At what age should kids stop being messy eaters?

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You can teach manners asap, being sat round the table as a family at meal times, learnt behaviour from parents ( so you stop eating like a fool first lol ) the manners you want you can somewhat dictate by giving positive reinforcements of " wow I can't believe how well you're eating today" or you could make a game of lets see who can stay cleanest gets more desert lol

but usually children will grow out of it - I work with little uns and they all make a mess in nursery but still have good manners, by the time they go to school they should learn from their peers.
 
princess said:
You can teach manners asap, being sat round the table as a family at meal times, learnt behaviour from parents ( so you stop eating like a fool first lol ) the manners you want you can somewhat dictate by giving positive reinforcements of " wow I can't believe how well you're eating today" or you could make a game of lets see who can stay cleanest gets more desert lol

but usually children will grow out of it - I work with little uns and they all make a mess in nursery but still have good manners, by the time they go to school they should learn from their peers.
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Exactly, I remember my grandpa swearing at me for having my elbows on the table, let alone poor manners.



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aquaponicpaw said:
I say start as early as possible. My oldest is like a princess. She has rituals where her food is a certain way. She has to eat a certain way and placement on plate is just as important as taste. My youngin is 8,and it's not like she ain't been trained. But she is a dirt magnet!
I stay trying to correct her. My biggest peeve is table manners. She just don't get it though. I am sick of her shirts looking like she had a food fight at a buffet. I've been threatening to break out the bibs.

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you know exactly what i mean then, the gf's kid is 7. exact same scenario. i get that some foods are just messy and food may fall off your fork/spoon but what got me thinking about this is finger food. pizza, chicken nuggets, hot dog, sandwhichs end up on the side of her mouth/face and fall onto her clothes.
 
ballinouttacntrol said:
you know exactly what i mean then, the gf's kid is 7. exact same scenario. i get that some foods are just messy and food may fall off your fork/spoon but what got me thinking about this is finger food. pizza, chicken nuggets, hot dog, sandwhichs end up on the side of her mouth/face and fall onto her clothes.
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Man ... its the woman's fault!! At some point they stop caring and just reinforce that behavior.

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aquaponicpaw said:
Man ... its the woman's fault!! At some point they stop caring and just reinforce that behavior.

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truest thing you've said. i'll hint at it (when do kids grow out of this? she's a lil messy don't you think? etc etc) and she just says kids will be kids or as soon as you stop being messy. never forced the issue but she pretty much blows it off and doesn't take it serious. i just wonder what happens when she eats at school and don't want it to become an issue that gets her picked on. i could care less what happens when it's just us around the dinner table. pain in the arse when it happens at bfast or lunch though and you don't want to change her clothes so early in the day.


princess, that type of reinforcement wouldn't work since i'm not gonna be the dick that calls her out at the dinner table when her mom/grandparents don't care.
 
well no, I get that but I assumed you and your wife/mum/grandparents? were on the same page. I just read its your gf's kid so it's kinda upto her mum, not you
 
true but you can always plant the seed, inception style without the silly dreams

regardless of who's kid i'm still curious about what age MOST kids grow out of it.
 
Best thing to do IMHO is to praise her when she is doing it correct.
If you constantly remind her when she is doing it wrong, the issue is rarely corrected.

i:e. (Telling the lady out loud so the youngin hears or address her directly) Babe... doesnt _____ do such a great job eating, and LOOK... no mess!

These are little tactics we use in our home... we do correct what needs to be corrected but we try to use the sandwich method as much as possible Click
 
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