When do mealtimes become less messy?

[likessleep]

I can appreciate there may be a lot of fun in licking out a yoghurt pot and why use a spoon when dipping your fingers in and waving them around is a lot more entertaining, but when do toddlers become more 'tidy' with their eating?
Please don't laugh at me, it is a serious question
I have a dream that a bib may suffice one day ...

they dont - they grow up into children who sneakily try to hide veggies in entertaining places! - only kidding. I would say about 3 or 4 . My 3 aged 6, 9 and 12 now make a little mess on the floor but otherwise fairly good.

Not long to wait then !

I still manage to drop food down my frontage and I'm 40 next year! My excuse is that I have a large balcony
Seriously, DS is quite a tidy eater. He likes to have a 'napkin' (wet wipe) on his knee while he eats cos he's seen us with them when we eat out and thinks it's very grown up. He'll be 3 on Thursday!

3 or 4 ... ooh no. i am changing ds clothes after EVERY meal at the moment.
maybe it will be easier once he gets to grip with using a spoon himself, then i can just leave him to cause carnage, whilst i stay at a safe distance, observing and then approaching with a wet flannel once he is ready.

Liketosleep - I usually strip my ds down to his body vest before each mealtime, and put on one of those bibs with sleeves. It's still messy but at least that way he's not going through three outfits a day.

I am a huge fan of the bibs with sleeves. They're the only things that come close to dealing with the messs DS creates at mealtimes.

our house isn't warm enough for a vest at the moment unfortunately (although i got away with that until very recently). i have seen those bibs with sleeves, i'll buy some of those, cheers.

ds wouldn't wear a bib with sleeves, screamed himself purple when I tried.

I just stick him in some t-shirts that got banana'd or avocado'd early on

what I want to know is, when do they stop with the making everything into soup?!

IKEa do some really good bibs with sleeves.