[mshah]

I know letting them learn to feed themselves and get all messy is supposed to be important in their learning, but it just adds something else for me to clean, when my time is already minimal. I'd rather not let him grab the spoon, or feed himself little pieces of banana so he stays clean and he's fed and I'm done with it so I can move on to the next chore.

Do any of you have tips for letting them work on this without having to spend an hour cleaning up afterwards? If I do it, I have to clean the bib, put his clothes in the washer (because let's face it, even with the huge bib food still gets all over the clothes), wash the high chair, wash the floor, wash his hands and face and hair and ears....

Is it really worth it? Cant they learn these skills in other ways?!

[Irish_Wristwatch]

do you have a splat mat? or even putting a garbage bag under his highchair can help with keeping the mess off the floor. We let Ross feed himself, he wont let anyone feed him, we remove all clothes except for the diaper so no clothes or bibs to worry about. Usually we let him have table food at dinner so after that its bath time anyways, also we dont use plates or utensils, food goes right on the tray and he uses his fingers

Ross is a slob when he eats but he loves it so i dont mind cleaning it up here he is enjoying his lasagna


im not really sure if there is a less messy way to learn, i suppose you could avoid messy foods and stick to things like cherios or puffs for a while

[mshah]

I had considered those. Im just not keen on giving any food yet that isnt found naturally. I'm making all of the food myself and it's all organic, so basically everything along those lines is messy!!!

[Irish_Wristwatch]

have you tried fruit slices? Ross really enjoys apple slices as well as oranges. Fruit wont be to messy, he might get a little sticky but not as bad as other things

[Luvgreen19]

Originally Posted by mshah

I had considered those. Im just not keen on giving any food yet that isnt found naturally. I'm making all of the food myself and it's all organic, so basically everything along those lines is messy!!!

I know you probably want to make everything yourself, but I do know there are some organic food lines out there that make puffs or similar. Might be something to try as an occasional treat?

[mshah]

I may try some apple slices. He doesn't like them pureed, but maybe pieces he would like. He seems to enjoy grapes in the mesh teether.

[I<3HelloKitty]

I just wanted to comment that it really is important to let them feed themselves to learn. When I taught Head Start, I had a 5 year old who didn't know how to feed himself still because mom didn't want to deal with the mess. I know that was a really extreme case though. That said, a lot of days, I only let Ellie feed herself at dinner so that I can put her right in the bath afterwards and a lot of times, we strip her down to her diaper before she eats.

[mommydiva]

I stripe Rosie down to her diaper and let her go to town every other night at this point since right after she gets her bath then.
The mess on the floor I'm not to worried about at this point since we do have a dog and well she is right there anyways eating it as it falls. As we do it more often she will be in her high chair and I think it will still be the messiest meal at night before her bath. When we go out to places I give her either puffs or hunks of fruit to suck on or just feed her myself.
here is a pic right after she got done eating.

[mshah]

wow, i guess it's normal, then lol! i suppose i'll start stripping him down to his diaper. his bath is always after the evening meal so i'll let him self feed then.

[hilachu]

im the same exact way
i dont think hes fed himself yet
except for that thing you put fruit and whatnot in and he can suck on it and get it through the mesh
hes not really into regular food
makes him gag

[inyourhonor]

You want to know the best trick for letting them learn to feed themselves and eliminate a mess?

Feed them in the tub. Seriously. I clean it, dry it and then stick them in it and let them go to town. When they're done, I de-diaper them and bam already in the tub for a bath.

I was such a stuck up when it came to my first and messes. I had to learn to let my guard down, seriously. Kids make messes, I had to learn to embrace food messes or even painting. Once I had a friend tell me of this it made it soooo much easier.

[TeresaSuperMama]

Originally Posted by mommydiva

I stripe Rosie down to her diaper and let her go to town every other night at this point since right after she gets her bath then.
The mess on the floor I'm not to worried about at this point since we do have a dog and well she is right there anyways eating it as it falls. As we do it more often she will be in her high chair and I think it will still be the messiest meal at night before her bath. When we go out to places I give her either puffs or hunks of fruit to suck on or just feed her myself.
here is a pic right after she got done eating.

That is exactly what we do. If it's messy food we strip down to the diaper and do it once a day around bath time. Shoot Natalie takes a bath with me and then we kill two birds with one stone. I'm all about being efficient.

[Trish36]

I hate baby messes and I try to keep them to a minimum. I do let her feed herself, but usually only the dry stuff, like bread, cheerios, eggs, noodles. Until they are older and can sort of use a spoon. Obviously I encourage my kids once they reach a certain age to feed themselves with a spoon or fork. I so dislike food in the hair and all over their bodies and all over my kitchen.
What I do is when I'm done feeding Miranda I will give her the spoon to hold with a bit of food on it, so she can lick it off.
Also you can get one of those bibs with the sleeves to save the clothes from getting messed, but you'll still have to wipe down the face/hair/hands.

Oh and Miranda wait until he discovers paint!

[mshah]

OMG feed him in the tub!!! Of course, it's so genius yet simple lol!