probably use a wee bit of help with all this growing independence when eating. Last week, we surprised him with a new Use 3 Ways plate and bowl from Playtex®. It’s made mealtimes a little bit easier and a lot more fun since they can be transformed into a covered plate/bowl, two separate plates/bowls and an insulated plate/bowl all-in-one.

The pluses for me are that it’s shatter-proof, microwave safe, and I can put it right back in the fridge if he decides he doesn’t want to finish his food. He’s also not having it slip and fall on the floor all the time (with all accompanying food and mess for us to clean) with its slip-proof bottom. He loves the fact that each plate or bowl becomes 2 for easy sharing with his sister and that they have big grip handles so he can carry his own food to the table. Just like his brother and sisters.

No mealtime is complete without something to sip on. When I handed our guy his brand spankin’ new Playtex® Sipsters® Stage 3 Milk & Water Cups, he looked like he won the sippy cup jackpot. I mean, not only did he get a new insulated sippy cup for his water, he also got a bonus cup for his milk. Plus, the adorable water drop and cow decorations make it easy for even the youngest ones to know which is which.

I want to also throw in that every time he slid the cup to open and the straw appeared, he would clap his hands and yell “WOW!”. It is the little things, PLNers, that make a new product a raging success.

And our daughter has stolen all the Peppa Pig Playtex® Sipsters® Stage 3 Cups and refuses to share with her brother. Since Peppa Pig is her favourite show, it’s only fair that she is the one to drink from these insulated cups, right?

Congratulations are in order for Ashley U. of Goderich, ON on winning the Playtex Baby Mealtime bundle.