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Finding adequate tableware for a two year old boy who now wants to do everything himself is a headache in and of itself. I admire my son’s desire to feed himself with a fork and spoon and use his own “big boy” plate. Our kitchen, however, was starting to resemble an elementary school cafeteria after a food fight after every meal, as my son would inevitably throw his plate across the room as soon as he declared himself “all done” with his food. With the intention of saving the paint on the kitchen walls - and my sanity - I picked up two First Years Smart Serve Suction Bowls while shopping.
What it is...
The First Years Smart Serve Suction Bowl with Lid is basically exactly what it sounds like - a bowl, a suction cup, and a lid. The bowl is hard plastic and is proportioned just right for a toddler-sized meal, about the same size as a standard soup or cereal bowl. Attached to the bottom of the bowl is a large rubbery suction cup, and also included is a hard plastic lid that snaps securely to the top of the bowl for travel. The set comes in a variety of color combinations - I have a red/blue and green/yellow. Many others are available, including more feminine combinations if you have a little princess rather than a little prince. There are two small handles on either side of the bowl which help when you are trying to get the suction cup to grip the surface.
The bowl...
As I mentioned earlier, the bowl is just the right size for toddler meals. While it doesn’t have a divider, it does have a little ridge in the center to somewhat divide the foods. The bowl comfortably holds several cut up chicken nuggets with carrot dices and applesauce - a favorite combination in our house - with no problem, and the little ridge keeps the applesauce from seeping under the chicken. The bowl is a very sturdy hard plastic and is dishwasher safe. It has been used for many other things by my adventurous two year old, including a mini stepstool, a hat, a drum, and a frisbee and it has held up wonderfully.
The suction cup...
The suction cup on the bottom of the bowl holds it reasonably in place. I usually have to wet it slightly to get the initial grip onto the high chair tray, but it holds well. On an extremely stubborn day, my son has been able to yank it from the tray, but it takes him long enough to do so that I usually catch him before it goes flying. If the surface underneath is wet, he is also sometimes able to scoot the bowl around without losing the suction as well. Overall, it does its’ job. It holds up well from the dishwasher as well, and the rubber has not dried out at all, even after several months of frequent use and washing.
The lid...
The lid is made of an identical hard plastic as the bowl and snaps securely to the top for travelling. While I do not recommend travelling with a full bowl of food, as tupperware holds up much better, the seal is tight and it has not leaked, even when accidentally tipped sideways in the diaper bag. Affixing the lid to the bowl also makes for a good toddler-sized drum, should you need emergency entertainment.
Overall...
This bowl has been a lifesaver on many occassions. It is an absolute necessity for restaurants, where plastic dishware is often nonexistant - nothing says “Time to leave the restaurant!” like a couple of broken salad plates. Cleanup is a snap - when travelling the parts can be wiped clean with baby wipes, and all parts are easily cleanable by hand or dishwasher. I would be happier with a slightly stronger suction cup, but this one does get the job done 90% of the time, which is good enough for me. The price is reasonable at an average of $1.99-$2.50 depending on where you buy them, which is cheap enough in case you accidentally leave one somewhere. I feel that I have more than gotten my money’s worth out of them, and I never leave home without it.
Price $1.99 to $2.50 (varies by store)
Available at.. Target, Wal-Mart, Babies R Us, many others
Don't get me wrong - I LOVE kids. All kids, not just my own. I've worked for preschools and summer camps, and I would let my kiddo have twenty friends over a day and not blink an eye. What I don't like though, are parents who like to leave their little darlings unattended in public places.
Now, moms and dads, this seems like a no-brainer, right? I have an (almost) five year old myself, and I would never, ever in a million years, leave him in a public place with total strangers, and just leave! And seriously, this happens to me every. Single. Day.
My "regular" job happens to be a retail store that does attract kids. We carry some products for kids. Most normal parents come in with their kids. However, we're also located in a big shopping center (strip mall, for those of you familiar with that term). There's a bank, a Chinese restaurant, a pizzeria, a nail salon, a clothing store, a coffee shop, and a major supermarket. A certain amount of kid-only traffic is expected from the tween and teen crowd of course. What baffles me though, are the parents who drop their young kids - age 10 or younger! - at the door, then head to the supermarket for two hours to do their grocery shopping!
Parents, PLEASE! This is not safe! Although I try to keep an eye out on these unfortunate littles that are unattended, if there are twenty other customers in the store that I need to attend to, I cannot babysit your child for you! This includes the well behaved ones - they may not be causing any harm, but honestly I don't know that the adult they walk out the door with is their parent or guardian. On the other hand you have the little troublemakers, who spend the entire time ripping things off of racks, shoving to get in front of other people, and generally causing mischeif. What am I supposed to do with them when their parents aren't there to handle them?
Case in point: One Sunday early afternoon, a child about 5 or 6 years old comes in at the same time as a group of teens and adults. An hour and a half later, I realize the child is still there - except now there are no adults in sight, and there haven't been for a while. Another 45 minutes passes, customers come and go, and the child is no longer there. I figure the parent came back to retrieve them (finally). Well, all of a sudden, this child's mom comes in, asking where her son is. I respond that I have no clue who her son is. (I didn't put two and two together until later on.) She proceeds to scream at me and I tell her that I'm sorry, but no one has been in the store for at least 15 minutes. She leaves and calls the police, reporting her child missing. The police come, and I tell them the whole story. An hour after THAT, they finally find the child - he had gone to the supermarket to look for mom because he was bored!
Of course, all's well that ends well. But, what if that child had been bribed out of the store by an adult and abducted? I cannot fathom ever leaving my child alone somewhere! And this happens at my job not rarely, but actually multiple times on any given day, and moreso on the weekends.
So, moms and dads, I put this to you: am I expecting too much? Would you leave your child in a kid-friendly store and just assume that they will be safe? Or would you never dream of leaving your child alone somewhere? Tell me your thoughts!!
I'm really curious to hear your thoughts and feedback on this - from both moms and dads, stay-at-home, work-at-home, or work outside the home, please!
My husband is a Stay At Home Dad (hereon referred to as SAHD, thanks!). I work full time outside the home, a 50 hour work week, plus I (primarily) run bunniesnbuggies.com by myself. Yes, he helps with that, but he is one of those guys that doesn't know taffeta from tulle, satin from silk, or which end of a dress is up, so I take on the bulk of the work with that. :)
Whenever this comes up in conversation, generally with other females, this is how the conversation usually goes:
"So, what does your husband do?"
"He's a stay at home dad to our preschooler"
"You mean he doesn't WORK? How do you pay the bills?"
"Well, *I* work."
"So, is he LOOKING for a job?"
*sigh* I wish I was kidding here folks. If the roles were reversed, and I was the SAHM, no one would question it for a second. So why is it so odd that my husband is the stay at home parent?
I LOVE my job. I love working. Yes, it's exhausting, but I do have a fun "real" job, I like working with the people and customers that I do, and I like the constant change of scenery so to speak. My husband doesn't just watch our son - he also does all of the laundry, cleans the house, cooks for us, makes sure our son is happy, healthy, and well attended to. They do fun boy stuff while I'm gone all day. Honestly, sometimes I secretly think he's a little better at it than I am anyway. This arrangement works for us - we're a happy, harmonious family because of it.
So why is there a social stigma to the SAHD? Has anyone else ever come across this before? Please share your insights with us!
