Stop fussy eating: How this frustrated mum transformed mealtimes with her specially designed plate for kids

Mother-of-one Rachel Raeburn recalled when her daughter, Oia Tan, was four years old and mealtimes would be a dreadful experience.

“Oia was easily distracted and would take an hour to finish her meals, and even then, often not finishing the contents on her plate. She didn’t like mushy food and green leafy vegetables with stems,” said the 49-year-old.

The founder of her public relations firm, Relish PR, would be tearing her hair out, coaxing Oia to finish her meals. The girl is now nine years old.

Serving meals on different coloured plates didn’t help either. Raeburn also noted that as the surfaces of many plates were flat, it was difficult to scoop up food with a spoon, more so for young children who are just learning to use a spoon.

“Generally, plates do nothing to encourage children to eat, other than to contain and present the food,” said Raeburn.

She did, however, notice that when she counted down the number of spoonfuls of food left on the plate, Oia would be motivated to eat. “I could see that she would make an effort to chew and swallow her food to take on the next spoonful.”

The observation led Raeburn to wonder if a plate with numbered ‘pods’, which allowed food to be served in smaller portions, would appear less intimidating to children.

Finding nothing of the sort available on the market, Raeburn decided that she would create one herself. “I was thinking, ‘if only the compartments were numbered, they could guide little kids like Oia to eat continuously,” recalled Raeburn.

So she decided to sketch out her idea and run it by one of her ex-clients who is a designer.

“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset and would think of solutions to everyday issues,” said Raeburn.

WINNING KIDS OVER WITH ITS SPECIAL DESIGN

That was in January 2020 when Raeburn and her designer started developing My Story Plate.

They came up with a prototype that had 10 pods. Raeburn tested out the prototype with a group of parents and their children. While the parent focus group, which comprised eight parents with kids from two to six years old, loved the idea, they didn’t like that there were so many pods.

“I also had feedback that the base of the pods was too flat, which made it difficult for kids to scoop up their food,” said Raeburn.

It was back to the drawing board. This time, the number of pods was reduced to five and the pod sizes were increased accordingly.

Raeburn told CNA Women that most children’s plates have three compartments, a larger one for carbohydrates and two others for meat and vegetables. My Story Plate, on the other hand, has five pods, so it further portions food into smaller amounts to make it appear less overwhelming for young kids.

“We had to make sure that all five pods fit, and each pod was not too small, but sizeable enough to hold a standard plate of food when combined,” said Raeburn. Priced at S$39, each plate measures 34cm by 23cm, with 6cm-wide pods.

The designer also made the base of the pods round to aid the scooping process, particularly for little ones who are just learning to hold and use a spoon.

As a food introductory plate that can hold various food types separately, My Story Plate works well as a baby’s first weaning plate.

The pods are numbered in ascending order, from one to five. “These numbers guide children, especially slow eaters, to eat continuously to finish their meal. Children might get distracted so the numbers remind them of the continuity from one to five, after which they are done,” said Raeburn.

As kids grow up and consume bigger portions, the plate can be used to hold meat and vegetables while a separate plate or bowl contains the carbohydrates.

STORYTELLING AT MEALTIMES

My Story Plate comes in blue or pink with cute illustrations, and to make mealtimes more fun, Raeburn has also incorporated storytelling elements into the design, giving the product its name.

Oia was instrumental in the graphic design of the plate. “Besides the graphic designs of the plate, she loves that the plate portions food into smaller amounts, which makes eating less overwhelming,” added Raeburn.

The pink plate tells the story of Blossom the unicorn, who is disappointed when it rains as she cannot go out to play. The blue plate features Charlie, a little car in a racing competition.

“Children are attracted to cute designs and learn through storytelling. My intention was to have a story to take the child through the eating process, as he/she eats from pod one to two and finishes at pod five,” said Raeburn.

She added: “Each character encounters a challenge at the start and perseveres through it to emerge with a positive outcome. For a young child, some of their challenges could include eating food that is unfamiliar or not to their preference.”

Most children’s plates are made of either melamine ware or silicone, both of which are plastic-based. My Story Plate is made from bamboo fibre. “I wanted to make a plate that is not only eco-friendly but non-toxic and safe for children to use. Seeing that a bamboo fibre bowl that was given to my daughter for her first birthday was solid and well made, I decided to use bamboo fibre as well,” said Raeburn.

Not only is bamboo fibre sustainable, but it is also non-toxic and has natural anti-bacterial properties. The plate is also dishwasher-safe.

My Story Plate took three years from ideation to the final product, which was launched in 2022, thanks in part to the pandemic, which delayed communications with the manufacturer in China, and the production and shipment of samples.

NO LONGER A FUSSY EATER

Oia was seven when My Story Plate was launched. Mealtimes were shortened to 15 to 20 minutes, down from an hour.

Whereas she was a fussy eater before, Raeburn said Oia is now more adventurous at meals. The primary school student now eats well and is now more willing to try food that she is unfamiliar with. “And if she is not a fan of what is cooked for her, she would at least eat a decent portion of it, which makes mealtime so much more pleasant,” said Raeburn.

“Oia still uses My Story Plate occasionally as it can hold quite a lot of food. Whenever she eats with the plate, she eats her meals faster, even faster than me,” said the proud mum.

About 100 plates have been sold since its launch, and Raeburn has received many positive reviews from parents.

One parent shared that her six-year-old would always have leftovers but now eats everything on her plate. Another parent, who has three children below the age of four, said that the plates have cut down mealtime for her kids by half.

A mum of a five-year-old said that the plate kept her child focused on eating and so he stayed seated throughout his meal when he used to get off his seat to walk around.

Parents of toddlers have shared that their kids are more engaged during mealtime and are able to handle a spoon easier due to the rounded base of the pods.

Another parent said that her son eats a whole fruit when served in My Story Plate – when he doesn’t usually eat his fruits at breakfast. “It’s heartening to know that kids are encouraged to eat more balanced meals with the plate,” said Raeburn.