So when does the mess at mealtimes stop?????

[ceebeegeebies]

DS is 15 months and he is still making a complete mess at mealtimes (food all over him, in his hair, rubbed into the table, on the floor etc) - am I naive to have thought that by this age, there would be less mess?

If anything, DS seems to have got worse - he has now decided eating his food (including porridge and other sloppy stuff) with his hands is a great idea (he will not be fed now and wants to do it all himself - he is fine with a spoon as long as we put the food on it but leave it in the bowl for him).

Tbh, the mess doesn't bother me and I am very relaxed about it but the constant cleaning and wiping is really starting to get on my nerves (being the lazybones that I am) .

At what age do children eat with cutlery properly and not feel the urge to rub the food in every orifice (apart from their mouths?)

[notnowbernard]

Er.. it doesn't.

The sweeping of floor and wiping of surfaces 3 times every effing day is the bane of by life at the moment.

[dylanandellie]

Well......my son is 27 months and still makes plenty of mess, mostly if he finishes before we do and has food left. He will then be silly with it (just as you describe!!!) 'til we take it away! It seems to be linked with getting our attention-he has been known to flick his food and loves to wipe gravy, icecream, etc. over the table - grrrr! This is only at home tho - perfect at restaurants, friends and family's houses!

[AitchTwoOh]

is it a boy thing, maybe? dd (22m) has been really neat and tidy for the last 6 months or so, and uses cutlery pretty well. have you tried him with metal cutlery rather than plastic? a wee metal fork was the breakthrough for us.

[milward]

never!! - have big kids & little ones - they all make a mess in different ways - ahhh!!!