Starting finger foods is a major milestone for you and your little one, whether you’re doing baby-led weaning or a more traditional feeding approach. It can also be a little frustrating (for all parties involved), because, well, grasping pieces of food takes practice!

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Happily, there’s a $9 gadget guaranteed to make mealtimes a little smoother. The First Years Finger Foods Placemat is a simple placemat with a grooved surface designed to keep pieces of food from sliding around, so they’re easier for your growing gourmand to grab. 

If you’re looking for the tl;dr version of this story, we can sum it with up a snippet from one super enthusiastic Amazon review: “EVERY TODDLER LEARNING TO FEED THEMSELVES NEEDS ONE!” one mom wrote.

Want to learn a little more? The First Years Finger Foods Placemat is made of food-grade silicone, stays put on your child’s high chair tray (or the table) and can go right in the top rack of the dishwasher. In other words, there are no downsides. No wonder it’s racked up a 4.6 out of 5 star rating on Amazon and has caused a minor frenzy on TikTok.

Could you go without it and simply roll food pieces in baby cereal, use a crinkle cutter or leave bits of skin or peel hanging on to make your mini muncher’s morsels more manageable? Sure. But hey, why bother if you don’t have to? “This is one of those baby items that you think you don’t need [but] trust me, makes life sooo much easier!” one reviewer wrote. “My daughter is learning to pick up her foods on her own but usually it just ends in her pushing it to the edge of the tray then onto the floor and the dog eats it lol.” This mat is starting to sound better and better.

Parents of baby-led weaners report using the placemat with babies as young as 6 months. But it’s just as helpful for older babies who are working on picking up tiny pieces with their pointer fingers and thumbs. “Definitely helps with the pincers grasp! Slippery bananas and berries stay on mat instead of all over the tray and on the floor,” wrote one mom.

And if your sweetie seems a little reluctant to try a food, the mat’s eye-catching design just might give her the nudge she needs. One reviewer reported, “Before getting this product I would put the food on the tray and he wouldn’t even notice it, since having the tray he’s more intrigued on what’s going on and where the food is going and he’s very curious as to what those little ridges are. So genius!!!”

What if your tot is feeling curious and decides to toss the whole placemat — food and all — onto the floor? Whoever designed this was obviously a parent, and they thought of that. The underside of the mat attaches to the high chair tray with sturdy suction cups that reviewers say little eaters can’t rip off. “I bought this for my 10 month old who had a hard time grabbing his food on just the high chair tray and would throw any dish I put in front of him” wrote one reviewer. “This works great and allows him to easily pick food up.”

Like we said: No downsides. 

See now: Starting at $8.59 at Amazon.com, Target.com and BuyBuyBaby.com