Trying to get young children to sit at a table and eat properly is a daily challenge.
Sam my four year old is a pretty good eater. I put it down to his going to daycare nursery from 11 months and sitting around a table with his peers and tucking into a good meal every day. He was deftly using cutlery by himself pretty early.
Arlo has been a little slower off the mark, however he’s happy enough to use a fork and spoon these days, until he loses interest in what he’s eating and launches it around the kitchen or simply rubs it into his baby-blonde locks. Tomato soup gives him particularly attractive orange highlights. The poor dog can often be found wandering around the house with scraps of scrambled egg on her back!
So I was delighted to be approached by Glenda Gee from website Cutlery and Catering to see if I’d review some examples from their children’s range.
Glenda and her husband Peter have been selling cutlery for over 25 years so are total specialists. They have a great range of stainless steel cutlery and have also branched out into kitchen gadgets and cookware.
I’ve been using a fairly random assortment of cutlery since having the boys. I have the brightly coloured plastic assortment from Ikea, which the kids have liked using but it’s not worn terribly well.
I have a lovely stainless steel set we got in the sales from John Lewis a couple of years ago which has definitely been my favourite as it’s easy to use and maintains its good looks.
But I’ve never felt like I’ve had enough, especially when we have kids around for after school tea dates, so I’d been thinking about investing in a larger set of stainless steel.
For Arlo, Glenda sent through the ABC Design for toddlers:
This is an ideal first set and the handles are made in an attractive ABC design plastic. The set is colourful and bright. Children feel very grown up using this little set with the brightly coloured letters on its handle. The knife is not sharp for safety reasons.
It’s priced at £2.25.
I think they’re reasonably priced, fun to look at and a good size for a toddler to get hold of. The head of the spoon is quite flat and wide, so littlies stand a good chance of shovelling a decent mouthful of food in with it. The fork is similarly wide, so again a good tool for the cutlery novice!
I’m a bit mystified about how to teach a toddler to use a knife, so find them a little pointless in these sets. This one doesn’t have a serrated edge so I’m guessing it’s to be used to push food onto a fork or spoon. I think this is perhaps a bit too advanced.
Arlo was happy with the fork and spoon and used both at once, which he has never done before.
He also thought they were great musical instruments and clattered them with pleasure before running them through his hair for good measure.
For Sam we were sent the Windsor set consisting of a knife, for and spoon, priced at £4.50
This set is ideal for that in-between stage when children have passed beyond the nursery stage of cutlery but their hands are too small for full-sized adult cutlery.
The knife has a gentle serration so that children can cut their own food with it. The fork is approx 16 cm long and the spoon is the same length – larger than a teaspoon but smaller than an adult’s dessert spoon. The knife is 16.5cm long.
The set is made of high quality stainless steel so you can put it in the dishwasher. It is made in Windsor design and will match all our other items in this popular range.
Sam was delighted to have some new cutlery and it really did seem a more comfortable fit for him than the more babyish stuff he’d been using before.
The knife is sharp enough to cut food effectively which is a real bonus because it can be frustrating teaching them to cut up their own food if their knife isn’t doing a very good job.
£4.50 for the set doesn’t break the bank, so you could invest in a few sets that would last for years.
You can win both sets of cutlery featured in this post!
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED!!!!
Toddler and Child Cutlery Giveaway – One brand new set of each to be won from Cutlery and Catering
There is one mandatory way to enter and a couple of other things you can do to get some bonus entries.
The winner will be chosen using an online randomiser and announced in a subsequent post on this blog.
To win:
1. Mandatory. Leave a comment below telling me about the most chaotic meal time you’ve ever had with your children. It could have been an excruciating time in a restaurant, or maybe your little monsters created havoc at a relative’s house? I want to hear ALL about it!
2. Second chance to win, tweet a link to this giveaway as follows: “Win toddler and child cutlery sets @cookingkt” WITH A LINK TO THIS POST. Then leave a second comment saying you’ve done so telling me your Twitter ID.
3. For a third chance to win, visit and “Like” the Cutlery and Catering Facebook Page then leave a comment below saying you have done so.
You must leave a further separate comment for each bonus entry otherwise they cannot be selected in the draw.
Just tweeted this. What a fab idea! x
My most challenging meal was when my son was born and I was trying to nurse him and feed my 2 1/2 year old daughter. She was irritated and throwing her cutlery on the floor, refusing to eat and he was wriggling and nearly impossible to hold onto. I finally gave up on her, fed him, came back to her and she was delighted to have my full attention. I was exhausted.
Just tweeted as well: @xcrossthepond
All meals out with my kids are choatic although last week we went to ‘tescos’ and baby hit a passer by with a flying yoghurt, son fell off chair and screamed as if being murdered and daughter threw up on plate.
Surely I deserve to win out of sympathy?
Jane
The Boy is quite a tidy eater, he doesn’t like messy fingers etc., so generally chaos is lacking at mealtimes. Apart from the time he had a bowl & fork put in front of him for the first time; he’d just discovered how to use a comb and you can guess what he thought the fork was. Then daddy put the parent spoon and bowl down on the tray to wipe The Boy’s hands & guess what he grabbed? I was not feeding him so I was allowed to laugh!
