How do I train an unbelievably messy eater - 18 months.

[Hanoigal]

My 18 month old is a good eater. He can be fussy sometimes but mostly eats well. He feeds himself a good proportion of his food - I try to leave him to it then weigh in at the end to top him up, or if for some reason he is too lazy to do it! But he is so messy. He empties his bowl onto his tray every time, plays with the food, drops it on the floor etc. Should he be better at his age?? A friend's child (the only one I know at the same age) is much neater. We have tried ignoring, saying no, praising good behaviour etc. He has been self-feeding to some extent for about 8 months now, and we are so sick of tidying up a horrible gooey mess three times a day. I am very grateful he eats well so am trying to let him at it. But it is so gross. Any tips anybody?

yes, leave him to it. he is a baby, he is going to make a mess.

check a sheet or towel under his chair, shake it off, put it in the washer.

get an easy to clean highchair.

and a big stack of flannels.

i'm about to let dd4 (17months) have fun with her porriage. other dd's are placing bets on whether or not she will need a bath this morning or just a wash.

Yes. Leave him at it.

DD2 (17 months) is at the same stage.

She even feeds herself soup (not actually recommending that one though)

It is a stage in their development.

I can keep dd2 happy for ages with a bowl, a spoon and a small scoop of icecream followed by the very necessary bath.

{waves to misdee. how are things? haven't seen you around lately and I don't seem to get to the Nov '08 board much these days}

agree with misdee, leave him to it
he will not still be eating like that by the time he goes to school (hopefully)
children learn by what they see, so just make sure that he sees you eating and he will model your behaviour

Thanks all. Will just keep scraping congealed porridge off the tiles then. Had a faint hope there was a magic solution I was missing but clearly not . One more question - how much should I help him? After I have given him a good run at the food, if he seems finished, I step in and spoonfeed to make sure he eats enough. Am I making him lazy? Can't bear to see him leave loads of food (and only eat a few bites often) that I know he would eat if I feed him, but maybe its not the best long-term strategy.

1. stick a plastic sheet under his chair / highchair (you can get them in B&Q or buy one of those wipable tablecloths)

1. Don't top him up - his body is determinging how much he eats so let it - you're just making him eat once his body says enough

Another thing you could use to stick under the highchair is an offcut of lino.
Oh yeah and I wouldn't feed him. If he's leaving loads, give him less to start with, then you can always give him 2nds if he's still hungry, or bung the unmauled leftovers in the freezer for another day.

FWIW my nearly7 yr old and 9 year old still make a bloody mess too

One thing you could try (no guarantee it'll work, but I seem to recall it helped with my DS) is to take the tray off the high chair, put the high chair up to a table, and eat at the table with him. He might be so enthralled by being 'big' that he forgets to tip his food out.

OTOH you may end up with his dinner all over the dining table instead...
In which case a wipeable tablecloth is helpful.

Thanks again. I do find it very hard to leave him be when he has eaten very little, and when I know he will eat more if I feed him. He shakes his head when he is finished and I stop then. But I know I should really just leave him to it. Not easy for me. Thanks for all your comments. By the way - what is this 'tablecloth' thing that you speak of, whydobirdsetc??

I've got some of this tablecloth, bought it by the meter off a big roll in Dunelm Mill.

www.dunelm-mill.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product1_11100_-1_54004_10551

Hope this works

www.dunelm-mill.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product1_11100_-1_54004_10551

Newspaper under highchair is good. Then you can just throw it and the mess away.

pippop you might just have saved my life! why on earth did I not think of that (DD, 15mo, penchant for chucking food overboard)? I hate cleaning up masticated, cold food with a passion that borders on phobic.

My pleasure. Who wants to wipe plastic!