Why do people let babies eat off the table?

WittyKittyKat

I think it is so gross....out in public I mean.  I have watched countless times as people plunk their babies in the high chair, pull them up to the edge of the table and put pieces of food right out on the table. No wiping down with a Wet One, no disposable placemat etc.  Yesterday I was out to lunch and witnessed this again, and as soon as they left, an employee came out and wiped the table down with a nasty rag. So that is what this poor child's food was sitting on top of. Nasty water with a nasty rag, which sadly is probably the norm.

On the flip side if we were ever served our food strait on the table we would wonder what was going on...............

Just a random though, because I don't get it.

Happy New Year to all Nesties

GinandTonic

I just did this yesterday because I had no other option (I didn't expect to be out for dinner).  I did wipe it down though - but the whole time, I was thinking ewww.  I tried to give her a paper plate, but she just threw it on the floor.

You do what you have to.  I wouldn't make a regular practice out of it though.

ElizabethD

I"ve had to do that a couple times when we didn't bring our booster seat and didn't have wet wipes on us.  I wasn't lovin' it, but they're still healthy and alive so I guess it's OK :P  Better than them flailing a glass plate and hurting themselves, others, or the plate.

CleoKitty

I let dd eat off the table. It grosses me out a little sometimes, but I trust that her immune system can handle a few germs here and there.?

cbidt*sgirl

because although it is gross to think about in reality it isn't harmful except for a few very rare cases.  babies touch things and put their hands in their mouths all the time.  that said, i was one of those anal moms who brought a placemat and wiped that with a wet-one - probably ruining my kid's immunity for life with the antibacterial crap.

gracendantho26

I always wiped the surface down with a wipe and let them eat off of the table which I think a lot of parents do.

butterbeansmama

When DS was just starting out on table foods, I ALWAYS wiped down the table/edge/highchair everything AND I used a disposable placemat. Once he started to get to the age of ripping the placemat off, then I would have to do all the sanitizing, but not use the placemat. Then when he stopped wanting to pick up his plate and throw it, he would have his food on a small plate.

I still use a highchair cover for him too. His hands are either sanitized or washed before every meal as well.

momintn

It personnally grosses me out!

MichelleWP

I do that all the time! I sometimes use those table cloths, but she just pulls them off. I do wipe down the table though - but she also grabs for the food that falls on the high chair next to her which I think is far worse. If I put it on a plate, the plate would become a projectile. She also take *horror* objects off the floor and puts them in her mouth!

Honestly, I think there are far worse things out there, a couple germs won't kill them...

annak23

I agree! I always carried disposable placemats or gave her food on the wrapper it came in (like for a grilled cheese at Applebees or something). 

NikkiBenzo

That totally grosses me out!

When I am out if - I have no options, I just feed her myself instead of letting her feed herself off the table. My DH was in the restaraunt business for several years and you don't even want to know how dirty some of those tables are!

triplea1819

because if there is a placemat there, he would throw it on the ground.  Plate as well.  So eat off the table, or hear a plate break on the ground. hmm,  i think i will take a few germs.

joseysbride

The only explanation I've ever thought was that if they put down a napkin or even a plate, the baby may just fling the entire thing on the floor.  It grosses me out big time, though.  I'd rather feed my kid their puffs one by one.

Even now that my dd is 2.5, sometimes when we go out to eat, the waitress will give her a kids menu and crayons, but no silverware.  Hello, just because she's a kid doesn't mean she's not a person!  No, not all kids use silverware 100%, but really. 

gracendantho26

I also let my kids use the "5 second rule" when something is dropped. Oh and I let them play in mud and dirt. Just imgaine what they have been exposed to because of my negligent parenting.

mlm1128

It doesn't bother. ?I never did it but not because of germs. ?I just figured if I got dd used to plates and utensils right off it would be easier in the long run. ?

Temp159135562506975

germs are good for your kid... and there are far worse ones getting put in your child's mouth every day - trust me.

while i used to use those placemats most of the time- sometimes we'd forget or not have time to put it out before he'd freak.... sometimes he ate off the table.

now he's big enough he eats off a plate... but back in the day- it didnt' bother me too much to have him eat off a table- assuming it was not wet or visibly dirty.

lack of germs is what is thought to be causing the increase in childhood food allergies... so i'm all for some germs.

esposa38

ITA w/ Cleo, MichelleW and Grace.  I actually credit my non-compulsive-wiping-5-second-ruling w/ DS's super-strength immune system.

Andrewsgal

I used to use placemats and DD pulls them off, a plate would be thrown so somtimes there is no other option. Funny thing is after all the germs she is exposed to she has been sick ONE time in two years and that was a cold that lated for 3 days! I also let her play in mud, play on play equipment at McDonalds, and gasp have even given her a binky off the floor. Yay for good immune systems!

excitedchic

when your kid is in that throwing every plate on the floor mode, there isnt any other option. gross or not.

cristiana

Sometimes I spread a napkin out on the table, sometimes I just wipe it down. Not a big deal, imo.

belle204

Compared to some of the things my child used to pick up and try to put in her mouth I think the table might be kind of tame. Then her hands are always in her mouth for some reason. I'm not nearly as anal as I used to be.

Mrs Manners

cbidt*sgirl:

  that said, i was one of those anal moms who brought a placemat and wiped that with a wet-one - probably ruining my kid's immunity for life with the antibacterial crap.

Ditto this exactly.

winomom22

Eh, my kid eats her boogars-what's a few germs off the table?

shouldbeworkin

I bought one pkg of placemats for my DD and still have over half of it left, the girl will not leave the darn thing on the table!  And plates, those make fantastic flying saucers, don't you know? 

You know what really grosses me out - restaurant high chairs.  Those things are totally disgusting and DD puts her hands all over those things!  I think that is a far bigger concern than eating off of the end of a table.