Price Tag: $9.99/set
Official URL: babydipper.com
Rating:

The Baby Dipper bowl is one of those things that promises to be good, that you suspect will not quite live up to those promises, and that then proceeds to blow you away by working exactly as it should work and making it really obvious how every other product doesn’t work well. At all.  Yeah, I liked it that much. and I’m not alone, either. We’ve all taken turns using it at Gruntlings, and the verdict is that this little bowl ROCKS.

AESTHETIC

Let’s start with the aesthetic. It LOOKS cool. Chunky, funky shaped, and it’s a cool translucent blue.  The matching spoon has a bright yellow rubbery sheath that makes its handle into the perfect grippy texture for little hands. Everything is curved, swooping, and extremely unique looking. It doesn’t fall into the “baby equipment” trap of being utilitarian or cutesy. And even after being used for a month or two it doesn’t start to cloud up or look dingy.

QUALITY & CONSTRUCTION

The upper part of the bowl is made of a clear rigid material, and the base of the bowl is made of rubber. The transition from bowl to base is so smooth that I originally thought that the whole bowl was made of rubber! There are no sharp edges, and the bowl holds up very well to use and abuse. The bowl has a slope that makes it higher at the back, and lower at the front, this encourages food to naturally slide down to the “tip” of the bowl, making it extremely easy to scoop out.

The spoon is made of the same translucent blue, and has a bright yellow rubbery grippy sheath that has ovals cut out so that the blue can show through. The spoon has a swooping handle that makes it hug the bowl’s edge. The bowl of the spoon is the perfect size- small enough for a new eater yet big enough and deep enough for a toddler to use for soup or yogurt.

The tip of the spoon fits perfectly into the curved edges of the bowl.

SAFETY

The Baby Dipper Bowl is lead-free and phthalates-free. It is shatter-proof (it actually sort of bounces if dropped), and it has no sharp edges. The current version of the bowl is not BPA-free, but BPA seldom leeches into food that is in contact with a bowl for a shorter period of time (ie: not being stored in the bowl) and that is not heated to high temperatures. Since baby food should not be microwaved (due to risk of hot spots and scalding), and since this bowl comes with a “hand wash” recommendation (to preserve the integrity of the rubber foot), this bowl is unlikely to leech any significant amount of BPA into your child’s food.

CARE & CLEANING

Because of the rubber foot, this bowl comes with a “hand wash only” recommendation. The higher temperatures and drying of dish washers can cause the rubber foot to shrink, harden and lose its grippiness.

Despite this, the bowl is VERY easy to clean. Its slick surface makes even crusted-on foods wipe off quickly and easily. The blue material is resistant to staining even when you’ve used it with tomato sauce or tomato soup. It resists odors nicely. I’ve never had to scrub it or spend more than a few seconds to wash it out.

BOTTOM LINE

This bowl makes it extremely easy for a parent to feed their child with one hand. It’s ideal for parents of multiples, parents who have limited mobility, or for toddlers learning to feed themselves.  This bowl’s shape and rubber base make it much harder to make a mess of things. I would recommend this bowl over the “suction cup” bowls, or pretty much any other “starter” set.