This Kid Dinnerware is Super Durable and Chic

While ogling a baseball hat at the perfectly curated Lennox and Harvey shop here on Martha’s Vineyard, my 2-year-old jetted away from my hand-hold. Before I could say, “Oh my god, PLEASE don’t touch that!” she had grabbed what I thought was a painted porcelain bowl and sat herself down for an imaginary picnic on the floor of our island’s swankiest shop. I thanked my lucky stars for a couple things in that moment. One: The shopkeeper/co-owner could not be more lovely and I could see his kind eyes smiling even though most of his face was covered with a mask. Two: Somehow Hazel (my daughter) had found the one shelf of children’s stuff in the otherwise posh and grown-up store. 

She was immediately drawn to this bowl (which looks like porcelain but is actually polypropylene) and this cup (which looks like glass but is actually copolyester with a silicone straw). While I thought I might find a delightful splurge for myself at this shop, we left with a gorgeous new dinnerware set for Hazel. When I talked to the shop co-owner about why he picked the Kinto line, he said he was drawn to the shapes of the products. The lines are so clean and simple, yet definitely eye-catching; they pulled Hazel in within minutes of entering the store. I really appreciate the color scheme — the Kinto earth tones fit in with the rest of my dishes and are a welcome alternative to the loud, bright colors of most products marketed to kids. 

I test kitchen tools and equipment for a living, and my toddler has clearly been watching and taking notes. She ran her own set of (unofficial) tests on her new Kinto products. Here’s how they went.

• The Slam Dunk Test: Hazel is about 35 inches tall, which brings the top of her head to just below the lip of the kitchen counter. When clearing her dishes after eating, she forcefully tosses her Kinto bowl into the sink like she’s slam-dunking on a basketball hoop. Test result: The bowl has survived many, many dunks.
• The Garbage Can Submersion Test: When Hazel has some leftover oatmeal in her bowl, she tries to throw it out before the aforementioned sink-dunk. Due to the gloppy nature of the food, she often can’t shake the oatmeal out and ends up accidentally throwing the whole shebang away. Test result: The bowl cleans up great and remains odor-free, even after being accidentally submerged in the muck and mire of our trash can multiple times. 
• The Pretend Soup Test: Hazel tests the durability of the product by making her signature pretend soup in it. After lots of vigorous mixing of her acorn-twig-rock concoction, we’ve surveyed the damage. Test result: The bowl remains scratch-free. 

We both love the bowl and cup. So much so that we went back to Lennox and Harvey to get the Kinto water bottle for preschool. So far, this has performed perfectly, too — no spills in Hazel’s precious narwhal backpack. Phew! 

This post originally ran on Kitchn. See it there: The Kid-Friendly Dinnerware That Looks Incredibly Chic, but Is Also Very Durable