Ultimate Guide to Kids Plates: Divided, Suction, Silicone, Stainless, & Mats

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Updated: February 21, 2022/ First Posted: February 21, 2022Amy Palanjian 2 Comments

Buying the best kids plates can seem like a daunting task with all of the options on the market—but this guide is here to help you sort through the best toddler plates and baby plates so you can choose the ones that will last. Included: Stainless steel, suction, divided plates, bamboo plates, plastic, and silicone plates.

Kids Plates

Once your child transitions from eating straight off of their highchair tray, giving them their own dish usually makes meal times a little easier. But holy moly, there are so many options to choose from now that it can be hard to know where to start!

We’ve tried so many kids plates and have our favorites to share with you today.

How to Choose a Kids Plate, Step-by-Step

When choosing kids dinnerware, I like to consider these factors:

What is my preferred material?
Am I willing to hand-wash the plates or do I want everything to go into the dishwasher?
How long, ideally, do I want this plate to last?
Do I want to use this with subsequent kids?

There are no right answers to these questions, but they can make choosing a little easier.

Durability Issues to Consider

The main things to consider with the durability of plates for kids and babies is how well they stand up to repeated washing, whether the material will potentially absorb flavors from food or soap (as in the case of silicone), if they are prone to scratching, and if they are dishwasher safe.

The plates included in this post are all high-quality and thus durable, though there are specific considerations for each type of plate. Read the description below each section for more information.

Best Baby and Toddler Plates with Suction

So here’s the deal with suction plates: Some stick to tables better than others and virtually all of them can be pulled off if a child tries hard enough.

That said, we’ve found the ones by Bumkins to be really great at sticking to the table most of the time. They have an awesome assortment of designs including:

Bumkins Pooh Bear Suction Plate
Bumkins Dinosaur Suction Plate
Bumkins Unicorn Suction Plate S
Bumkins Silicone Grip Dish: This one comes in a variety of colors and is budget-friendly at $12.95.

TIP: Divided plate are handy for serving meals with multiple components—especially if the kids care about food touching.

Best Suction Mats for Babies and Toddlers

Ezpz is the leader among the suction mats and I’m pretty convinced that it’s the best suction placemat on the market. I like that they have two sizes to accommodate babies and toddlers, and that their mats are available in a few fun and bright colors.

If you want to use this on a highchair tray, opt for the oval mini mat which will fit better than the full sized ones. We used this one with my one year old and he couldn’t pull it off the table.

ezpz Mini Mat – One-piece silicone placemat + plate
ezpz Happy Mat – One-Piece Silicone placemat + Plate
ezpz Mini Bowl – One-Piece Silicone placemat + Bowl
ezpz Happy Bowl – One-Piece Silicone placemat + Bowl

TIP: If you want a plate that you can use for years, I wouldn’t recommend going with a mat, as I find them to be a more short-term option for babies and younger toddlers.

Best Divided Plates with Sections

When it comes to divided plates, which can be helpful for kids who like their food to be separated and for serving multiple foods on one plate—including ones that may have some liquid like applesauce—there are various materials to choose from.

Here are my top picks for divided plates in the materials you’ll find them in.

Best Recycled Plastic Divided Plate: Replay Recycled. They stack for easy storage and are available in a ton of colors.
Best Silicone Section Plate: Kiddie Bites makes a great one that’s easy to clean–even when serving tomato sauce. This also gets my vote since it’s safer to put into the microwave. It comes in clear and blue.
Best Bamboo Divided Plate: This Bobo & Boo plate has more sections than many other divided plates and it comes in a variety of pretty colors that will likely coordinate with your kitchen better than most other kids plates. I’ve found their plates to be super-duper durable.
Best Stainless-Steel Divided Plate: We’ve had this EcoLunchbox plate for 8 years and it still looks brand-new. Points for super durability.

Best Bamboo Kid Plates

I’m a big fan of the bamboo kids plates from Bobo & Boo (which are all shown here) because they are durable and available in such a lovely range of colors. (We love the stack of small colorful plates for birthday parties and eating outside.) Here are some style options:

TIP: WeeSprout also makes a nice line of bamboo plates that have a higher lip around the edge. They come in pretty, neutral colors that you may prefer.

Best Plastic Plates for Kids

Replay Recycled, which makes their kids tableware from recycled milk containers in the United States, is our go-to for plastic plates for kids. They have divided plates and flat plates with walls (to help prevent spills) available in a huge variety of colors.

After a few years, they may scratch slightly, but they are otherwise very durable and easy to wash.

Best Stainless-Steel Plates for Kids

I’m a big fan of the divided stainless-steel trays from Ecolunchbox. They are incredibly durable and easy to care for. They’re also easy to clean since sticky foods wash right off.

We’ve had ours for 8 years and you literally cannot tell that they aren’t brand new!

Best Silicone Plates

We love these Kiddie Bites plates since they are easy to clean, even with foods like tomato sauce that can stain other plastic plates. They’re also a safer material for heating in the microwave and washing in the dishwasher.

They are very resistant to scratches and have been very durable in our experience. Be sure to read the manufacturer’s washing recommendations, as silicone can absorb some soaps (and can make the food taste like soap).

Best Personalized Plates

If you want to have custom tableware for your kids, I love the options from DYL Bug. We have two of their plates and while the plates are large for a small child’s meal, they are super adorable!

Which kids plates are microwave-safe?

You want to avoid putting plastic into the microwave and wash it with a soft sponge or on the top rack in the dishwasher to keep it in good shape. Heat and scratches can break down the material and cause it to wind up in the food that’s served on the plate.

You also want to avoid putting bamboo and stainless into the microwave.

The safest plan is to use either silicone or glass when heating food in the microwave and then transfer the food to the child’s plate.

Which kids plates are dishwasher-safe?

You’ll need to check the packaging on each individual plate, though most will say that they are dishwasher-safe. I recommend using the top rack only if you want to put them through the dishwasher.

To keep kids plates in the best shape and avoid exposing them to super high heat (which can cause them to break down), I recommend washing them by hand.