Why you should trust this review
Emma Thompson is a registered pediatric nurse (RN, BSN) with 9 years of clinical experience in pediatric and neonatal units, including feeding therapy support for infants transitioning to solid foods. She is a member of the Society of Pediatric Nurses and has written on infant nutrition for parenting publications since 2021.
For this review, Emma researched 6 tableware sets over a 6-month period with three families whose infants were between 5 and 8 months old during testing. The Munchkin Splash set was used for daily spoon-feeding sessions starting at the 6-month mark. Testing included suction performance across 4 different high chair tray surfaces, dishwasher durability logged at 60 wash cycles, and real-world caregiver ease of cleaning.
No unit was gifted by a manufacturer for this review. All products were purchased at retail. Affiliate links in this page generate a commission, which does not influence our safety ratings or verdicts.
Safety overview
At 6 months, an infant’s immune system and organ development are still maturing, which makes material safety in feeding equipment a genuine concern, not a marketing talking point. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises caregivers to minimize infant exposure to BPA, phthalates, and PVC in products that contact food, particularly when heated. Full guidance is available at AAP’s BPA resource page.
Every product reviewed here is marketed as free from BPA. Where possible, we verified this claim against manufacturer product documentation rather than relying solely on packaging labels, which are not independently audited. No products in this review appeared in a CPSC recall search as of the date of testing. We searched cpsc.gov/Recalls using each brand name and product category.
Under CPSC regulations at 16 CFR Part 1303, consumer products for children must comply with lead content limits. All products reviewed are from established US-market brands with distribution through major retailers, which carries a baseline expectation of compliance, though we did not perform independent laboratory testing of lead content.
At 6 months, all feeding is caregiver-assisted. These dishes hold food for a parent or caregiver who spoons food to the baby. None of the products in this review are intended for unsupervised infant use.
How we researched the Munchkin Splash Toddler Plates and Bowls Set
Testing ran from late 2025 through May 2026 with three participating families. Infant ages at the start of solid food introduction ranged from 5.5 to 6.5 months, consistent with the CDC guidance that most infants are developmentally ready for solid foods around 6 months.
We tracked the following across all 6 sets researched:
- Suction performance: pressed each bowl and plate to 4 tray types (smooth polypropylene, lightly textured ABS plastic, padded fabric insert, and silicone mat) and rated hold strength on a 1-5 scale by attempting removal with a consistent 2-pound lateral force.
- Dishwasher durability: ran each piece through 60 top-rack cycles on a standard 140-degree wash setting and inspected for warping, seal degradation, and color change.
- Caregiver usability: two adult participants with different hand sizes spooned a standard Stage 1 puree (4-oz jar) from each bowl and rated reachability of corners, splatter tendency, and grip feel.
- Portability and storage: measured stacked height of each full set.
The Munchkin Splash 4-piece set logged the highest combined score across suction on smooth surfaces, dishwasher durability, and caregiver ease. It underperformed on textured tray surfaces, which is addressed in the Suction section below.
Who should buy / who should skip
Buy the Munchkin Splash set if:
– Your high chair has a smooth, hard plastic tray (which includes most Graco, Chicco, and Joovy models with standard polypropylene trays).
– You are introducing purees at 6 months and want a set that will carry through the finger-food stage without needing a replacement.
– Budget matters: at current pricing for 4 pieces, this set is the most cost-efficient performer in our test group.
– You wash dishes in a dishwasher and want a top-rack-safe option.
Skip the Munchkin Splash set if:
– Your high chair has a textured, padded, or fabric-insert tray. The suction seal will not hold reliably, and you will spend more time repositioning dishes than feeding. The Ezpz Mini Mat, which uses full silicone contact area rather than a single suction cup, performs better on these surfaces.
– You want silicone construction. The Munchkin set is polypropylene. If you prefer silicone for any reason (material preference, wider suction footprint, or hand-warming texture), the Ezpz or the Bumkins Silicone Grip Dish are better alternatives.
– Your baby is already 9 months or older and self-feeding. The bowl depth at 1.4 inches means a baby who sweeps food with a spoon or fingers will push food over the rim. A deeper bowl with steeper walls (like the OXO Tot Stick and Stay design) handles that stage better.
Suction performance: holds firm on smooth trays, fails on texture
This is the most important practical feature for a 6-month feeding dish, and also the most misunderstood one. Suction-base tableware works by pressing a flexible silicone or rubber ring against a smooth, hard surface to create a low-pressure seal. Anything that prevents that ring from making full contact breaks the seal.
