BLW and eating out

[NaToth]

SGM here, wondering if I am being unreasonable. After all, I haven't weaned a baby since 1989. Please don't flame me, I'm just trying to understand.

DSGC is sixteen months. Since they were about eight months and able to sit independently, DSD has been doing BLW. DSGC doesn't seem to actually eat much, although they are also still being BF in the day and through the night. Almost everything offered gets thrown, not just dropped, on the floor, often landing some distance away.

At home, this is fine, as it goes. I just put newspaper on the floor and that catches most of it and makes it easy to clear up. However, because of family circumstances we eat out quite a lot.

DSD is not embarrassed at all by the mess left on floors in pubs and restaurants and never makes any move to even offer to help clear it up. DH and I are both uncomfortable about it. It seems to us to be disrespectful to the staff. Are we out out of step?

Is this usual? What do you do about this? Is the throwing food thing just a phase that they will grow out of? We're due to go out for dinner at the weekend and I just know the same thing will happen again.

Thank you.

My 14 month old deliberately drops and throws food - it is normal and from what I've read generally a phase... god, I hope so anyway - obviously we're trying to teach her not to do it. In the meantime when we've been out to eat we've absolutely cleaned up around us. I find it weird that people could just walk away from a mess like that without even offering.

And I wouldn't say BLW is a pretentious way of saying weaning. It is different than traditional weaning. If you're spoon feeding purées to a baby, it's generally less messy than putting a plate of food in front of them and letting them go for it. At toddler age though I agree it's not really much different.

I used to put one of those big swaddling muslins under the highchair if I could. It usually caught anything falling.
Anything it didn't I would tidy up myself. It's just manners.

Omg you really should clear up after your kids. A couple of bits is one thing, but if it's a full on BLW mess, the parents need to do some clearing up

We do BLW with DS (8 months) and love eating out. Depending on where, he'll either have something from our plates or his own meal.

We bring a catch-all bib (we use a Bibado) which makes clean up a lot easier and quicker (just shove it in a plastic bag and wash it at home) and some wet wipes and clean whatever he's dropped on the floor once he's done.

@hernamewas

I do blw weaning with mine and she is 18months and still makes a a huge mess.

I don't clean it up no. It occurred to me the other day because of a post on here maybe I should. I suggested it to my mum when we are out and my dc made a huge mess. Mum looked at me like I was crazy.

If you dropped your plate at a restaurant would you clean it up?

i absolutely would yes.

@Abouttimemum

Good lord yes, it’s not unusual for kids to throw / drop food but absolutely it should be cleaned up! we always clean up after DS aged 2 even though most of it goes in his mouth now. Still like a little wipe round. It’s basic respect.

I also hate seeing families leave pubs and restaurants with food all over the floor, around the table etc. It’s awful.

We are that family blushes

It's been ages former too but we always ate out and just picked up bits off the floor. I had a friend who took a plastic mat or sheet or something and put it under the high chair. Then folded it up and took it home to clean up there.

I wouldn't expect waiting staff to clean up food dropped by my dc.

I did BLW. I wouldn't take a child out to eat if I couldn't stop them throwing food. So child on lap and closely supervised or not at all until they are past that phase. Dropping food accidentally is different as it is only directly under them, though I would still clean it up.

@hernamewas

I do blw weaning with mine and she is 18months and still makes a a huge mess.

I don't clean it up no. It occurred to me the other day because of a post on here maybe I should. I suggested it to my mum when we are out and my dc made a huge mess. Mum looked at me like I was crazy.

If you dropped your plate at a restaurant would you clean it up?

@hernamewas Yes I would Same as when my 6 month old daughter makes a mess when we're out, I wipe down the high chair, table and anywhere else she's made a mess. Its quite rude not to.