Customer Reviews

Kiddopotamus Tinydiner Placemat, Yellow

5 star:		(133)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I found this at Target and have completely fallen in love with this portable placemat. It is so easy to carry, fits beautifully into a smaller size diaper bag, it's washable and it has a built in food catcher! We've so many people stop us while we are eatting to ask where we got it from! It's a must have for any parent of a young toddler, and it's so much better and gives us parents a safe feeling to know your child's food is on clean surface! This will be a definate gift for any family and friends that have new babies. 1 thing I will caution you about is when you roll it up and store it, don't roll it up super tight, because the next time it will be harder for the suction cups to stick. This only happened once to me and then the next time I rolled it up much looser and it stuck down!

The Tiny Diner portable placemat is a rubber mat that includes a crumb/spill tray to bridge the gap between the table and your little one. It secures to the table with suction cups that work with many surfaces.

The mat is made of a high-quality material that should stand up to lots of use for years to come. It cleans up easily either in the sink at home (I also called the manufacturer and found out that it's dishwasher-safe in the top rack) or else with wipes on the go. It will protect your table at home from knicks and scratches from banging utensils and dropped cups. It minimizes the mess all around with a lip on its border that trips minor spills and a deep tray that hangs over the edge of the table, protecting your baby's lap. This last feature is a must-have during the independent phase of learning how to use forks and spoons.

Away from home, it's a great way to let your child eat according to his or her home routine. It also protects him or her from germs on the table. The only drawback is in the transportation. The mat is a little like a roadmap - you'll never get it folded back as nicely as when it first arrived. As a result, it can take up a lot of space in a small daytime/afternoon diaper bag.

Judging from other reviews, it seems that this is yet another in the long list of love-it-or-hate-it items that are subject to your child's tastes. Based on our experience, the Tiny Diner is certainly worth a try for its low price - if you can get your toddler used to using it, it will become invaluable.

PROS
* Traps all sort of crumbs and spills, including a tray between table and baby
* Protects your table from bumps and scratches
* Durable - I can't imagine it wearing out
* Easy to clean and maintain

CONS
* Doesn't fold up very well

This is my first review on any product (and as most first time parents, we own LOTS of baby gear) but I have been SO pleased with this product. My son is 11 months old and VERY busy. Eating out and away was quite difficult until we received this product as a gift. We can put his finger food down on a LARGE clean surface and it keeps him busy while we also get to eat! The mat stays put with the suction cups, is large enough to allow him to push his food around, is fun to look at, has a great "catch" for the food he pushes off the mat, is easy to clean, and rolls up neatly for transport. This has become one of the essentials of our diaper bag. This product is an absolute necessity!

As a first time mom I am very cautious of my 9-month-old son touching anything outside of my house. I give my son cheerios and a rice cake when we dine out and this product is fabulous......I love it!!!!! My son loves playing with his food....so he can rub his rice cake all over the tablemat and I don't have to worry about him picking up any germs with this mat. The food catcher is great....he looks for cheerios and rice cake crumbs in it.

The only advice I would give is that before you put the mat down and push on the suction cups, you should use a wet one or wipe to wet the suction cups and then place it on the table. I found that it holds in place much better and the box that it comes in says to wet the suction cups as well.

This product is an excellent value. Suction cups on the back of the placemat attach securely to most restaurant tables, and the tray catches almost everything my little one drops. It also rolls up to conveniently place in the diaper bag. Every time I use it someone stops me to ask where I got it. It's a must for toddlers!

Good concept but it doesn't have enough suction cups to hold it in place when a curious 14 month old tries to play with it instead of eating off it. As long as your child doesn't tug or pull at it then its okay but even just the littlest tug and the mat along with your childs food is all over! Its more of a hassle to use this thing than it would be to get the disposable table toppers that stick flat to the table! Do not recommend this to anyone with an active baby... especially a toddler!!!!

We've searched everywhere for something our daughter can eat off of when we go out to eat. We tried using a napkin, but she'd either end up eating paper or pulling it all off into the floor. And those disposable placemats work basically the same way. We were thrilled when we found the tiny diner! Yes, occasionally the suction cups won't always stick completely down depending on what the table is made out of. But, the weight of the rubber, plus the texture of it alone, keeps it from sliding more than anything else would. But any cons are well out weighted by the pros! This is easy to carry, easy to clean and fun for kids to eat off of. A must have, as far as I'm concerned!

The TinyDiner is the greatest way to keep my baby's food off the germy table tops in restaurants. It is easy to carry along because it rolls up small and stows away in the diaper bag, then it unrolls whenever you need a clean area for baby to eat from. We have no problems keeping it in place-- the suction cups really do work, and my baby can't pull it up even if he tries. We get lots of questions whenever we eat out with the TinyDiner-- everybody can see how well it works and they want to know where they can buy it!

We bought this placemat while vacationing in California because we were eating almost all our meals at restaurants. At first I loved the product because my 14-month old son would not have to eat off restaurant tables anymore. Before the placemats, my husband and I would wipe the tables with anticeptic wipes, but the wipes would always end up black with grime! Like other reviewers, we also tried placing napkins on the table but our son kept tugging them off. We thought this product was the answer, but we found a few negatives with the placemat by the end of the trip.

Pros:
- The tray caught the crumbs most of the time and distracted my son from playing with the underside of tables which were really disgusting at most restaurants.
- The size is quite generous once unfolded.
- The weight of the placemat and the rubber material keep it from sliding around.
- It's more environmentally friendly than the disposable kind.
- The rolled-up design allows for easy storage in diaper bags.

Cons:
- The suction cups don't work on all tables. Many restaurants we ate at had tablecloths which rendered the suction cups useless.
- The rubber material is very difficult to clean on the go. We tried wiping it with water and napkins (both paper and cloth) at the restaurant at the end of our meals. The cloth napkins left lint all over because of the rubber and the paper napkins just disintegrated. We also tried using anticeptic wipes, they always left a stick film on the placemat. The only way to effectively clean the placemat was using dish detergent and water at a sink, but who has that when traveling?

I think we will try the disposable ones from now on.

I bought this for my son and am now using it for my daughter. It is so easy to use. After eating you just wipe it quicky, roll it up and then take it home. It is big enough to create a clean eating surface with a little room to spare. The small pocket that hangs off of the table catches food and crumbs which help to keep the area tidy. As my kids got older we used the pocket to hold crayons and toys too. What a great invetion and a great shower gift too!