Hello, I’ve also just tweeted about the comp. @TheBoyandMe
And I’ve just liked the facebook page. Thanks
none of my meals are never chaotic always fun
My son is now three and a really good eater but when he was six months old he had a nasty bout of gastroenteritis and refused to eat anything other than banana. We ended up mashing banana into all his food, even savoury foods, just so as he would eat something and regain the weight he’d lost. Thankfully this only lasted six weeks and he’s never looked back as far as food is concerned though strangely enough he hates bananas now!
Tweeted, @ammalinetheduck
The most chaitic meal was when I was looking after my grandson. After his lunch I gave him a small box of raisins, turned my back for 2mins and yes you’ve guessed it two got stuck up his nose. Call to his mother and a dash up the hospital to A&E where a Doctor who my grandson kept calling father xmas because he had a beard, managed to dislodge them and all turned out ok in the end.
The most chaotic time was when my daughter was Christened. Afterwards, everyone came back for cake and tea but it was time to feed my two year old her food. I was running around making sure everyone was ok, then running back to the highchair, to find older children feeding her – and it sure was messy! Food all over the floor, the highchair and all over my little one. Luckily I had changed her out of her Christening dress! Makes me laugh now but at the time it was horrendous.
Have liked Cutlery and Catering Co on Facebook.
Have tweeted too. @maisietoo
We have three children and its hard work sometimes. I hadn’t had a break in ages and my OH told me what a great dad he was and how I needed a break and that he would look after the kids. The kids were really pleased that dad was in charge so I left them in daddy “capable” hands. I return a hour later with some friends …the smoke alarm was going off, the house was filled with smoke and the oven was on with something very black burning in it. I could here the shower going upstairs. Downstairs was empty – but the dining room table had a half eaten meal on it …and there in the middle on the table was a fork ….with a poo on it! I nearly died of embarrassment!
Apparently, they had all been eating their meal when the youngest had put a fork down his nappy and flicked poo at them all!!! I found all four of them in the shower together getting clean!
Tweeted too @relisys222
already a facebook fan – thanks for the chance to win Xx
My baby hasn’t been born yet so no bad experiences yet to draw on but, as I’m a fussy eater, I’m sure we’ll be due a few!!!
I’ve tweeted @Isis1981uk
I’ve liked the Cutlery & Catering FB page
Have ‘liked’ the Facebook page.
Ever tried fostering three under fives, childminding another two and friends turning up with a couple of kids for good measure. In the end resorted to a picnic blanket on the kitchen floor for the older ones with lots of bits to pick at and a large bowl of food with four spoons for the babies in highchairs who had to be fed, everyone thought it great fun, except me, I had to clean up afterwards. Still love the kids.
May I enter for my Goddaughter? I tend to avoid meal times as it is messy.
I once took her to the park, one grey winter afternoon and the most ridiculous man walked by, with sunglasses and the most enormous pair of headphones and little 2 year old E looked at him very hard and then very sensibily stuck here tongue out at him. I wanted to applaud her, but instead had to tell her that it was not very nice behaviour.
I am very proud of my eldest goddaughter R, who 6 weeks ago I taught how to make pizza dough. Two days ago she cooked for Mummy and her brother, remembering the recipe and covering every bit of the kitchen in flour for Mum to clean up. Amazingly her mother is pleased at me encouraging her to cook, despite the mess!
Tweeted.
@fussfreeflavour
My most chaotic meal was my nephew’s third birthday… there were 12 under 5s and the food was flying everywhere! The old-fashioned pineapple and cheese ‘hedgehogs’ and rabbit shaped blancmange was a blast from the past. It gve me such happy memories of my childhood birthday parties that I didn’t mind the cleaning up at the end!
I’ve ‘liked’ Cutlery and Catering Co on facebook. x
My son is always a bit lazy about feeding himself, but whenever he is ill he wants to sit on my lap and be fed. Trying to feed yourself and a child with a child on your lap is pretty difficult, but throw in some time pressure and a child that chews very slowly and you have a nightmare.
Tweeted @ericahughes
Liked the facebook page – Erica Price
My most caotic meal time was prob my sons 1st meal lol,trying to get him too keep the food in his mouth was hard but funny,he kept blowing bubbles and ending up with food eyebrows and a head covered,he’s a little sweetie.
from @v82chris on twitter x
Liked the Cutlery and Catering Facebook Page
@v82chris on twitter x
Tweeted from @v82chris on twitter
Hope you have a very succesful 2011 x
The worst time was when me , my boyfriend and baby son were in a really posh restaurant and he was refusing to eat anything. Then suddenly he threw his plate of food all over my lap. I was mortified!
Sitting in a coffee shop just me and the two kids, daughter decides she would people watch and have something nasty to say about everyone how embarrassing then son would decide to use the coffee shop as a steeplechase marathon event around the tables….and then both would decide to start flicking food….oh my goodness how embarrassed was I…I was so pleased to get out of there and needless to say have never returned to this day!….Now thankfully the kids are much better behaved! I think it was just because it was very soon after their parents had split and obviously effecting them!
Tweeted @mackemprincess
Also now liking on facebook 🙂
Have liked the facebook page
I think any meal time that runs late around here is crazy , my 4 year old gets so over tired and needs to be in bed for 5.30/6 or goes nuts… if things over run you can garantee she will be screaming around the table
Our son had a thing for the dustbuster vacuum cleaner a while ago and took it into his head to crumble food onto the kitchen floor just so he could ‘help’ by cleaning it up!