Embrace Messy Eating
I know mom, it’s meal time and you want to wipe that messy face… No, YOU FEEL YOU NEED TO! Here is what I want to say, “Just let them play.” I am well aware that some of you can’t stand the mess while others embrace it, and I am here to tell you all the reasons we want to EMBRACE the messy eating and encourage our little ones to grow and become thriving independently self feeders.
Start ‘EM young: As soon as you start to see good postural control, usually around 6 months, you can start engaging your little one with food. Cut a slice of banana and let baby mash it all over the high chair. Take that puree and let baby run his/her hands through it! Your child is not just learning to eat, but engaging in powerful sensory play. Your child is discovering new feelings and sensations at the handle level, preparing him or her to accept food and take his/her first bite.
Learning something new: By allowing your child time to just play with food, you are actually promoting independence. Self feeding comes with time and before baby will be able to pick up that food item and put it in his/her mouth, they first need time to experience it. As your baby plays with his/her food, they will inevitably stick their fingers in their mouth, accidentally feeding themselves. The more they “accidently” feed themselves the more they will purposefully feed themselves!
Preventing aversion: When kiddos are lacking exposure to a variety of textures/foods, they can find themselves aversive over time. Well what does that mean….? Over time, without exposure, that food or texture may become “slimy”, “sticky”, “icky”, or “gross”. Maybe we frequently cleaned baby’s hands/face or maybe we never presented certain food items in a way that allowed for sensory play. By frequently cleaning our little ones at the table, we are taking away great sensory learning opportunities about new and varying textures!
Moving forward: Not all kids who are frequently cleaned or wiped will become defensive or aversive later on! In fact, most won't! If your child is showing signs of difficulty tolerating new and varying textures, try leaving his/her face dirty a little longer than usual. If your little one is yelling and waving his/her hands needing that face to be cleaned or those hands to be wiped, slowly reach for that rag or sing a silly song first. Slowly build up the time your little one tolerates being messy and you will start to see changes in his/her behavior and ability to accept new sensations and textures.
Messy eating can be such a fun time! Letting your little one engage with food and be a “messy eater” will not only provide great sensory play, but I am sure you will get a couple laughs in as well
If you notice that your little one, growing toddler, or school aged kiddo is struggling to eat a variety of food items or is demonstrating aversive behaviors around new/varying textures, talk to your pediatrician about a referral to a local speech or occupational therapist!