Kid safe dishes

[Sam_2.0]

Right now we have a mish-mash of porcelain and plastic dishes. They work just fine, but certainly aren't pretty. The porcelain (?) plates are heavy and obviously breakable. The plastic ones are the random character ones the kiddos have but they are starting to wear out & I don't think continuing to use them for food is the best option.

I am looking for something that is light-weight enough that Al can help with loading/unloading the dishwasher, resistant to breaking, and preferably dishwasher & microwave safe. So far it looks like Corelle is about the only option that I can find. Are there any others? We do have an IKEA here - do they have a good option?

[Chocolate Lover]

The Corelle I have gets hot if microwaved a couple of minutes, so that's something to consider in the safety column. Or it's a teaching moment for how to use pot holders.

I have those matching plates but still have full sized plastic plates that get used as often. DH has silverware scraping the real plates issues. 

[giramomma]

Our Corelle dishes have chipped over the last 12 years.

I'm pretty meh about them, since they haven't done as well as the Corelle dishes that our grandmas had.

[wvugurl26]

I have Corelle. Might be getting some Fiesta soon but that's not kid friendly. Thick and heavy and I'm assuming it shatters if you drop it.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Corelle.  If you can find an old set at Goodwill, that might be your best bet.  My dad bought them back in 1980s and I think they have lost exactly one dish.....and no chips.

[yogiii]

We're using Corelle hand-me-downs DH got for his first apartment.  They are great, light and I don't care if they break (but they haven't )

[Tiny]

I've got Corelle plates. WalMart has them by the piece (so you can buy what you want or need - versus a full set). I wouldn't be surprised if Target/Kohl's/Macy's/JCPenny sells them the same way.

I have terrible luck with maintaining a "set" of anything... so I've got a mish mash of dishes. Because of that - if I ever was of the mind to replace MANY of the pieces of dishware I would probably spend a day checking out the local garage sales to see what partial sets I could "piece together" You know - the 6 glass set that's down to 5 (I'd use 4 of the glasses) or the 4 bowl set that's down to 3 (I'd use 2) I would try to find stuff that kind of went together (either complimentary color/patterns OR size/shape). Just an idea. It hurts a lot less when the plate you bought for a quarter (or maybe $1) gets broken/chipped than a full price $3.99 one.

I'd still opt for a mish mash of dishes (well, more coordinated at least) because I find it just a tiny bit unnerving when everything matches.

[Tiny]

Here's an interesting article:

www.goodhousekeeping.com/cooking-tools/break-resistant-dinnerware-reviews/a18906/break-resistant-dinnerware/

Just a thought - do you have a restaurant supply kinda store that sells by the piece?   The plates would probably be heavy but they should be durable  (I have some old restaurant Buffalo china serving plates and soup bowls. They might survive a nuclear explosion).

Not sure why "heavy" is bad for kids...  unless you are making the kid clean all the dishes off the table themselves --where they would probably stack up as many dishes as possible for ONE trip to the kitchen  (kinda like a Dr. Seuss character would do it) - versus just taking their plate and flatware to the kitchen sink.

[Deleted]

Corelle is good, but when they do break...OMG.  EXPLOSION of itsy bitsy super sharp pieces everywhere. 

[Sam_2.0]

Tiny - I will hit up the thrift stores I also like the mixed style, and with kiddos I am not going to go for a full pattern set of anything. I also really do NOT need more mugs in my life and most sets have those.

[saveinla]

Jun 24, 2016 10:51:23 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

Tiny - I will hit up the thrift stores I also like the mixed style, and with kiddos I am not going to go for a full pattern set of anything. I also really do NOT need more mugs in my life and most sets have those.

If you have a Corelle outlet store near you, they sell the individual plates and they usually have sales on sets of 4 or 6.

[Sam_2.0]

Jun 24, 2016 10:51:23 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Corelle is good, but when they do break...OMG.  EXPLOSION of itsy bitsy super sharp pieces everywhere. 

