messy eating
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| Wed, 07-11-2007 - 11:25am |
Does anyone have experience in this area? I've asked Lily's OT's about this, but they don't seem to be too concerned about it. They don't see her eat at school since she leaves before lunch, so they don't know how bad the problem is. Lily will be 5 in Sept. and she still doesn't like to use utensils. She will start out using them, and then at some point she just gives up and uses her hands. We keep having to remind her to use her fork/spoon. She prefers a spoon. When she eats (even with her utensils) it seems like she gets more food on her, the table and the floor than I would expect for another child her age. It's especially bad with things like pizza, spaghetti or pancakes with syrup. We cut her spaghetti into tiny little pieces and she still needs a bath after she eats it. She doesn't want to wear a bib anymore (not that I blame her) so she usually strips her clothes off to eat supper. I think part of the problem is that she eats so darn fast. She hardly chews anything, which is probably because of her low muscle tone. I dread cleaning up after her because the food seems to be all over the place. I think some of her problem is due to her nervous system, but this is just a theory of mine. She has a neuropathy and I don't know exactly how it affects her. It's like her arms just flail around quite a bit, with kinda jerky movements. We joke that whoever sits next to her at a restaurant will end up wearing her ketchup because her hands/arms are never in her own space. It doesn't seem to be something she does on purpose. Sorry this is so long. I'm just at my wits end. I guess in someways I'm lucky that she looks so much younger than she is or else it would be quite a scene to eat out in public. However, I really want to get a handle on this before she gets older. Any ideas?
Amy~Natalie & Lily's mom

My son is 7 and left handed. He gets frustrated using utensils and also uses his hands.
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You are not alone. Eric is also 5, also left-handed, and also somewhat messy. He is not as messy as he used to be, just a year ago oxy-clean was still my best friend too, but he does still have a hard time using utensils.
I think it is partly a fine-motor thing, partly, I regret to say, my fault for just letting him, or rather picking my battles. I felt I'd rather that he actually EAT something and attempt to stay seated at the table for more than 5 minutes, than fight over if he used a utensil or not.
Plus, his quirky ways are so charming, to me at least, in a sort of frat boy way, that I have to laugh most of the time. He likes to pick up a bowl of soup and drink it, or pick up a yogurt cup and drink it, rather than use a spoon. Inevitably, he'll gulp the whole thing down at once. Look at me with those big brown eyes and goop all over his face, wipe his hand across his face spraying goop across the room and declare, "that was delicious!" I just can't get mad at that! LOL!
But if it is any consolation, just in the last 6 mos or so he has taken a bit of an interest in being clean. So though he doesn't like to use utensils, he does take an active role in cleaning his face, and cleaning up where he sits afterwards.
I figure he'll get there eventually. Though the inlaws are not necessarily amused by our lack of table manners!
Katherine
Amy,
Not much
Amy,
I can't talk. I remember DH watching a pregnant me eat popcorn in front of the telly:
"Do you want a
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Thanks everyone for all the great support and advice! Not that I'm glad that others are in a similar situation, but it is nice to not feel alone with this problem. I guess ultimately, while I'm trying to help Lily, I need to try to relax and not worry too much about it. I really do appreciate all the responses.
Amy~Natalie & Lily's mom