messy eater at 2 1/2

[shambaby]

Hi, just wondering if ours is unusual or if it's normal for an almost 2.5 year old to still make a big mess when eating? Hayden can use cutlery, and sometimes he will, but not always, and even when he does he tends to tip quite a bit of food off the spoon or fork. But often he just dives in with his hands, and also plays with food quite a lot. To be honest I assumed it was still normal at his age, but hubby doesn't and thinks he should be eating properly with cutlery and minimal mess by now. Plus nursery seem to have stopped using bibs now he has switched to little pre-school, which makes me wonder if they think he shouldn't need them. We did baby led weaning, and hubby blames it on that, and now I'm worried he won't want to do it again with baby #2. Also is it odd that, although he insists on eating with his hands, despite us providing cutlery, he can get really upset if his hands are messy or sticky, and constantly asks for them to be wiped?

Thanks for any insight anyone can give x

 

[CaptainMummy]

I have no idea whats normal! My dd is the same with getting her hands wiped, and will stop eating until you wipe her. She alwayd uses cutlery though and doesnt really make much mess at all. I would say as long as he is feeding himself and eating a good amount then i wouldnt worry. Just means some extra cleaning!

 

[OmiOmen]

My son can use cutlery but often decided not to. He was the least messy eater as a baby and has suddenly started to think making a mess is fun. My son also wants his hands wiping mid-dinner too. The other week he used peanut-butter on toast as a phone! I think it is normal in the sense some, but not all, toddlers are still making a mess when eating.

I have heard this argument about BLW before and really do not believe it makes any difference. I did TW and my son make a mess and I am positive that if we would have done BLW he would still make a mess. In fact I my parents did TW with me and I refused to use cutlery until about the age of seven!