I have heard that too Melamine won't break, at least not like that, but honestly I am a bit leery of the material & the microwave is not an option for those. Then again, I guess we can always keep a couple of the porcelain dishes to use in the microwave if we need to

[Tiny]

Jun 24, 2016 10:51:23 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

Tiny - I will hit up the thrift stores I also like the mixed style, and with kiddos I am not going to go for a full pattern set of anything. I also really do NOT need more mugs in my life and most sets have those.

LOL, when I was a kid everyone had their own 'plate'. My parents got the two plates that matched and us kids had 4 plates of various patterns/shapes and material. I had a pretty 'good china' plate with scalloped edges and rose (or maybe it was a peony?) in the middle of it. It had gold trim but that was mostly gone.    If all the plates match - how do you know which one is yours?  

As has been mentioned the tempered glass plates do shatter... it's not pretty.   I've never had a plate brake from falling to the  linoleum/vinyl floor - but I did have an old bowl shatter in the sink when it fell and hit the edge of the sink and a pot in the sink just right.  At least it was contained.   If you have a tile floor - maybe corelle isn't your best choice.  

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2016 11:03:55 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

Jun 24, 2016 10:51:23 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Corelle is good, but when they do break...OMG.  EXPLOSION of itsy bitsy super sharp pieces everywhere. 

I have heard that too Melamine won't break, at least not like that, but honestly I am a bit leery of the material & the microwave is not an option for those. Then again, I guess we can always keep a couple of the porcelain dishes to use in the microwave if we need to

It doesn't happen that often though.  I've had maybe two plates break in the past 20 years.  But it's memorable when it does occur. 

[Tiny]

On last caveat - within the last 5 years or so - several friends updated their dishware (they'd been using dishes they got when they were married or just moved out - the kids were in HS or leaving for college - it was time for a change!) And unfortunately, the very pretty sets of square or oval or trendy patterned dishes they bought quickly got chipped or broken. They weren't very durable. These were 'pretty dishes' that came as a boxed set from the Warehouse Club or Target or BedBathBeyond.

The Rachel Ray Jewel-Osco 'give away' dishes are the same way - the glaze just doesn't hold up and a little tap to the edge creates a chip.

[Deleted]

I switched my main dishes to Corelle and then buy pretty Noritake serving bowls/gravy boats etc to add some prettiness to the table.

I will confirm that new Corelle does seem more prone to break than the 20+ year old pieces I had. We have had a new plate shatter when just sitting on a counter, no heat or cold involved. Just sitting there & imploded. Faulty manufacturing or materials on that one! We have purchased through factory outlet and Walmart. I don't see any difference in them and the price is similar.

Buy one set of Corelle to try them out and see if you like them.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jun 24, 2016 10:50:08 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Here's an interesting article:

www.goodhousekeeping.com/cooking-tools/break-resistant-dinnerware-reviews/a18906/break-resistant-dinnerware/

Just a thought - do you have a restaurant supply kinda store that sells by the piece?   The plates would probably be heavy but they should be durable  (I have some old restaurant Buffalo china serving plates and soup bowls. They might survive a nuclear explosion).

Not sure why "heavy" is bad for kids...  unless you are making the kid clean all the dishes off the table themselves --where they would probably stack up as many dishes as possible for ONE trip to the kitchen  (kinda like a Dr. Seuss character would do it) - versus just taking their plate and flatware to the kitchen sink.

Because if they are heavy and wet, they slip and break.  We used to have some of this Buffalo china and that was why my folks bought Corelle.  I was in HS and broke a lot of it with it slipping out of my hands and hitting the floor.

[alabamagal]

I love Corelle plates.  I have had 3 sets over the years, what I have now is mismatched remains from the 3 sets.

I do not like heavy plates.  I like the Corelle, because if there are 6 plates in the dishwasher, you can grab them all at once and put them up in the cabinet.

The Corelle plates were much more durable when I had vinyl floors in my kitchen.  When we upgraded to tile floors, the number of dishes that broke went up quite a bit.  Now I have wood floors but the kids have moved out, so I can't tell you what would happen if a plate hit the wood floor.

