Why Give Kids Glass Dishes Instead of Plastic Ones

I used to hold my breath every time my 3-year-old would carry her plate from the table into the kitchen. I wasn’t concerned about her getting food on the floor, but I was certain she’d drop her plate and we’d spend the next half hour cleaning up broken glass.

Yes, my children (currently ages 3 years and 23 months) use glass dishes. I decided several years ago that I didn’t want to mess with cabinets full of flimsy plastic dishes, that I didn’t want to have to worry about the chemicals in plastic ones, and that I wanted my kids to learn how to gently handle “real” dishes.

Of course, making this decision was a bit easier than actually carrying it out! I’ve done it, though, and I’m so glad I did. I’ve discovered a number of awesome benefits to using glass dishes with my kids. I’ll share these below and I’ll share a few practical tips for using glass dishes with your kids.

Benefits of giving your kids real dishes instead of plastic ones

• Kids feel empowered. When we give real dishes to our kids, they’re able to see that we recognize their competence and trust them.
• Kids learn natural consequences. If I drop a glass dish on a tile floor, the dish breaks. This is a natural consequence. Why shouldn’t we allow our kids to see and understand these consequences? They, too, must learn that fragile things break easily and that there are safe and unsafe ways to clean up when something has broken.
• Kids learn to adjust their movements based on the environment. Just like kids have to learn that they must be quiet in certain environments (such as the library), using real dishes helps our kids understand that different environments call for different types of movement. For example, they must be gentler and more controlled when sitting at the table using dishes than when out on the patio eating a Popsicle.
• Kids remain safe from the chemicals in plastic dishes. Plastic dishes contain plasticizers, which are substances added to synthetic resins to promote plasticity and flexibility and to reduce brittleness. These chemicals can leach into the foods served on the dishes. While researchers are uncertain of the health impacts of some plasticizers (such as BPA), they know that other plasticizers (such as phthalates) are harmful. Glass dishes don’t contain these chemicals, so kids aren’t exposed to them if they use these instead of plastic dishes.

Practical tips for using glass dishes with kids

It can feel intimidating to give glass dishes to young kids, but there are some practical things you can do to make it easier.

Know that breaks will happen

If you have glass dishes in your house, then it is inevitable that some will end up broken. This is true even if you don’t let your kids use them! If you keep this in mind, then it is easier to handle when kids drop and break dishes. Likewise, it is helpful to have a game plan in mind for how you are going to handle breaks. Will you have your child help you clean up the broken glass or not? If he or she helps, how will you do this safely?

Use the right dishes

I don’t recommend that you hand family heirlooms to your 2-year-old. However, you can find dishes that are suitable for him or her. Look for dishes made of tempered glass (these are made of toughened glass so they are stronger than regular glass) and get some that are small enough and light enough that kids can easily move them. Thankfully, these types of dishes are available for very reasonable prices. Look at your local department store for dishes made by Corelle or Pyrex. These, along with some made by Duralex, are also available on Amazon. We’ve even had great success with some simple tempered glass dishes that my parents bought at Ikea!

Consider the situation

When certain social events are happening (e.g., birthday parties, holiday gatherings) or you’re running late, it can make it difficult for kids to focus and be on their best behavior. It’s more likely that dishes will get broken at these times than in normal situations. In these situations, it might be appropriate to pull out some plastic dishes or even use disposable dishes in order to save yourself the headache and work of cleaning up broken dishes. You know the situation and your kids, so make the call that is best for your family!

Final thoughts

The choice between plastic dishes and glass ones isn’t one of those critical parenting decisions that will make or break your child. Don’t stress about it! Different things work for different families. If glass dishes just don’t work for your family, then don’t beat yourself up over it! However, glass dishes will work for many of you and you’d get to enjoy the benefits I mentioned above.

Do your kids use glass dishes? Why or why not? If they do, what tips can you share for having an easy transition to glass?

Shared at the following:

Encouraging Hearts and Home, Modest Monday, and Busy Monday.