Another Reason Messy Eating Is Important!

Did you know that many infants/children are extra sensitive to certain sensations and to prevent tactile defensiveness parents are encouraged to NOT constantly wipe (with a cloth or spoon) their little one’s hands and face after every mouthful or during a meal?

The action of immediately wiping a child’s hands and face, can make mealtime an anxiety prone situation adding unnecessary discomfort (you know when you wipe your mouth with a napkin how sensitive the area around your mouth is) and your little one may associate being messy with feeling uncomfortable with foreign sensations.

As you can see with Miss A – she is loving her meal … just not the constant wiping with the spoon and face cloth.  It’s obviously uncomfortable and probably a little annoying, causing unnecessary stress to the meal time! 

When I do solids with families I will acutally get a spoon and wipe around the parents mouths – mimic the action – to hightlight to them just how sensitive the area around the mouth actually is.  

To encourage your child to feel a variety of textures and desensitize them – let them ‘messy’ eat during meals. Let them feel and know what it is like to feel something mushy, wet, cold, warm, crunchy, etc.

If you wipe your baby’s face constantly or don’t let them help feed themselves, you are depriving them of a wonderful learning and sensory experience the meals time should be!

As a parent I understand how hard it is not to automatically ‘clean up’ or ‘wipe the spill’ ….. but try and tackle the mess once the meal has ended.

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