- Cognitively reframe. Rather than thinking “oh what a mess, this is going to take forever to clean up”, try “wow he’s really enjoying interacting with the pasta, this will make it easier for him to try new things in the future”. The situation won’t change (there will still be mess), but when you shift your attitude about it, you’ll naturally feel more positive.
- If you can’t tolerate mess for all mealtimes, pick one or two per day that you can manage messiness for. Babies and children tend to eat up to five times a day, providing a lot of opportunities for them to interact with food. Maybe one or two of those meals could be ‘messy’ meals.
- Think about varying the location of messy meals, could you move the highchair outside?
- Try putting a mat underneath the highchair to collect some of the spills.
- Create some boundaries around mealtimes in terms of what is and is not acceptable in your home. Is throwing the food okay? Is dropping food off the chair allowed? This will likely be different in all households, so there’s no hard and fast rule. Decide what the rules are in your household and try to be consistent with them.
- Most importantly, because kids pick up on our emotions so easily, try to curb any anxiety you might be experiencing about the mess at mealtimes. Shifting your thinking about it and knowing that you’ve put some of the above strategies in place can certainly help you feel less anxious. However, it is important to seek professional help if you’re concerned about your management of mealtimes.
About the author
