There’s a time and a place for waterproof, silicone baby bibs.
But when you really need them, they’re an absolute lifesaver!
Rubber or silicone bibs are really excellent for bottle feeding, messy eaters, babies transitioning to solid food, and young toddlers who like to make a mess.
The best silicone bibs are easily washed off in the sink or dishwasher, and super handy at catching food residue, drool, and spills.
So… yeah. You could probably use a few.
Here are my 3 top picks for babies and toddlers:
- Best budget silicone bibs: PandaEar (Amazon)
- Best mid-range silicone bibs: Happy Healthy Parent (Amazon)
- Best higher-end silicone bibs: OXO Tot (Amazon)
Let’s dive in a little deeper and look at why I recommend each one.
What to look for in a silicone bib
When you actually get into it, most of these bibs look… pretty much the same.
They’re made from some kind of rubber or silicone, they come in a variety of bright colors, and they may have a cute logo or phrase on them.
It can actually be pretty difficult to tell them apart.
This is where diving into real-life reviews can come in handy. Here are a few things you should be looking for:
Price point & cost
Silicone bibs probably won’t be your go-to choice for every feeding.
They’re a little bulky and unwieldy in some cases. Most of the time, for basic bottle feeding or simple meals, a cloth bib will work just fine.
But you’ll definitely want to have a few of the big boys around for when you need them.
There’s not a huge discrepancy in price between different brands, but it’s something to budget out. You’ll pay somewhere from $10 for a set of 2 to $20 for a set of 2.
I’d be hard-pressed to pay too much more than that for glorified food-catchers!
Ease of use & effectiveness
Pay really close attention to these two talking points when reading first-hand reviews of bibs:
- How easy are they to put on and take off?
- How well do they actually work?
Visually, silicone bibs can be hard to tell apart from each other. But slight variations in the design of the clasps at the top or the shape of the front pockets can make a huge difference.
Some brands look great but don’t catch food as well as you’d think. Others don’t stay on when babies start wiggling around.
Keep an eye out for those red flags before you buy.
Ease of cleaning
Most bibs will fit the bill, but be really careful that whatever product you choose can:
- Be easily wiped clean with water (water-proof)
- Be washed in the dishwasher
- Or be washed in the washing machine
The key thing to look out for is whether there are annoying nooks and crannies that get food stuck in them, which can lead to a musty odor over time despite cleaning.
Now let’s take a look at my favorite silicone bib sets for babies!
Best budget set: PandaEar Silicone Bibs
Overview: This is a great and super-affordable silicone bib set to get started with.
The bibs are soft to the touch, made from waterproof and stain-proof BPA-free silicone.
They’re easy to wash, and have one of the widest front openings (to catch food) on the market.
You’ll find them in 3 different sets of colors including Blue/Lime, Light Blue/Purple, and Pink/Yellow.
Material: Silicone
Weight: 4.2oz
Colors Available: 3 sets of 2
Why I Like It: I love the price point of these bibs. Trust me, you’ll have plenty of things to buy for a newborn baby, the last thing you want to drop a ton of cash on is a handful of bibs.
The reviews are almost completely positive for this set.
The silicone is soft to the touch, gentle on a baby or a toddler, and extremely lightweight at only 4 ounces or so.
The bibs have also been specially manufactured to eliminate the nasty silicone odor you sometimes get with competitor bibs.
The front pocket or food catcher is really wide and open to save your house and baby from messes, plus has just enough stiffness to avoid flopping over under the weight of falling food!
Potential Drawbacks: These might not hold up great over time, especially as your baby starts to pull and tug at the neck strap. They are a budget option, after all.
Even if the bib doesn’t rip at the neck, lots of parents report that older babies can pretty easily yank these off.
Get the latest price & read real user reviews of the PandaEar bibs on Amazon.
Best mid-range set: Happy Healthy Parent Silicone Bibs
Overview: As far as I’ve been able to tell, there is VERY little difference between these Happy Healthy Parent bibs and the PandaEar bibs above.
