Useful Tips

How to choose baby dishes

And now your baby has reached the age when his mother's milk is no longer enough for him and it is necessary to gradually introduce a variety of complementary foods into the diet. Here the question arises: "How to choose the first dishes for the baby?". We hope that our article will help you with this.

Design

The baby's plate should be deep enough so that when the baby learns to eat, food does not fall out of it.

Plates with several sections are convenient. The food in them looks much more attractive, and you can put different food in each section.

Children's dishes should be colorful, with pictures, bright and colored. This will create interest and grab the attention of your little one. It's good when the plate has a suction cup on the bottom, it will not let the child throw it off the table. The manufacturer of Tommee Tippee, Canpol Babies, took care of this.

It is desirable that the baby spoon is made of a soft material, for example, with a silicone edge, then it will not damage the baby's gums and will be more delicate than the usual one (such spoons are available at "Nuby", "Avent"). It is also better to choose a spoon with a curved handle, then it will be convenient for the child to take it himself ("Canpol Babies"). A very interesting novelty is spoons that change their color depending on the temperature of the food (for example, spoons from Nuby, Canpol Babies, Tommee Tippee). This is very convenient, because the mother can not check the hot food or not and not worry that the child will get burned.

The size of the plate must be selected based on the baby's appetite, so you should not take the plate "to grow". It is good when the volume of the plate corresponds to the serving portion. If there are several children in the family, then it is necessary that everyone has their own set of dishes.

Plastic plates are lightweight, but the disadvantage is that food cools quickly. You can choose heat-resistant models with a double bottom: hot water is poured into it. (for example, a set from "Canpol Babies")

If you have doubts about what kind of cutlery your baby needs, then you should pay attention to the children's tableware sets. They have everything you need. ("Canpol Babies", "Avent")

We figured out the choice of plates and spoons, but how to choose sippy cups?

A sippy cup is a cup that is closed with a lid with a spout. It allows you to easily teach your child to drink water or any other liquid on their own. Drinking cups with a siphon system are very convenient, they can be shaken and overturned, but the contents will not spill thanks to a special valve.

The shape of the cup should be comfortable for the baby. It can be fitted with handles or tapered in the middle.

The cup should be easy to disassemble and wash.

It is advisable that the drinking cup has a soft spout, then the baby's gums and teeth will be safe.

The cup can also have a non-slip bottom. This will prevent it from sliding off the table when the child uses it.

Material

For children under 3 years old, dishes are made only of plastic, that is, of shatterproof material. A piece of crockery that has broken off can enter the baby's body with food and cause serious damage. Children's tableware is made of two types of plastic: soft and hard. Soft plastics are either silicone or various elastomers; rigid - mainly polypropylene and its copolymers. The safest material is silicone. From the point of view of hygiene, hard plastic is more reliable, since it is less prone to scratches (microbes can accumulate in scratches), and it is also easier to care for. The plastic must be heat resistant. Do not use disposable plastic utensils (ice cream spoons, etc.) to feed a child.

Porcelain and faience are the most environmentally friendly materials.Porcelain dishes can withstand any temperature and are absolutely safe for health. If the china plate or cup breaks, the child cannot be injured by these shards, as they are large and have no sharp edges. Apart from that, porcelain dishes are quite colorful and attractive. However, the earthenware dishes are quite heavy, and it will be difficult for a child to hold it in their hands. Therefore, porcelain or earthenware dishes are usually recommended for children over 3 years old.

It seems that an enamel mug and bowl is a very convenient and safe option for children's dishes, but this is not entirely true. Firstly, it quickly heats up and can burn the baby, and secondly, if the enamel is damaged, such dishes can no longer be used.

Safety

When buying children's tableware, be sure to read what is written on the product label, as well as pay attention to what material it is made of and for what age of the child it is intended.

Children's tableware must be safe and made only from high quality materials. If you plan to use the dishes in the microwave or dishwasher, then choose the dishes on which the manufacturer indicates this.

