I am not familiar with Crate and Barrel's aspen plates. However, I strongly advise against Corelle, especially with children. Corelle is not made well the way it used to be, and even worse, when it breaks, it breaks into a million razor-sharp shards. I have experienced this at a friend's house and it is extremely dangerous. I am not exaggerating on this.

I recommend Ikea's 365+ plates. I have these, and can attest to their durability. And they are so inexpensive that you will be scratching your head over how it's possible to offer this quality for that price. Made of feldspar porcelain (which is awesome), microwaveable, and the 365+ dishes load in the dishwasher great (some dishes are too curved or too thick to load easily in the dishwasher, or they take up a lot of room in the DW). I mean, $35 for a set of 18 pieces! That's 6 dinner plates, 6 lunch plates and 6 cereal/salad/dessert bowls. Buy two--or three--sets for your large family and you are done. The Ikea 365+ dinnerware also has pieces sold individually, not in the set.

Ikea 365+ dinnerware 18-piece set

Ikea 365+ dinnerware sold individually

While we are at it - Ikea Pokal Glasses - they don't tip over and are very hard to break!

There's some discussion about the buyout of Corning (which made Corelle) in 1998 on the Appliance forum under the Wolf lawsuit thread. It's actually about Pyrex, but the issues are apparently the same. They're not made from the same materials they used to be made from.

Not Corelle. Those shards are sliver-y dangerous. Heaven forbid they shatter and get a little one in the eye. Seriously. We have some for our big family, they're lightweight and easy to wash, but they are downright frightening when they break, and it seems like the more times through the DW the more fragile they become. Eventually the edges are worn away in the dw, too. No. Just no.

For Christmas, I bought each child their choice of a colored set of Fiesta dishes when they were on sale for something like 40% off at Macy's. They are heavy, but so fun to use. We've started plating meals in the kitchen rather than passing around serving dishes, and it's super easy to do appropriate proportions and put the plates at people's spots because of the color coding. (Helps us to know who forgot to clear their spot after a meal, too! ; )) The kids love their dishes. : )

I did have one plate break this week when my son dropped a stack that he didn't have a good grip on when he pulled them out of the dw. : ( It broke into mostly large chunks with just a few "crumbs" of pottery. If you decide to go this route, check the glazing carefully when you get them. I exchanged some pieces because of flawed glazing. Wasn't expecting that.

If we had an Ikea close by, I'd be replacing my Corelle with those dishes above. Can anyone say if they show gray fork marks that some plates are prone to?

For drinks, I broke down and bought stackable cups like these ones that restaurants and dining halls use: Cups at Amazon. We used to use glass pint canning jars, but they are a space hog, and will still sometimes break. I've had a couple of the plastic ones "die" (one accidentally got stopped on...) but mostly, they've held up great. And a cracked plastic cup is a whole lot easier to clean up that shards of glass.

Agree about avoiding the Corelle. Also agree about the 365+ dishes for a large family. The last time I was in Ikea, hangin' out in the kitchenwares section (so fun!), I saw people loading their carts with several of those sets at a time (the 18 dishes are all wrapped together with a sort of cardboard handle at the top).

I agree with the poster above that Fiesta dishes are wonderful, but...I have Fiesta dessert bowls and love them, but would not recommend Fiesta for a family of 7 children. Fiesta dishes are very thick. When I put the bowls in the DW, I have to load them awkwardly over every other tine. It's the reason I have just a set of Fiesta bowls only and not more. If I had Fiesta dishes for a meal for 7 kids, and tried to fit them all in the DW, I think I'd have to run two loads.

Agree about the Pokal glasses - I've seen that style in every diner in the world I think, because they are sturdy. They stack well too. Love glasses that stack!

We bought IKEA FARGRIK white dinnerware set (Bowls, salad plate, dinner plate) and extra large separate bowls for soup or pasta. I've had them since 2013 when our kitchen remodel was finished. They are stoneware and very solid feeling. I chose them because I liked that the dinner plates and salad plates are completely smooth and only raise at the edge. I wanted a large food serving area. I think the IKEA 365+, made of feldspar porcelain would hold up better, but since it's just my DH and I, we could be careful. Unfortunately, I have chipped a salad plate and it shows the off white stoneware interior. I bought a replacement salad plate to replace the chipped one. They are VERY reasonable in price if you have to replace one. An 18 peice set (set for 6) is only $18.00! Can't beat that! You can buy the extra pieces that you want in open stock for super great prices. If you don't want white, they come in some pretty great colors too. So far I am very happy with them and we use them every day for every meal. They also stack nicely within each other. I store them in the cupboard in a couple of two tier vinyl coated wire racks. Some of them have very, very, very faint grey cutlery marks on them, but I have some Pfaltzgraff cutlery mark cleaner that use on them and the marks come right off. I think I bought it years ago at Macy's.

