Stainless steel kids’ plates are close to indestructible, but they clang under a spoon, can’t go in the microwave, slide on a high chair tray and dent over time. The nickel worry is worth raising with your pediatrician if your child has a nickel allergy, and is mostly overstated otherwise.
Stainless steel kids’ plates have real strengths. They contain no plastic, they survive being thrown, they go in the dishwasher, and they will probably outlast the child. If you moved from plastic to steel, you made a sound decision about durability.
Living with steel every day is a different matter. Here are the downsides parents mention most, and one worry that is often overstated.
1. The sound
A metal spoon on a steel plate clangs. Scraping up the last of the yogurt makes a high scrape that sets teeth on edge, and a toddler who discovers that banging the plate makes a noise will do it again. For children who are sensitive to sound, the plate itself can be the reason a meal ends early. Porcelain gives a soft clink by comparison; silicone makes no sound at all.
2. No microwave
Steel can’t go in the microwave. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service lists metal pans among the containers that are not safe to use in a microwave oven (USDA FSIS). With a toddler, a surprising share of meals are reheated: leftovers, frozen batches, yesterday’s pasta. Each one means warming it in another dish, moving it over, and washing one more thing.
3. The cafeteria look
A stamped steel tray with compartments reads as institutional: school lunch, a camp dining hall, a hospital tray. That is a matter of taste, but the table is where children learn what a meal is, and a plate that looks like it belongs with the family’s own dishes makes that easier. It is the same reason Montessori classrooms use real dishes (Why Your Baby Deserves Real Plates).
4. Heat and cold travel fast
Steel conducts heat far better than porcelain. A plate of hot food warms up to the rim, and cold fruit leaves the plate chilly under small hands. Neither is a problem with food at eating temperature, but porcelain stays closer to room temperature.
5. It slides, and it flips
A bare steel plate on a high chair tray moves with every push of the spoon, and its edge is easy to lift. Some steel plates add a silicone suction ring to hold them down, which works until a toddler finds the edge.
6. Dents and scratches
Steel doesn’t break, but it dents when it lands on its rim and shows every scratch from a fork. After a year of daily meals, most steel plates look it.
What about nickel?
Stainless steel is iron alloyed with chromium and nickel. Grades 304 and 316 are the most common in food use, and 304 contains roughly 18–20% chromium and 8–12% nickel (Kamerud et al., Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2013).
In that 2013 study at Oregon State University, tomato sauce cooked at 85 °C with stainless steel had up to 26 times as much nickel and 7 times as much chromium after six hours, depending on the grade. New steel released the most. Leaching fell with repeated use and levelled off after the sixth cooking cycle, but did not stop. The authors wrote that advising people with nickel or chromium sensitivities to avoid stainless steel “may be prudent.”
Keep that in proportion. The study cooked an acidic sauce for hours; plates were not tested, and a meal on a plate is a far shorter, cooler contact. If your child has a diagnosed nickel allergy, or eczema that flares with nickel, it is worth mentioning to your pediatrician or dermatologist.
When steel is the right plate
Camping, picnics, grandparents’ houses, daycare, and anywhere a break is not an option. Steel is durable, honest and easy to clean. It is just not the most pleasant thing to eat from at home every day.
The everyday alternative
Vitrified porcelain covers most of steel’s gaps. It can go in the microwave (as long as it has no metallic trim), it gives a soft clink rather than a clang, it holds nothing in its surface, and it looks like the family’s dishes. Its one real trade is that it can chip or break on a hard floor, which is why ours sits in a silicone base that holds it steady. See all three materials compared in Silicone vs. Stainless Steel vs. Porcelain Toddler Plates.
Can you microwave stainless steel kids’ plates?
No. The USDA lists metal pans among the containers that are not safe to use in a microwave oven. Warm the food in a microwave-safe dish, then serve it.
Why are stainless steel plates so loud?
Metal against metal rings. A spoon or fork on a thin steel plate makes a sharp clang and scrape. Porcelain gives a softer clink, and silicone is silent.
Do stainless steel plates leach nickel?
Cookware research says steel can release nickel into acidic food: in a 2013 Oregon State study, tomato sauce cooked with stainless steel for six hours had up to 26 times as much nickel. Plates were not tested, and a meal on a plate is a much shorter, cooler contact than hours of cooking.
Are stainless steel plates good for toddlers?
They are durable, plastic-free and fine for travel and daycare. The trade-offs are noise, no microwave use, a plate that slides unless it has a grip ring, and a look closer to a cafeteria tray than a family plate. If your child has a nickel allergy, ask your pediatrician.
Keep reading
- Porcelain vs Stainless Steel vs Silicone Toddler Plates
- Why Silicone Baby Plates Smell and Taste Like Soap
- Why Your Baby Deserves Real Plates
The plate this series is about. okiboo’s 8-inch divided porcelain toddler plate sits in a flat silicone base that holds it steady without suction cups, then lifts off and covers the plate for the fridge. Lab-tested for lead and cadmium, microwave and dishwasher safe.