Best Children's Tableware Design 2017 | Junior Design Awards

Junior Design Awards 2017 for Best Children's Tableware Design

From cutlery to cups and plates to placemats family dining should be a relaxed affair. Ensuring children sit at the table, have excellent table manners and enjoy their mealtimes will be a doodle with these stylish but oh so practical designs.

While of course we can't guarantee this what we can guarantee is that these sleek, modern and simple designs will fit perfectly into even the most minimise of kitchen interiors, wash-up well, store seamlessly and be almost unbearable.

This was a tough category - as all the designs were worthy of an award - so thats exactly what we did as you'll see the inclusion of a joint silver award and our highest accolade the platinum award.

Here's who made the cut...

THE PLATINUM AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN'S TABLEWARE DESIGN IS... WE MIGHT BE TINY

We Might Be Tiny are an adorable collection of silicone placemats known as "placies" designed in Melbourne, Australia and sold in 35 stockists worldwide - amazing when you realise they have only been going for the 18 months.

What makes these "placies" so special and have helped them revolutionise the placemat market is the high-quality, durable, non-slip eco-friendly, toxic-free, food grade silicone they are made from - phew! and of course the super cute minimalist design.

The collection of 'placies' include a bear, bunny and cat shapes with each animal featuring unique eyes, positioned so that plates and bowls sit steadily in the middle of the placemat. The clever design also means the ears double as a place to rest a drink bottle or sippy cup securely. They come in a range of 6 on-trend monochrome and pastel colours perfect for messy little munchkins.

These stylish We Might Be Tiny placemats encourage playfulness and creativity, being perfect for messy play such as rolling play-dough and cutting cookie shape. And, whats more they are dishwasher safe too, making them a practical and stylish addition to the family dinner table.

Junior Editor Bonita said,

"The elegant design, practically and muted colour palette is what makes these placemats a stand-out winner - with our JDA judges and me. What parent doesn’t love to keep their home looking gorgeous as well as protecting their furniture and much-loved surfaces from unwanted scratches and messy kids? I am beyond excited that We Might Be Tiny has won Platinum - they truly are a children's design classic in the making!"

Judges Tracey Samuel (from The Bonnie Mob) added in her judging notes "Fab designs. Love the colours. Great product shots." and Gabrielle Spang (from Scandi Mini) simply added "Adorable!"

THE GOLD AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN'S TABLEWARE DESIGN IS... NANA'S MANNERS

What we love - (and continue to love as while in development/at prototype stage last year we could see the potential as they were awarded a Junior Design Award in 2016) - about these ergonomically designed children's cutlery brand Nana's Manners is that they help children become confident and independent eaters - meaning more fun and relaxed meal times for everyone.

Designed by a parent and Primary Teacher of 10yrs who was inspired to self-create them after watching so many children struggling to use a knife and fork. Nana's Manners cutlery is a world-first - the unique, patented shape supports the tri-grip position, fun finger stickers guide little hands into the correct positions, with no adult help needed as they are only comfortable when held correctly.

Designed for 4-5yr olds specifically as this is the age children are (generally) ready developmentally to learn to co-ordinate a knife and fork. The cutlery is made from stainless steel with a beautiful soft touch (BPA free) handle and come in two colour ways.

We're so pleased to see Nana's Manners win a JDA again - and continue to support new, innovative products into the children market.

Judges Tracey Samuel (from The Bonnie Mob) said "Love this, such a great idea and design." and Gabrielle Spang (from Scandi Mini) noted "Love these!"

THE JOINT SILVER AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN'S TABLEWARE DESIGN IS... BAMBOO BAMBOO

We all know or soon discover how messy children's meal times can be, especially when weaning is baby-led! That's why we really rate these Bamboo Bamboo bowls.

Designed to securely stay fixed to any smooth surface with the bright coloured silicone suction base tab. These organic bowls with a matching bamboo spoon (that is tipped in matching food grade silicone, so is super soft on baby’s gums and help protect new teeth) are naturally stain resistant, anti-microbial and eco-friendly.

Functional, practical, original, and oh so, stylish, these premium looking suction bowls solve a common parent problem and (almost) save tears at teatime!

THE JOINT SILVER AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN'S TABLEWARE DESIGN IS... BUDDY + BEAR

Buddy and Bear is the instantly recognisable "original monochrome" world of playful homewares for the modern family. Stylish, design led pieces that blur the boundaries of taste between grown ups and their little ones.

Launched in 2014 and made in the UK Buddy and Bear fast made a name for itself as a go-to brand for gimmick-free tableware. With gender-neutral themes such as time-telling and farm animals to engage young eaters.

Although, style should really go hand in hand with practicality - and its proved here as each B+B piece withstands the happy clatter and splatter of daily use. As well as going from dishwasher to microwave and tantrums to tomato sauce seamlessly.

THE BRONZE AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN'S TABLEWARE DESIGN IS... DOIDY CUP

With a 70 year heritage it would be safe to say Doidy Cup is a design classic. With its unique slant the Doidy Cup was specifically designed to help make the move from breast/ bottle feeding to an open cup easier for babies and toddlers.

The iconic design makes the contents more visible - as there is no lid - and the unique slanted rim helps to direct fluid into an infant’s mouth therefore reducing spillages. Plus, the two handled design allows for maximum control whilst at the same time teaching infants to drink from the rim of a cup rather than a spout or teat and developing their hand-eye coordination and independence around self-feeding

In a range of 17 fantastic colours the Doidy Cup is made in the UK from virgin food safe HDPE and are fully recyclable too.