Mommy Mayhem

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

loopylou — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 06:42:33 GMT

bbotkins:
But the kids I watch during the days are ridiculous! They're 9, 7 and 2 and they make messes everywhere they go! They stick their hands all in their food, get it all over themselves, the table and the floor. It drives me insane! Especially because they don't know how to clean properly so I end up having to clean it up

Do their parents ever eat with them? I suspect not. Make sure you eat with them and no your not too strict, I have a 4 year old who makes no mess, and Ive worked in a nursery where all kids 18 months up feed themselves around tables and its civilised, they need to be taught.

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

sunbeam — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 06:06:47 GMT

I can't stand mess from food or sticky hands! I freak out if any of the kids dare touch me with sticky hands. lol I try to get them to eat nicely so they make the minimal mess but its hard, kids are just messy creatures. My older girl's are ok, its just my 2 year old, she's real messy and ends up wearing most of her food.

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

bbotkins — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:14:01 GMT

Agfossil:
( happy to have my dogs).

We could really use another dog, but this time a small quiet one. Or even maybe a cat who acts like a dog

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

Agfossil — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 21:21:44 GMT

funny..I have been working with my 4 year old on eating quietly...chewing with his mouth closed. none of us are super neat here...but proper manners, not throwing food or playing with it is just a parents job to teach. I don't go overboard, milk spills, hands and faces get messy and crumbs drop on the floor ( happy to have my dogs). I don't want them to be anal...just aware.

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

bbotkins — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:42:56 GMT

dinkiedoo:
Yeah, it must be tough if they aren't your children as I'm assuming you are supposed to follow the parent's 'rules' though it doesn't sound like they have many food rules!

They hardly have any rules at all!

dinkiedoo:
but chucking food about is wasteful and plain rude.

I totally agree!

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

dinkiedoo — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:36:22 GMT

Yeah, it must be tough if they aren't your children as I'm assuming you are supposed to follow the parent's 'rules' though it doesn't sound like they have many food rules! like I said I'm really not any kind of a neat freak, you can check my house if you want , but chucking food about is wasteful and plain rude.

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

Big Sky Country — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:36:14 GMT

Tweens&aBaby:

I'm a neat freak (to a fault really) so I would probably make those kids eat in the bathtub.

Hahaha!!

Yeah, Cole WILL NOT let you feed him anything from a spoon. He always wants to do it himself, so him, the highchair, the floor, the dog......gets covered in broccoli and mashed potatoes. Annika still spills off her plate and believe it or not, my 7.5 year old still has food drop out of her mouth, almost like she's drooling when we are at the table talking....my dining room is pretty much a hot mess!!

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

bbotkins — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:27:14 GMT

dinkiedoo:
i do not tolerate food being dropped on purpose/ thrown etc and if they do that I remove the food

That's what I do. But sometimes the older kids put up such a fight about it, it's not even worth it. I do do it with my own kids though, they know not to test mom.

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

dinkiedoo — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:05:44 GMT

Very age dependent! I used baby-led weaning with DS2 so I didn't feed him at all, and he didn't master a spoon until he was nearly one so that was a good 6/7 months of him eating with his hands - you'd have been in hell!! Interestingly though, from very young i do not tolerate food being dropped on purpose/ thrown etc and if they do that I remove the food - mean mommy mybe but both my DSs had a phase of deliberately throwing food on the floor and it made me soooo cross. DS2 is 2 next week and already only has a bib for eating very messy things eg soup yogurt. DS1 was 4 in June and he very rarely spills anything. DS2 has all his drinks in an open cup now and he very rarely drops or spills that either. I don't even think I'm very clean or tidy to be honest, its about your kids respecting the family things (crockery cutlery) and having some respect for the fact you have just spent time, effort and money preparing a meal and its not nice to chuck it about the place or deliberately make a mess.

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

Tweens&aBaby — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:04:48 GMT

I'm a neat freak (to a fault really) so I would probably make those kids eat in the bathtub.

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

Catch! — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:52:10 GMT

I usually tell DS not to touch anything else when he's eating, especially something messy, and he's pretty good about it. He's just 3 though, so he makes a mess sometimes.....he's always spilling his cups!

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

dust123 — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:48:10 GMT

My two boys are 5 and 23 months old when they eat they use their spoon and fork but they seem to get food everywhere. I don't really mind as long as there not maiking the mess on purpose like chuking it around. I think most kids are messy when they eat.My 23 month old son wears a massive bib b/c he gets really dirty, his hands and face are coverd but i can't expect him to be clean after he's eaten when he's tried his hardest with his spoon.

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

bbotkins — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:47:09 GMT

RedCanoe:
I think they behave that way because their parents allow it....

LOL I just said that too. They first told me they don't allow food and drinks in the living room and I fight with the kids every day about it. But for the past few weeks I would show up and the 2 year old (yes, 2!) would be eating his breakfast on the couch! Anything from cereal, with milk, to waffles with syrup. I can't believe it. No wonder they don't listen to me. These kids totally run this house.

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

bbotkins — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:44:22 GMT

queen-of-harts:
The 2 year old is learning from them so that is a bad example

I know, it's sad too. He learns ALL of their bad habits, and they laugh when he does something bad so he continues to do it. Poor kid.

queen-of-harts:
The older ones you should lay the law down and tell them the have to eat like big kids or they will be spoon fed like a baby.

They're so hard to deal with. I could try that, but they would probably say okay If I turn off the TV and sit down with them at the table I can usually get them to behave. But since they all eat at different times, and pretty much eat off and on all day, it's hard to do that. And I know their parents let them get away with it, so it will be nearly impossible for me to get them to act differently with me. I guess I just need to let them do whatever they want, just like their parents...

Re: Do you let your kids eat however they want?

RedCanoe — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:43:01 GMT

I'm 100% with you on this one. My kids are two and four, and while they will inevitably get some food on their hands, face and table, it's always just for lack of better coordination at this age (the two year old more than the four year old, obviously). But in no way would they do the things that you're describing. Sure kids ARE messy and I don't make a big deal about the natural mess that occurs, but I would in no way tolerate that behavior. Ugh. I think they behave that way because their parents allow it....