Product Reviewed: Tiny Diner Portable Placemat by Kiddopotamus (available in Blue, Pink and Green)

Price: $10.99

Product Can Be Purchased At: Most anywhere that sells baby stuff: Amazon, One Step Ahead, Target Baby and lots of others.

Product Promises: Protects from Germs, FDA Compliant Materials, Really Stays in Place, Rolls Up, Tucks Away, Safe, Clean Eating Surface, Scoop Catches Spills, Contains the Mess.

Product Review:

Why I decided to try the Tiny Diner?
There were a couple of reasons that I decided to try the Tiny Diner… one being that I am a “germaphobe.” I freely admit it. My husband and I are a little bit obsessive when it comes to germs. This obsession is mostly related to food, we would never drink or eat after someone, would never eat anything that’s been sitting out and we like a very clean area to cook and eat, I think most people do, so it’s probably not full fledged “germaphobia.” )

As you can imagine, we always use a high chair cover or booster seat when we go out to eat with our little one and always use a placemat. Until now, we have used the disposable ones, but they are quite pricey. This is the second reason I decided to try the Tiny Diner, it’s more cost efficient to use a reusable mat and more environmentally friendly.

First impressions?
We got the green mat, it’s a great gender neutral color. All the mats have a “Hey Diddle Diddle” theme with pictures illustrating the rhyme… very simple and cute and my daughter loves this nursery rhyme.

When I took the mat out to wash it, I was surprised at how compactly it was folded and how soft the material was, it is made of an FDA approved plastic material and is very pliable. I will admit, that I was a little curious as to how the suction cups were going to hold-up. My daughter is at that “if it can be destroyed, I am going to figure out how to do it” stage and I pictured her ripping the mat off the table with all the food on it and tossing it to the ground… she often does this with the disposable mats. This mat was getting ready to really be tested!

Is is easy to use?
It really is! After I washed and dried the mat, I rolled it back up and put it in the tote that had my daughter’s food in it. I was really easy to fold, roll and go. When I got to the restaurant, I unrolled it and stuck it on the table. I was very surprised to see that the suction cups really stuck… I mean stuck. I was feeling better about my daughter being able to rip it off the table. Since it had been rolled up for quite a while, there was just a slight bit of curving upward of the mat around the edges, but it was totally flat by the end of the meal (as you can see in the pictures). I only point it out in case you see the picture and think… “hmmm, it doesn’t lay flat.” It’s a super soft material and was totally flat in no time. The directions on the box do recommend that you store it flat, which I do now and it doesn’t curl at all when I unfold it.

When we were done, I wiped the mat off, rolled it back up and tossed it in the bag. Super easy. I washed it later that night at home and just let us air dry. I have to say that I was able to set this mat up probably faster than a disposable one because there weren’t any plastic strips to peel off.

Does the product deliver on it’s promises? This product delivers on all it’s promises. It is portable, easy to use and a germ-free way to feed your little one off of a table. It is so easy to use that I would suggest it for home use if you have a little on who is eating off your table, it makes clean-up easier.

Is the product a fair value and would I recommend it?
This product is a “penny pinching” germaphobes dream. It’s sanitary, super easy to use and very cost efficient. The one time cost of $10.99 for the Tiny Diner reusable mat verses the $8-$10 for a package of disposable mats is great! You may want to still keep a box of disposable mats around in case you won’t be carrying a purse of small bag and just need to stick on in your pocket, but I doubt it. It’s quite portable and fits down in my daughter’s high chair cover bag or in her booster seat, so we now use the Tiny Diner instead of disposable mats.

I would definitely recommend the Tiny Diner, I absolutely love this product. Since the price point is so reasonable, this is another item that would make a great add-on to a baby shower gift, especially if you are giving “feeding” type items like bibs, etc.

Related Posts: Other PPP Product Reviews

Disclosure: PennyPinchingParent.com was provided with a Tiny Diner for this review.