Baby making a mess with food in cafes - is it ok?

[Squirrel81]

DC is 11 months old and majority of time when I am weaning he wants to feed himself via BLW.

When DH and I go out at weekends we have 3 hour window including travel time as DC does not sleep out or in the car - only at home.

As such, giving him lunch before we leave doesn’t give us enough time so we tend to go and get a coffee and feed him there.

Problem is, due to BLW he makes a lot of mess on the floor. I tend to give him something like pasta and some pieces of fruit/tomato along side it (but obviously varies).

First few times I would get on my hands and knees and clean up the floor after he ate but cafe floors are pretty dismal and a couple of times I’ve been told by the waiter don’t worry they will clean it up but only in very select cafes.

Question is, is it socially acceptable to leave cafe having made a mess feeding baby? I don’t want to be rude or inconsiderate. Thoughts & tips?

No it’s not on, even more so given you aren’t actually buying the baby’s food at the cafe!

We always tidied up after ourselves if DC made a big mess when out, and that included getting on the floor and sweeping up all the food.

It’s just rude otherwise.

I think it’s OK if you’re buying food there. Although I would try to clear most of it up. I do think bringing your own food to a cafe isn’t on though.

You should clean it up IMO.

Really even though it is bringing food just for baby? Because he’s only 11 months I don’t trust buying him food there due to potential salt content or other unknown ingredients.

I don’t think you should be doing that is my honest opinion.

Nope, not Ok. I would pack one of those mini dustpan and brushes, if you know it’s going to be messy, plus some wipes for the floor and table. Those scoop shaped bibs are good for BLW because they catch most of the bits.

If I took my grandchild to a cafe for lunch first I would only feed them food bought in the cafe, or would at least make sure I’ve bought food for myself there, not just a coffee. Second, if they started throwing the food on the floor, I’d take it out of their reach and feed them myself whilst letting them have a small bit of food on their tray. Finally, I would always clean up the table, floor and high chair if they had made a mess. BLW does not = decorating public places with smushed up food.

Whether it’s their food or not, it’s pretty rude and entitled to leave a big mess behind for someone else to tidy up.

I think fine to bring baby food if you’re buying something yourself, trying to chose things that aren’t super messy, then do clean up - if they really insist they will do it and won’t give you a dustpan and brush then leave a big tip on the table too!

Ooh mini dustpan and brush is a great idea I will invest!!

So just clean it up yourself with a wipe?

You need to clean up after yourself. Bring a small brush/dustpan, or bring one of these big bibs that cover child and chair, with a rim. And leave a generous tip.

No it’s not ok , you should be cleaning up after your child . I also don’t think it’s on to just buy drinks and then feed your child something from home , you should at least be buying food for yourselves .

My kids are older now but I always made the best effort to clear up when they were in high chairs. I didn’t carry a dustpan and brush around but I always tidied what I could. We were in the Ikea cafe once and one of the staff thanked me for tidying up and said most people don’t. When I’m out with my kids now I always insist we tidy the table etc and clear up messes.

I can't believe you think it's OK to pay a few quid for a couple of coffees, so you can give your child food from elsewhere and make a mess the staff have to clean up.

It might be convenient and cheap for you, but it's a pain in the arse for the staff and not financially worth it either.

Also I’ve noticed Ikea sells really small dustpan and brushes now which could fit in a changing bag.

Of course you should clear it up. I can't believe you are even asking tbh.

Yes noted 🙈 to be fair a lot of the time we do buy lunch out too.

I only started questioning this when a couple of cafes recently told me not to clean up. I am not an inconsiderate person just to clarify!

I think taking food your own food for the baby is normally fine although usually if you are eating too and not just having a coffee, but you really do have to clear up properly after yourselves.

The super messy stage doesn't last long.

I think the only thing acceptable to feed from outside is a baby food pouch when they’re very little. I wouldn’t never bring my own pasta!! Just order off the menu don’t stress a tiny bit of extra salt in the restaurant pasta sauce, or in the scrambled eggs or whatever. It’s one meal. They will be fine. And then yes clean up the mess with a wet wipe.

I think it dephow you handle it. For example when we do similar (dc now a toddler) dc would wear one of those catch all silicone bibs (refuses now ) and we would do a mix of something bought from restaurant/cafe and bring a few bits as well. And we would buy and tip well.

Wipes for the table and high chair - always
Catch, pick up the bits we can from the floor. But this is minimal if using high hair correctly placed. It takes less than 3 mins to wipe down and pick up anything.

As for salt content.

Less than 1 = max up to a gram
1 -3 yrs = no more than 2grams
4-6 yrs = no more than 3 grams

A Tiny bit of croissant, bread and butter, etc won't harm baby. And often they will have veg sticks or fruit salad available.

We don't want to take the piss and know that hospitality is suffering so would rather spend a bit to show good will and that we enjoy the service and luxury while working out what's best for our kids. It's a balance.

It is fine to feed babies food you buy in cafes and restaurants. In many cases better than food that’s been sat in a Tupperware in your bag for a while.

You should tidy up after yourselves as much as is reasonable.

At 11 months all babies should be more than capable of eating finger foods and feeding themselves and it’s nothing to do with BLW (don’t give it a bad rep!)

3 hour leash to the house is not good for parents or children and unsustainable- I sympathise as my youngest DC never slept but living your life never able to have a day out or without any spontaneity is absolutely life draining. Adding yourself a 3 hour leash (there and back) and not feeding your child food from professional inspected food businesses is hugely limiting and if that continues you’ll never be able to go anywhere (and nor will your child/ren)

I always just scoop up the worst of it with a wipe/tissue, I'll often ask if I can borrow a dustpan to clean up the remainder, normally its met with a 'don't worry, we'll sort that' but at least I haven't just abandoned it.

I’ve seen people get up and walk off leaving an appalling mess behind.
I totally judge them.
I never left a mess behind if my DC made any.