eating in diapers

nikinikinine · February 2012

I strip my kids down to diapers for every meal. They refuse to wear bibs and I can't take having to scrub the stains out of their clothes. Today, for lunch, I decided to try and let them eat clothed. Horrible. I just spent the last 35 minutes soaking and scrubbing their shirts.

I'm not sure what the issue is - they are great eaters and the food gets in their mouth most of the time. I think they overstuff and sometimes spit out. But for the most part they eat without issues. Yet everytime I let them stay dressed we're a mess.

Anyway, if you let your kid eat with clothes on, what is your tip or strategy? Or do you just not care if their clothes get stained/dirty?

krissyh21 · February 2012

Dillon is not usually a super sloppy eater (except for spaghetti) so for the most part his shirts stay pretty clean. If he does get a spot on it, I wipe it or I just change it. I really am not too concerned about stains unless we are heading somewhere. He's a kid - kids get dirty (that's my philosophy).

ALY1981 · February 2012

Henry often eats without a bib on and doesn't have that problem-maybe they are spitting it up?? Henry eats a lot of cut up chicken breast, zucchini meatballs, mixed veggies and fruit, so nothing that could really stain (other than blueberries and bananas). Maybe that is why? I do wipe him down halfway through his meal to help avoid stains and overall stickiness. And he does usually change his outfit once a day, though, mainly from residue I missed

lrrb · February 2012

When my kids were your kids age I NEVER let them wear clothes to eat (unless we were out). They were always in diapers haha. Now I only take their clothes off if they are having something with some sauce I know could stain their outfit. The last thing I need is food stains on every single outfit. I say stay with what your doing, its the only way to save their clothes haha.

Ali212 · February 2012

Not sure I have any specific tips or advice but my children generally eat clothed without a problem and I'm pretty fastidious about their clothes. I actually give a lot of credit to our washing machine since after having two kids (two girls so they basically share the same wardrobe, 3 years apart), none of their clothes are stained (from food, blowouts or anything). Both of my girls are good eaters and while I wouldn't say either of them are super neat (my toddler still has to sit on a towel over our upholstered chair so she doesn't ruin the fabric), the stains from meals seem to come out of their clothes pretty easily for us. That said, neither of my girls spit up their food at this point so the stains are truly just food stains. I usually pre-treat their clothes from the day at night with a stain stick so they sit overnight and then run them through the washing machine the next morning. That seems to do the trick for us so I can't think of anything I'm doing that's unique or special which is why I think we must have a super effective washing machine.

My 1-year-old does eat in her diapers occasionally -- usually if I'm about to change her anyway and it's meal time (I'm not going to put her in a new outfit right before a meal). The only food I strip her down for is beets since I find those impossible to get out of clothes.

UsedToBeGoldie · February 2012

a little past 1yo my twins stopped wanting to wear bibs.

if they are eating something red/staining (like spaghetti sauce) i'll take their shirts off- but other than that - they just get messy. I don't care --- they are kids...their clothes get worn a few times before they outgrow them- stains are no big deal.

I prefer to pick them up from daycare all messy/stained - it means they had fun, IMO.

i have never scrubbed a shirt If it gets stained so badly it won't come out in a normal wash- it becomes a play at home shirt.

togo · February 2012

It's a loosing battle for us to keep their bibs on. I just let them eat without a bib and pre treat their clothes for the wash. I thinks it's way more work to undress them every time and then dress them again. I have no patience for that.

I haven't had any issues with stains on their clothes.

JillRock96 · February 2012

I take their shirts off if they are eating something with red sauce, for example, or if the shirts are nicer or special in some way. Other than that, I don't really care if they get stained. I use those T.ide stain capsules in the laundry, which takes almost everything out. Other than when they were younger and had blowouts, I do not spot treat their clothes.

kme930 · February 2012

If Will is eating messy food, I'll take his shirt off. But really what worked best for us was practice.

He goes to DC in a uniform (yes, they put toddlers in a uniform), which seemed crazy at first, but given the toddler room is where they transition to no bibs, utensils and regular cups (not sippies), it has been great practice for him! And now even though he doesn't mind wearing a bib, we usually go without because he's a pretty neat eater.

armywife76 · February 2012

DS doesn't mind a bib, so I guess that's what saves us. I roll his sleeves up or it gets ugly. He's learning how to eat with a fork now, so most of it ends up on his bib and I rake it off back to his plate, lol. I don't think there's anything wrong with eating in a diaper, though, other than the extra work for you of having to dress/undress. Good luck! If any gets on his clothes, I treat immediately with a paste of oxy powde/waterr. I'm pretty anal about the laundry, too

.

ohiostategal · February 2012

Usually DS is in his clothes when he eats. He is so hard to change so I can't imagine taking his clothes off for each meal and then putting them back on. I put a bib on him though. Sometimes he still gets lots on him because he is still eating purees and isn't that great of an eater. However my washer has gotten it all out (except maybe one outfit).

AvaLikeLava · February 2012

I put bibs on like it or not and I feed them. I only let them eat finger foods at that age. Probably not the best for teaching them for utensil use, but my 3 yr old is fine and not any further behind than the rest of his class and I fed him for a very long time. I just can't stand sloppy messes

Cajunladybug22 · February 2012

If its something messy, I have cheap white tshirts that I put on my DD (over her clothes). That way, the mess is on the tshirts and I don't care if those have stains.

kafunder · February 2012

Have you tried those bibs that are more like shirts like this? Would they tolerate them?

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70179754/

The only time P&F get messy is if I put too much food on their tray at once. Usually, I just put a few bites out at a time, and things are fairly neat. They do get messy if we eat tomato sauce and they drag their sleeve across it, but I try to remember to roll up their sleeves.

Want a personalized experience?

eating in diapers

Re: eating in diapers

Choose Another Board

Search Boards