Letting your baby get messy when eating may mean more work, but it is worth it in more ways than you may think. Check out our blog post to learn about the benefits of letting your baby or toddler get messy and play with their food! 

It may seem stressful and overwhelming to watch your baby squish oatmeal in his fingers or smear spaghetti sauce all over his face and tray, however there are many great benefits to letting them get messy with their food.  

• It provides them with opportunities for sensory play 

• Allows them to explore and learn about foods by touching, seeing, smelling or hearing the sound a food makes when they squish it (either in their hands or in their mouth) 

• Try to avoid constant wiping with a spoon or washcloth to keep them clean-this can actually be more uncomfortable for them 

• Wait until the end of the meal to clean up if you can 

• To make clean up easier you can let them eat in just their diaper and/or place a sheet underneath the highchair that you can toss in the wash 

• It helps baby learn about a food, the texture and consistency 

• Touching and playing with foods typically leads to tasting the food 

• It’s ok if they don’t taste it on the first exposure, just keep offering! 

• It helps create a fun, positive association with mealtime and feeding 

• Lengthens the time they are interested in the meal or food 

• Gives them a feeling of control, which can help prevent picky eating 

• Helps them learn to self feed and develop fine motor skills needed for finger foods and utensils 

Remember to be patient, this is a normal phase of development. The extra time you spend cleaning up now will pay off when they are an older, happy, healthy and adventurous eater! Let them squish the food in their fingers, get it in their hair and all over their face. Have FUN and try to embrace the mess! 

Please reach out to us if you have concerns with your child’s transition to foods or if your baby is showing signs that it is stressful for them to eat, touch or explore foods.