Faux-Montessori Dishes: Everyday Dishware for Montessori Weaning

Faux-Montessori Dishes: Everyday Dishware for Montessori Weaning

Lauren Pavao
Jan 14, 2013

The Montessori weaning method encourages babies to work toward eating independently as early as their introduction to solid foods, from learning to set their places to cutting their food and pouring their own drinks. It can be difficult to hunt down dishes specifically designed for Montessori, so we've rounded up everyday dishware that mimics the Montessori weaning staples.

Under the Montessori weaning method, glass dishes are typically used to encourage gentle, respectful treatment of dishware, though another natural material like wood or metal can be used for parents not quite ready to deal with the inevitable broken dishes. Dishware must also be small enough to fit into tiny hands and mouths and to be easily carried to the table by babies once they start toddling and setting their own places.

Cups: Montessori weaning cups should be stable enough to resist easy toppling.
1. Circleware Skyline Shot Glasses (Bed Bath & Beyond, $4.99 for 6)
2. Turquoise Shot Glass or Egg Cup (Page Pottery, Etsy, $10)
3. Borosilicate Espresso Cup (cb2, $1.95)

Pitchers: In addition to being easy to grasp, pitchers should also be see-through, so children are able to see the liquid as it is poured.
4. Glass Creamer (Williams-Sonoma, $12)
5. Mini Glass Creamer (Crate & Barrel, $2.95)

Bowls: Small bowls should be just deep enough to keep too much food from spilling over but not too deep for small utensils to reach inside.
6. Bamboo Petite Snack Bowls (Pampered Chef, $25 for 4)
7. Pyrex Custard Cups (Target, $9.85 for 4)
8. Mini Latte Bowls (Anthropologie, $20 for 8)

Plates: Plates need only be small enough for children to hold steadily on their own.
9. Pistoulet Saucer (Bed Bath & Beyond, $7.99)
10. Crewcut Appetizer Plate (cb2, $1.50)
11. Riika Canape Plate (Anthropologie, $10)

Flatware Sets: Fostering a sense of independence means that even babies are encouraged to cut their own food, so a Montessori flatware set always includes a knife.
12. Luna Cocktail Flatware (World Market, $15.48 for 4 sets)
13. Fabler 3-piece Flatware Set (IKEA, $4.99)

Bibs: Though technically not dishware, a bib is a must for any baby learning to eat. A side snap allows a child to eventually learn to put a bib on by him or herself.
14. Blue Disco Dot Waterproof Bib (Zerbert Baby, Etsy, $14)
15. Sketchy Animals Bib Set (Babies R Us, $7.99 for 5)

Drip Dry: 5 Bottle Drying Racks
Melamine Mania: Fun, Durable (and Safe?) Tableware
Ten Container Options for Freezing Baby Food

(Images: as linked above)

Created with Sketch.