Babisil Mu Bowl Anchor

My son is at the stage where he loves to eat solid foods, but hates when someone else has to feed him. He eats tons of food, so long as its finger food. Veggies? Not so much. He used to love them, ratatouille, zucchini, tomato, broccoli and green beans were all favourites. Now, its not that he doesn't like them anymore, its just that they aren't quite as tasty when they aren't all mixed together. He will eat chunks of broccoli, but that's pretty much the only veggie he will eat alone.

I decided to experiment with using chunky purees on mum mums, and thinner purees as dips or sauces for his chicken strip and chunky tofu. The second option however, is a bit trickier. How do you give a child a dipping sauce when he picks up & shakes the bowl with vigor and a smile.

Enter the Babisil Mu Bowl Anchor or at least that's what I figured. The mu bowl anchor is a small piece of silicone designed to suction your own bowl or plate to the table or the tray of your little ones chair. For about $7 bucks, it was a cheaper option than most of the dishes that come equipped with their own suction cup and since it provides flexibility and wouldn't require me to continually wash the same dish over and over again it seemed like a win-win situation.

After purchasing my bowl anchor, I tried using it with the plethora of containers and bowls that fill my cupboards. Most of them are Tupperware and didn't seem to suction all that well, there is a ridge along the bottom of the containers that along with the text (such as the recyclability and food safe symbols) all seemed to interfere with the suction power of the bowl anchor.

The anchor did work a bit better when a little moisture was applied and the bowl was applied to the anchor and tray with a fair amount of pressure. I figured that was the trick, a little moisture & a need to slam the bowl onto the tray; unfortunately, my success was short lived. After less than five minutes and some persistent tugging by my son, the bowl was in his hands and the food was on the floor.

My husband points out that the suction may work when pulling the bowl up and down, but as soon as its pulled side to side the suction seems to break. I have tried with various different bowls, plates and dishes, but the result is always the same; the boy gets the dish and the food lands on the floor.

In theory the Babisil Mu Bowl Anchor is a great product. In reality, I didn't find it able to stand up to the test of my sons persistent tugging. Although I love a cheap product, without function its really just junk in my drawer. I will try it again when he gets a little older and hope I will have better success. But for now, the bowl anchor was a disappointment for me. I give it 1.5/5, only because for the few minutes that it did work, it was great. Too bad mealtime lasts closer to 45 minutes at my house!