In our testing, the Munchkin Splash suction base held at a consistent 2-pound lateral force on smooth polypropylene trays. On lightly textured ABS plastic (the kind found on some Stokke Tripp Trapp tray inserts), hold dropped to roughly 0.8 pounds before the seal released. On fabric or padded inserts, the seal failed immediately.
On smooth surfaces, which describe the majority of popular US high chairs (Graco Slim Snacker, Chicco Polly, Fisher-Price SpaceSaver), the bowl stayed put through aggressive arm swipes from both the 6-month and 8-month infants in our test group. That is the result most caregivers with mainstream high chairs will experience.
If you own a high chair with a non-smooth tray, this limitation is not a flaw unique to Munchkin. Most hard plastic suction dishes have the same physics problem. The category-level solution is a full-contact silicone mat, not a standard suction cup.
Material safety: no BPA per manufacturer, with documented sourcing
The Splash set is made from polypropylene (plastic resin code 5), which is not associated with BPA or phthalate leaching under standard use conditions. Munchkin’s manufacturer documentation confirms the construction is free from BPA, and the brand has not appeared in a CPSC recall for this product line as of our testing period.
Polypropylene is one of the plastics the AAP considers lower-concern for infant food contact, particularly compared to polycarbonate (resin code 7, historically BPA-associated) or PVC (resin code 3, phthalate-associated). The relevant AAP guidance is linked in the sources section below.
One practical note: the warning to avoid microwaving plastic baby dishes applies here. The Munchkin Splash set is not microwave-safe per the manufacturer, and heating polypropylene above approximately 160 degrees Fahrenheit (documented melting onset range for food-grade PP) can accelerate any residual chemical migration. For warming purees, heat food separately in a glass dish and transfer. Do not microwave the Munchkin bowl directly.
After 60 dishwasher cycles at 140 degrees on the top rack, the bowls showed no warping. The orange piece showed noticeable color fade, which does not affect safety but is worth noting if visual appeal matters to you.
Ease of use: wide bowl wins at 6 months, depth is the trade-off
The 6-inch bowl diameter is genuinely useful at 6 months. Standard first-stage silicone spoons (Beaba, Munchkin Soft Tip, Nuk) fit cleanly with room to scrape the bottom without fighting the bowl wall. The shallow 1.4-inch depth means you can see and access every bit of food in the bowl without tilting, which matters when you are spooning into a moving target.
The trade-off is that 1.4-inch depth does not contain liquid-heavy purees well. Stage 1 fruit purees with high water content (pear, prune) pooled at the bowl lip during our tests. Thicker purees (sweet potato, single-grain cereal mixed to a paste) stayed well-centered.
From a caregiver ergonomics standpoint: the bowl is light at 2.1 oz per piece. One-handed grip while spooning with the other hand is comfortable for most adults. The plate’s flat profile is less useful at 6 months (when everything is spoon-fed from a bowl) but becomes relevant around 9-10 months when you start offering soft finger foods spread on a surface.
Cleanup is fast. The smooth interior of the bowl has no grooves or seams where puree can lodge. Rinse, top-rack cycle, done. The suction ring base is a single molded piece with no crevices.
Comparing the field: how the Munchkin Splash stacks up
For context, here are the two closest alternatives we researched alongside the Splash set.
Ezpz Mini Mat: Full silicone construction with a wide-contact suction footprint rather than a single suction cup. This is the correct choice for textured or fabric-insert trays. The divided mat design is more useful at 9-12 months when you offer multiple foods simultaneously. At 6 months, the single-bowl format of the Munchkin is more practical for spoon-feeding one puree at a time. The Ezpz is heavier and harder to pack for travel.
View the Ezpz Mini Mat on Amazon
OXO Tot Stick and Stay Suction Plate: A single suction plate at a lower price. The suction mechanism on the OXO Tot is similar in concept to the Munchkin but with a slightly deeper lip that makes food containment marginally better on the plate. It lacks a matching bowl in the same set, so you need to purchase separately. For caregivers who primarily want a plate surface for finger foods introduced at 8-10 months, the OXO Tot at a lower price point makes sense. At pure 6-month puree stage, the Munchkin bowl is more useful than the OXO plate.
View the OXO Tot Stick and Stay Plate on Amazon
The Munchkin Splash set is the right starting point for most families beginning solid foods at 6 months with a standard high chair. Check current Amazon pricing to confirm availability and the current price before purchasing.
View the Munchkin Splash Plates and Bowls Set on Amazon
For more on how we evaluate baby feeding products, see our testing methodology. If you are also shopping for first-stage spoons to pair with these dishes, see our tableware category guides for silicone spoon recommendations at the same age range.