An unstable pattern applied to dishes can be quite harmful. It can be scraped off with a fingernail, and the paints used in this case can also release harmful substances when children's dishes come into contact with food. Therefore, do not buy dishes of dubious quality and choose an already trusted manufacturer. The leaders in the production of children's goods are the following manufacturers: "Avent", "Canpol babies", "Dr. Brown's "," Nuby "," Tommee Tippee "and others.

Do not use plastic plates for more than 3 years. polymers can begin to decompose under the influence of high temperatures, as well as scratches on the dishes, in which germs begin to accumulate.

Care

All feeding equipment must be thoroughly rinsed. If necessary, soak them in a container of warm water using a special detergent for baby dishes.

Use a brush to clean baby bottles and sippy cups. In this case, the ruff should be used only for washing children's dishes and do not forget to change it regularly. Particular attention should be paid to rinsing the neck and bottom of the bottle, where milk and formula residues can accumulate.

The dishes must be dried separately on a clean towel and not wiped off.

Wash tableware immediately after use. First, use a washcloth to remove food debris from the dishes, and then wash with a washcloth or brush in a container of hot water, while adding a little baking soda. When washing dishes, you can use soap or baby detergent. Rinse the washed dishes in clean hot water, pour over boiling water and place them upside down to dry.

The utensils that are used to prepare food for the child must be washed in the same way as the dining room. Food debris that cannot be removed with a washcloth should not be scraped off with a knife, as this can damage the dishes or enamel. It is necessary to fill the dishes with warm water and let them stand - after a while, food residues will be easily removed.

When using children's detergents, remember to thoroughly rinse the dishes with clean running water so that the detergent does not remain on the surface of bottles, nipples, plates, etc.

Children's detergents must have the following characteristics:

The detergent must be absolutely harmless to the baby (subject to all instructions for use);

The composition of such detergents must include a bactericidal component. It will provide effective disinfection of dishes;

Also, the composition of the product should not contain any aggressive substances and not have an abrasive structure, so as not to leave scratches on the dishes;

The product should be soft and completely rinse off in both hot and cold water;

Fragrances in the composition of the product should be light and not cause allergic irritation;

Only natural dyes can be added to detergents;

The detergent pH should be as close to neutral as possible.

How to choose utensils for preparing baby food?

The kitchen utensils that are used for cooking the baby also need to be selected “wisely”.

The safest is cookware made of high quality metal alloy, in which the main elements are chrome and nickel. Such dishes have high anti-corrosion properties and are resistant to acids and alkalis. It is ideal for cooking: harmless, lightweight, durable, washable and has a long service life. Its main disadvantage is its high price.

Dishes with high-quality Teflon coating are also absolutely safe for the child's body. Teflon is inert and does not enter into any chemical compounds. However, if you use cheap fakes, it can be harmful to health. A non-stick coating of questionable quality may interact with food when heated. As a result, harmful substances enter the food, which can cause serious disturbances in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and allergic reactions. The leader in the production of dishes with high-quality Teflon coating is Tefal.

But cookware with a non-stick coating is only suitable for cooking, not for storing it.

The most common and safest type of cookware is enamel cookware. Food enamel is strong enough, as well as resistant to salts, acids and alkalis contained in food. The enamel coating in such dishes protects food from the ingress of harmful metal ions, moreover, bacteria cannot grow on the smooth surface of the enamel, and therefore this type of dish is the most harmless. Any food can be cooked and stored in this dish. But its main drawback is its fragility. Sooner or later, chips and cracks appear on it, especially if the dishes are cleaned with hard brushes, you also cannot pour boiling water into a cold pan and vice versa. When there is damage to the enamel layer, scratches and chips, enamel dishes begin to harm health, as enamel particles get into the food.

It is not recommended to use aluminum utensils for preparing baby food. Aluminum interacts with other food products, destroys vitamin C and some trace elements. In addition, when heated, it can release harmful substances, which then enter food. Since under the influence of certain acids, aluminum is destroyed and passes into food, in such dishes it is impossible to cook sour dishes, stew or fry vegetables, cook jelly, borscht or boil milk. It is also not recommended to store prepared food in aluminum containers and keep water.

Good luck with your choice of children's dishes and bon appetite for your little ones!

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