FARGRIK Ikea dinnerware

I have the FARGRIK ones. They are very good, though I do have some chipped plates. They've taken quite a lot of abuse. The two dishes that fell out of the back of the van onto pavement, well, those ones didn't quite make it but I think they only broke in two/three pieces. These ones do get the fork marks, but I'm sure if I hand washed them they would come out. The bowls are easier to fit in my dishwasher, compared to some others I have. You can't beat the price, for sure.

i know this is not on your list, but i have the lenox "butterfly meadow" and they are awesome. i have been using them for over 10 years and not one has broken. over those 10 years and counting, my children were young tweens, so needless to say they were rough with them. no chips, gray silverware marks, still look brand new. i got mine at the lenox outlet for a great price. you can also get them at HOme Goods.

Just for clarity, the Ikea Fargrik is stoneware as has been noted. The Ikea 365+ is feldspar porcelain. Stoneware is heavier, thicker, and chips more easily than feldspar porcelain.

I checked out the OP's suggestion of Crate & Barrel Aspen on their website. It looks very nice from the website. I guess I'd have to see it IRL to see if it is better than the 365+ to justify the cost difference.

I like dishes with rims because it keeps things with gravy or sauces from sloshing off the plate.

I'm looking to replace my dinnerware, too. Four kids = lots of broken dishes. I bought the IKEA 365 a couple of years ago as a temporary option. For me, I'm particular about color, and the white has very blue undertones. Too stark for my kitchen.

Has anyone used Williams Sonoma's Open Kitchen bistro dinnerware?

I bought restaurant china about seven years ago at a restaurant supply store. I had to buy in cases so I have a ton, but it was still cheaper than buying a similar looking 8 piece set from Williams Sonoma. They have held up extremely well. I'm not sure but I don't think we have broken any. No chips for sure.

We have had Corelle for 8 years with no issues - until we installed soapstone counters recently. A small plate shattered in slivers almost too small to see. I don't remember anything like it from the Corelle I grew up with. Swept another piece from under the range with a cat toy this week after multiple rounds of sweeping and vacuuming. I am not replacing it yet but wouldn't buy it again. Obviously any dish will break on a hit with stone counters but it is the millions of fine slivers that concern me.

We were at a restaurant that had lovely plain white dishes. When I finished eating, I tipped up the plate to look for a mark. Crate and Barrel. If it can stand up to restaurant use, it must be good.

Here is another suggestion from Crate and Barrel -- I love our white porcelain "Cafeware II". Looks like restaurant dishes and no sign of wear after 12 1/2 years of daily use.

I guess I am the odd man out -- I will only use Corelle. Yes, it can shatter, but I have only lost 6 pieces in 37 years. I love their new coffee mugs -- just ordered a dozen red ones. They don't chip like my german "H" brand did.

I have more trouble with glasses breaking on me, stemware always breaking. Stoneware and China also broke up all the time on me, so I swore off it.

I continue to buy Corelle pieces to add to two households worth of dining needs. I have laminate counters, SS sinks, and fumble fingers. I've dropped plenty on the floor. I can also store 16 place settings in one 18" upper cabinet (dinner plates, berry bowls, cereal bowls, pasta dishes, luncheon plates, dessert plates. I also use it exclusively for storing leftovers in the fridge. No plastics needed - just slip a plate over a bowl and you can store it, then pop it in the microwave, then serve.

Thanks so much for all who have chimed in on Corelle. I have a few old plates and bowls I still use, but sure wouldn't buy anymore! Who knew?

Bed Bath & Beyond has inexpensive plain white bone china in sets of four. Bone china is quite strong (never had a chip) and goes in the DW. That's what I use daily and would not hesitate to use it with small children. The grands visit often so it's been tested by busy little fingers.

Even the old Corelle would shatter into slivers. I can remember mom and I staring in disbelief when one shattered. The pieces kept popping like Mexican jumping beans and we were left with a mess. This was over 40 years ago.

I like some of the ideas posted above. I was just reading my DW manual - not even sure why. I saw something interesting. They recommend allowing plates to cool to avoid chipping. That being said - I usually don't and have not chipped my Villeroy and Boch porcelain in 2O years. (Knock on wood). DH broke one 6 inch bowl. I use them for e ymy everyday dishes but cost would keep me from using with kids on a regular basis. The key is porcelain is stronger than pottery

I also have WS pantry. It is heavy. What is nice is it is oven safe and was reasonably priced. I only have 6 servings. I use it in my speed oven all of the time

More recently I bought 24 serving of World Market. It is less expensive and lighter but can't tell you how it will hold up. I got tired of buying paper plates for parties and decided the return on investment was worth it. Also guests are less likely to spill or drop a plate of food.

Just avoid earthenware - when a2gemini says porcelain is stronger than pottery, I might add that of pottery types, stoneware is "stronger" (more resistant to chipping) than earthenware.