One of the biggest differences between my kids is when it comes to eating.
The K Man was very happy to lap up baby mush (a.k.a. purées), spoon-fed by one of his primary caregivers – morning, noon and night. In fact, there are still times, at 4.5 years old, that he asks Big B or me to feed him.
His sister, however, would have none of it. Fiercely independent, I was nearly forced to adopt baby-led weaning (also called “BLW,” which I wrote about last year in the Huffington Post). But the big issue is that she’s a thrower; we are only now starting to curb her tendency to chuck plates and utensils clear across the room (using so much positive reinforcement that I might spontaneously combust into a psychologist).
It has not been uncommon to go through three or four spoons in just one sitting. So what have we done? Bought a lot of spoons.
We’ve got a pretty remarkable collection – from Gerber spoons that came with the baby cereal we used to feed The K Man to the plastic Take & Toss variety from the grocery aisle, short spoons, skinny spoons, spoons with grippy handles, and everything else you can imagine. They have each been well-used.
When I met the nice folks from oogaa at the BabyTime Show last fall, I was immediately drawn to its products. They offered me a silicone spoon for review. Miss Q chose a pink train spoon.
THE GOOD
With two styles to choose from, a train or an airplane, I love the play these spoons take on the typical meal with a baby or young toddler: “Chug-a-chug-a-woo-woo! Here comes the choo-choo – open wide, little Billy!”
Silicone is very dishwasher-friendly, and the oogaa silicone spoon is no different. We’ve put it both in the top rack and in the utensil sorter on the lower rack with great results.
There are a lot of other benefits with silicone, too: it doesn’t corrode like plastic, it doesn’t support the growth of icky stuff like mould and bacteria, and it’s odourless and tasteless.
Nice shades of blue, green and pink – there’s a colour for every child.
My favourite feature of all? The oogaa spoon is much softer and more flexible than plastic or metal spoons, so it’s easy on gums and can handle bites from babies exploring with new teeth. But best of all, when it hits a wall or my sliding glass doors at 25 kilometres an hour, it just bounces right off without inflicting permanent damage. Bonus!
THE GAFFE
For babies who self-feed, the oogaa silicone spoons are on the long side for little hands.
Miss Q also finds that the train is right where she wants to put her hand, so is sometimes a bit awkward when using this spoon.
Silicone and tomato sauce (think pizza and pasta sauce) don’t mix. Be careful when you’re using any silicone products that they’re washed immediately when tomato sauces are involved.
I’m not saying that airplanes and trains are just for boys. Far from it. Miss Q loves trains and was quite adamant about getting this pink spoon. But it would be nice if there was a girlier choice as well, like a flower or something.
I think $6.99 is on the high side for one spoon.
THE GEARS
4/5 for spoon-feeding
3.5/5 for self-feeding
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