They’re made of an extremely similar grade of silicone, feature a nearly-identical design, and function in pretty much the same way.
The Happy Healthy Parent option is a little bit more expensive, seemingly because there are fewer reports of the fasteners ripping after extended use (though there are still a few complaints).
Happy Healthy Parent offers a lifetime money back guarantee, so you really don’t have much to risk in trying these out.
Material: Silicone
Weight: 5oz
Colors Available: 3 sets of 2
Why I Like It: The soft silicone is really, really gentle for babies. And the other great thing about the flexible material is that, despite how big and bulky these look in pictures, these bibs roll up quite easily for traveling or for days out of the house.
They’re incredibly easy to wash. Just wipe them down after use and they’ll dry in a heartbeat — they’ll be ready to use again in no time. For a more thorough wash, just throw them in the dishwasher and you’re done!
These silicone bibs also hold up amazingly well to stains. Throw marinara sauce, ketchup, juice, and whatever else you can think of on them, and it’s pretty much guaranteed to rinse right off without leaving a mark.
Potential Drawbacks: It’s unclear if these are a substantially better value than a less expensive version like the PandaEar bibs above.
Both have rave reviews, so I’d make a judgment call based on reading more user reviews and which colors you prefer.
Get the latest price & read real user reviews of the Happy Healthy Parent bibs on Amazon.
Best high-end set: OXO Tot Silicone/Fabric Bibs
Overview: If you’re looking for a solution to the problem of silicone bibs ripping at the neckline, you should definitely check out this silicone/fabric hybrid from OXO Tot.
You get the best of both worlds here, with a wide, sturdy front pocket for catching food, and a soft but durable fabric and velcro neck closure.
The all-silicone bibs above roll up really well for travel, but the OXO Tots lay even flatter, making them an awesome option for longer-term travel when you really can’t afford to take up a lot of space bringing bibs.
They’re the most expensive option on this list, but perfect if you haven’t had great luck with pure silicone bibs in the past or if the silicone irritates your baby’s neckline.
Material: Silicone & stain-resistant fabric
Weight: 3.6oz
Colors Available: 3 sets of 2 (all include gray)
Why I Like It: I think these are a really cool hybrid design, and I like that you get to have your cake and it, too.
Like any good silicone bib, you’ll find the front pocket stays open nice and wide during meals to catch any and all falling debris.
The velcro fastener at the top gives you lots of room to adjust for baby’s growing neck. You’ll also find that the fabric fit here wraps tighter around the collar of your baby’s shirt and protects it a little better than silicone counterparts.
These bibs roll super flat thanks to the fabric at the top, and come with a little button to “snap” them shut. That’s a great feature for stowing away a messy bib after a meal out at a restaurant without making a mess inside your diaper bag.
Potential Drawbacks: More color options would be nice. Technically there are 5 colors available, but all of the sets include a gray bib, with the other sets including either an aqua, pink, or a teal one.
The big drawback here is that these are best washed in the washing machine, the way you would clean a cloth bib or some clothes.
That’s a little bit more involved than throwing them in the dishwasher, in my opinion, although you won’t need to do it often — most of the time, these will do just fine with a quick wipe down or rinse in the sink.
Get the latest price & read real user reviews of the OXO Tot bibs on Amazon.
Wrapping Up
When baby arrives, you’ll need a ton of cloth bibs to get you started, but eventually, you’ll want to have a few heavier-duty silicone bibs to combat bigger messes.
They come at a heftier price, but honestly, it seems that the budget options are just as good in most cases as the more expensive counterparts.
For my money, I’d give the budget-friendly PandaEar silicone bibs (Amazon link) a try to see how I like them before moving on to higher-priced competitors.
If your baby’s skin doesn’t agree with silicone, the hybrid OXO Tot bibs (Amazon link) are absolutely the way to go.
Hope this helps, parents!