[alabamagal]

And you just have to accept that nothing lasts forever with kids in the house.  I have seen quite a few forks, knives and spoons in the garbage after the kids were supposed to empty their plates after dinner.  I know I missed many because I could never keep a complete set of anything.

[NoNamePerson]

I made my kiddo just eat from the pots. 

[MJ2.0]

I got hard plastic plates, bowls, and cups for DS. I have old Corelle plates my mom gave me.

[Sam_2.0]

OMG. Throft store wanted $30 for Corelle. I went to Target and got melamine dinner plates, and plastic salad plates and bowls. $25 for 24 pieces. DD loaded them all into the dishwasher

DS has the job of clearing the table, so now he can do it without breaking dishes these kids have to earn their keep! Lol

[Deleted]

We use Corelle, but do shatter them with fair regularity. The last one IN the dishwasher ...

[wvugurl26]

I guess I don't use mine enough to have it shatter. It's newer and I do use dishwasher.

[tallguy]

If I'm walking through a thrift store I'm on the lookout for Rubbermaid.  I only have one 10" plate left (with a few 8") but I use it all the time at my desk.  I'd like to find a few more at less than $5 each on Ebay. 

[Deleted]

Jun 25, 2016 19:44:01 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

OMG. Throft store wanted $30 for Corelle. I went to Target and got melamine dinner plates, and plastic salad plates and bowls. $25 for 24 pieces. DD loaded them all into the dishwasher

DS has the job of clearing the table, so now he can do it without breaking dishes these kids have to earn their keep! Lol

I was just going to post that our thrift store is relatively expensive for Corelle.  Maybe it is because they are old patterns so maybe more collectible. Or maybe it is because they are pricing them by the piece, and I'm used to buying by the set.

I have an "older" set that I started at a garage sale.  Then Walmart clearanced the set, which included glasses instead of mugs.  I sold the glasses on EBay for what I paid for the sets so I have probably 15-20 of most pieces.  

They aren't my favorite dishes because I don't think the color works these days with my kitchen.  But DH would freak out if I got rid of them.  He loves the weight and also the many pieces.  

I think Corelle is more inclined to shatter when it is older.  At least, that is what my ex-bf's father used to say.  I have only had pieces break that DH hasn't told me about.  Lol.  Every once in a while I notice stuff like we used to have four ramekins and only have three . . . Two.  That sort of thing.  We have a cast iron sink as well as ceramic tile floors.

I bought the dog her own set of Corelle bowls at the thrift store.  She has a couple of Pfaltzgraff ones, too.  I figured my kids would freak out if she ate out of the same bowls they did although hers go into the dishwasher, too.  

[teen persuasion]

I can't believe some of you guys broke Buffalo China - that stuff is indestructible.  But heavy.

I use corelle for everyday, since it is lighter and thinner.  We had a catastrophe where overnight  a whole stack of bowls mysteriously slid off the counter and hit the floor.  Some survived, but many did not.  I got a nearly complete corelle set from my sister-in-law (her grandmother's) to supplement the bowl shortage.  Color bands don't match, but both are primarily white, so I don't care.

I've used plastic/melamine dishes for the youngest kids, so they can manage it themselves (and just sheer plate numbers, before the extra set).  Once they got old enough, they wanted to graduate to "big people plates" like everyone else had.  Now I've adopted one of the kiddie plates as my lunch plate - just the right size, no one else will take it on me.  Only problem is I can't microwave it (I don't REALLY see the circus animals on it anymore).


 

[thyme4change]

I bought a set of Correll, actually 2 sets. I went out of my way to get one without any mugs. I liked them so much I went back and bought pasta bowls. The Correll has been great. My old set was so heavy it gave me back pain. Not really, hyperbole.

I have had really bad luck with Target dishes. I do have some cute melanin plates that I may have gotten from Target, or maybe BB&B. They have held up really nicely. But the other ones just chipped and looked nasty very quickly.

[saveinla]

Just came back from Ikea and they have plain white glazed plates, salad plate and cups (not sure if they are the same quality) for 89c each. They look a lot like Corelle and are made in France.