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?

I answered yes its ok, in that when you've been told to leave it I think it's ok not to get the bits off the floor. Because they may be not wanting you on the floor for other reasons- maybe the chair pushed back is an obstacle.

But you should absolutely try and minimise the mess as much as possible and clean as much as possible too. We liked the Bibidoo bibs for travelling as it covered the highchair as well and cut down on mess.

At one stage we had an old shower curtain under the high chair at home. Might be easier to shove one in the car and do the same at the cafe? I think I just used a wipe the couple of times food went on the floor and I certainly used one on the high chair afterwards.

I used to buy the plainest sandwich and share with DC at that age.

I went on holiday with my ex and his family and his sister was doing BLW with her little one, and I was mortified everytime we ate out, lovely white tablecloths covered in squished food and sauces, not to mention the mess on the floor.
I always left a huge tip to try and make up for it.

I used to sometimes take food, sometimes buy it (if suitable). But I always would purchase food myself obviously. And I'd clear up what I could, sometimes asking for a dustpan and brush or paper towels. Babies make a mess!

In that type of situation I always bought toast or a tea cake with my coffee and gave baby half (one finger sized piece at a time). Then at most it was crums, which were easy enough to clean up with a baby wipe. Not every meal needs to be fantastic, especially when they're still having milk, and presumably a proper meal when you get home. Pulling out a full pasta meal in a cafe is a bit cheeky, as well as unnecessary messy.

Same!

We are now at 23 months so past the super messy stage and thank god but we always tidy up as best we can and make it as simple as possible.

if you want to but food out and about then jacket potatoes are great in cafes for giving the little one some of. Saying all that my DS eats whatever we have and wouldn’t tolerate his own home brought meal anymore as just wants to be like everyone else so has had all sorts from cafes and restaurants

I always clean up my kids mess if they have made any. I also would buy them something from the cafe to eat.
Only acceptable thing for baby to have in a cafe that's no brought there is breast or formula.
I used to work in a cafe and bringing your own food was not acceptable and we was told to ask people to leave if they brought there own food.
We did sell baby pouches in the cafe and we would blend food for little ones if needed.

I’m not following why you can’t feed him at home? Why is the three hour thing so rigid? Does he need to sleep every 3 hours?

I tidy the table but not the floor.

The larger the mess left, the larger the tip left.

I would not be crawling around on the floor.

Take less messy food. Pasta, presumably with a sauce, is obviously going to leave a mess even if you sweep up.

And yes, still clean up.

I think at his age and for BLW, you really should be buying the food there and definitely clean up (no matter what the staff say). You can always bring a big plastic mat with you to go under his chair.

I used to have a bag of damp cloths especially for cleaning the floors and high chairs etc.

If you leave it, you are both adding to the staff workload and another customer is probably sitting in it. It’s just rude to leave it.

They are only saying that to be polite, they absolutely do not mean it is fine to give your child pasta and then leave it all over the floor. It's incredibly rude. You shouldn't be bringing it, you shouldn't be feeding it, and you shouldn't be leaving a huge mess. Amazed this needs spelling out.

Why is it below you to clean up after your own child?! Try and be a reasonable human being.

I used to order a tea cake/fruit toast for my dc at that age and often had a food/yoghurt pouch in my bag. Might even of given them a little of what I was eating. No way would I be taking my own pasta.

If a baby is eating puréed food that is acceptable to take with you but you can’t whip out a packed lunch in a cafe that sells food and then leave all of the mess on the floor! My friend runs a cafe and people like you drive her crazy, taking up a table and only ordering drinks but bringing food with you, she has a sign up now to say that only food bought there can be consumed there. The mess thing as well, just be as tidy as possible and clean up whatever doesn’t make it into his mouth.

Get a Tidy Tot tray. They’re typically for use over a high chair at home but they come with a travel bag and I have used mine out in cafes. Google it to see what they look like. They’re sprung to close down easily and pop open when taken out of the zip bag. I think this may be the answer to the mess!

It is very rude to leave a mess in a cafe - especially something like pasta with a sauce. As others have said, if you are BLW you need to buy something from the cafe and feed that. At 11 months they can share from your plate or buy something like toast. We did a combination so I would buy toast and then also offer bits from my plate. I would try and minimise messy foods whilst out and instead feed these at home. Obviously in the summer/ warmer weather you can picnic in the park so it doesn't matter too much about mess in the summer when picnicking outdoors.

If you have a smoosher then you need to wipe down the table and high chair of smooshed up food and try and get them off the floor as smooshed up food on the floor is gross.

I totally missed that OP is bringing her own food and feeding that to her child while just ordering a coffee for herself, then leaving tje child's mess of food not even bought in the cafe to be cleaned up by the staff.

So so rude. Buy your child something to eat from the cafe.

I always cleaned up after. I had a friend who never did, so I’d do hers discretely too!

I always wipe down the high chair and table thoroughly - it is the floor I was questioning but there seems to be very little debate there, I’ve learnt my lesson 😬

I think firstly you should go to cafes where they have appropriate food for you to buy, it's not ok to bring your own, especially messy stuff. They always have something you can share with your baby.

Wiping down is polite, you don't need to sweep the floor fgs. But that is on the assumption it is food bought there, not your own, which is never acceptable.

I work in a cafe and am constantly shocked at the mess people leave behind. I’m not just talking about families with babies but families with older children too. We provide white, plastic Ikea high chairs and people make no attempt to wipe them with wet wipes. The tables are left covered with half chewed food, spilled sticky drinks, cutlery and used napkins. The floor is often the least of our worries. I’m a mum & have had children (now grown up) so I completely understand the mess that can be made. What I can’t understand is the lack of any attempt to clear up. In busy days, in the height of the summer, it’s a nightmare trying to turn tables around for the next set of customers.

Surely you just grab a couple of baby wipes or napkins and pick up any dropped food. I’m assuming we’re talking things like cucumber sticks or some rice cake rather than bolognese or a curry!
it’s rare that I would have fed my baby under 1 anything from most cafe’s as most food is full of salt, sugar or is UPF heavy but if you’re buying your own food I don’t see the issue personally. I see lots of parents doing the same.

Edp if you have brought your own food your should be cleaning up the mess, if the waiter says don’t worry, fair enough but you should always start cleaning up. I should also work on less messy options plus bringing your own food into a venue that serves food is only acceptable when they are just weaning, beyond that you should be buying food from the venue