My son, who turned one in November, has finally started eating more solid foods besides Cheerios. Over the holidays, he received the Skip Hop Mate, a phthalate-free, PVC-free, and BPA-free combination divided plate and place mat. The plate is an oval-shaped plastic plate that is divided into three sections. The non-skid mat is rectangular and shaped so that the plate nests right in the center. The mat also has two little knobs that poke up where the fork and spoon fit. The mat has a cute smiley face cut into the bowl area, which also helps in taking the plate out.


The Skip Hop Mate has worked well for our set up where our child is sitting at the table with us. At the grandparents' house, where he has a space-saving high chair, we were unable to use it because his tray wasn’t big enough to fit the whole mat. It is meant to be used as a table setting anyways, but just know that if your child sits in a high chair with a tray, you will have to make sure it fits. (At home our son uses a Stokke Tripp Trapp, which is used like a chair, set up at the table). The non-skid surface does a good job of keeping the mat in place on our wood table. The way the plate pops into the tray makes it almost impossible for a child to pull the plate out of the mat, but picking up the whole mat with the plate is still a possibility. For some reason my son hasn’t attempted this one yet.

The plate is stated to be microwaveable on a low setting, although I avoid microwaving any sort of plastic as a precautionary measure, and ZRecs as a whole advises against it, too. All the pieces are dishwasher safe, top-rack only. The one thing missing, that would have made this set complete, would be a lid so you could cover the plate and store it in the refrigerator, instead of having to use plastic wrap or foil.

The Skip Hop Mate comes in three eye-pleasing colors - sky blue, orange, or raspberry - and is available at Amazon.com or the Skip Hop website. Skip Hop also sells extra utensils for $3.50 and extra plates for $5.