I gave birth to a dumper, thrower and swiper.
Whether I put her bowl/plate/cup on the table or the floor, Miss Q will find a way to empty its contents – swiftly. And she finds it ever-so-amusing.
The K Man wasn’t as bad, but even still we bought some bowls with suction. They were by that Munchkin brand that I really like for all of its smart ideas that are generally carried out really well in practice. However, they quickly lost their suction and I was left with little more than awkwardly shaped bowls.
But there I was walking through the new Marshalls store in a nearby city a couple of weeks ago, and I spotted something in the kiddie section called the “Unbelievabowl” by Vital Baby. The packaging kind of sucked me in (ha, ha – yep, I went there). It read: “S
imple and easy to attach, once securely locked in position your baby will not be able to remove the bowl or spill its contents, making mealtimes less stressful and messy!”
As I read this aloud to my three-year-old in a mocking sort of tone, I believe I laughed out loud. It was cheap enough ($3.99), so I figured that I would forego a couple of Tim Hortons decafs that week and give it a try. (As an aside, it bothers me to no end that there’s no apostrophe in “Hortons.”)
THE GOOD
It actually works. No gimmicks here, the Unbelievabowl actually, truly, one hundred per cent works. I really should film a video of Miss Q trying to tug it off of the table because she puts every ounce of strength that little 23.5-pound body has into it. And nothing. It doesn’t tip. It doesn’t budge. Of course, this doesn’t stop her from removing every bit of food in the bowl onto the floor by hand, piece by piece. So perhaps the “less messy” claim is inaccurate.
The bowl is dishwasher-safe – a must in my house. I don’t hand wash unless it’s made of wool.
You can buy extra bowls and just keep reusing the same base. Ideal.
The Unbelievabowl is just the right size for a toddler. It holds a good amount of food and I don’t let the “bowl” shape dictate what I put in there – whatever I’d put on a plate, I also put in this bowl.
Super-easy to use. Just remember that “anticlockwise” is British for “counterclockwise” when you’re reading the instructions.
THE GAFFE
A quick online search tells me that the spare bowls aren’t for sale in Canada. So if you want extra bowls, you either need to (a) buy an entirely new Unbelievabowl set or (b) order them from the U.K., where Vital Baby is based. If you can find a set at a discount retailer like I did, then (a) is probably the cheaper route.
There doesn’t seem to be an Unbelievaplate available. Please make one, Vital Baby. Please.
THE GEARS
5/5 (even though I can’t buy spare bowls here, it’s so rare that a product fully delivers on its promises, I just had to award it full marks)
So…where can you buy it?
Have you tried another suction product that works?
Every comment counts -- what's yours?