What do you cover your carpet with when you have toddlers who drop food on it?

[Lockdowners]

Dining room has a carpet. We will get it replaced one day but can’t afford to right now. The kids just manage to drop food all over the floor and it mushes into the carpet. Is there a large (as in large enough to cover most of the floor) wipeable rug/mat thing I can buy that would not cost more than £150 and would actually not look awful? What are my options here?

Could you buy a large piece of oil cloth?

Put a cheap shower curtain down for meal times, pick it up when finished.

Ikea do floor protectors for chairs with wheels. Hard, wipeable plastic. I'd get one of them.

Shower curtain then remove, shake outside, wipe down when meals are done and put away.

We had a Fisher price mat from amazon. Used it during weaning etc and also for art play.

Definitely a shower curtain, worked perfectly under a high chair

Yes, ITA with pp - a shower curtain!

Most playgroups I've been to use the interlocking puzzle type foam mats, so they are definitely wipeable. They look OK enough you could leave them down rather than have to pick them up after every meal. A quick look on Amazon suggests they are cheap, e.g. www.amazon.co.uk/Assemblemat%C2%AE-Children-storage-Multicolour-Interlocking/dp/B077NS2WMY/ref=sr_1_15?hvlocphy=1006579&hvnetw=g&keywords=kids+floor+foam+mat&hvadid=435644361522&qid=1595268491&dchild=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItqL8mrbc6gIVUe3tCh022QLrEAAYAiAAEgKUkvD_BwE&hydadcr=2559_1760276&hvdev=m&hvqmt=e&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=kwd-400990470656&adgrpid=104993999407&hvrand=16628082058469054325&sr=8-15 .

No food away from the table or take up the carpet and tile (and get a dog!)

Wipeable oilcloth or similar under a highchair makes sense but would be hard to do for the whole room. How many kids, how old, in highchairs or sat at the table?

I wonder about a thin washable rug or tablecloth on the floor that you can take up and machine wash regularly. Might be less hassle than trying to wipe down a room sized mat.

Get something like a bissel vacuum and wash for hard floors and carpet (mainly rugs but could do an area around kids messes).

I use IKEA play mats under their tables. Look cute but can be hoovered and go in the washing machine
www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/storabo-rug-green-70356822/

Jojo maman do wipe clean mats which are machine washable. I use one under my son’s high chair - wipe it down daily with a damp cloth to get the crumbs off and then machine wash every week or two. Looks good as new after almost 2 years.

You can actually get plastic floor protectors from the poundshop.

Or buy a plastic table cloth, you can buy off the roll from dunelm.

We just had dogs

Yes we use a wipe clean and washable
High hair mat. The brand we bought was Matly - but there are a few out there.

Yes we use a wipe clean and washable
High hair mat. The brand we bought was Matly - but there are a few out there.

Plastic table cloth, think it was about £5 from B&M.

newspaper?

Another vote for dogs, if you splash out on a larger model they can do furniture and toy kitchens too. Alternatively one of those plastic tablecloths for children's parties under the table at mealtimes.

Shake n vac worked for me

Get a dog. Food won't get with a foot of the floor.