My daughter is 9.5yrs old and she can’t eat anything with out covering her face in food.
Her siblings who are younger then her aren’t like this.
She will eat a sandwich and literally her cheeks and chin is covered in the spread that’s inside the bread.
I’ve try to show her how to eat stuff without covering herself or making a mess. I tried to tell her nicely that she needs to go wash her face after she eats. I have even got angry at her, telling her it’s embarrassing at her age to have her face covered in food. She just doesn’t get it.
She is so self conscious about the way she looks and will have a meltdown if she doesn’t like how her clothes look. But having a face covered in dried food. Doesn’t seem to bother her.
Is this normal for her age? I don’t want her to start being teased at school because she has food all over her face.
My 9.5 year old is such a messy eater and always has food all Over her face
My 9.5 year old is such a messy eater and always has food all Over her face
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Kids
5 Replies
Buy a cosmetic mirror and put it on the dining table with serviettes. Tell her to check after each bite and wipe if required. She will learn how to avoid it in the first place
My 9 year old is the same, she says she can't feel when food is on her face so I feel it may be a sensory issue :/ I've tried to get help from professionals but nothing came from it in the end. My youngest is 4 and she is much cleaner at eating than my oldest.
Jaws, teeth alignment ok? Ask at the dentist next time to be sure. She could just be a messy eater, I'm in my 30s and still eat like a pig 😂
This is my girl too. I always have to tell her to wash her face its always dirty. She is also sensory and I think it is a part of that. I dont think you can change it, so teach/Remind her to check the mirror and wash after meals or before going out.
Meh, they grow out of it! Usually when they hit puberty and start becoming more self aware and more conscious of such things. It may even take a friend to say something like "Ew, you have food all over your face" to realise it's a bit gross.
My 8 year old is the same though, I've never known a person to get so messy from eating something as simple as a banana lol. Spaghetti? God, she ends up looking like a chainsaw massacre victim 😅
Just get her to set herself up with a wash cloth for each meal, face and hands must get wiped before leaving the table - it'll set the habit.
Pack non messy stuff in her school lunch if you're worried about her getting too messy at school, cut sandwiches into 'soldiers' to avoid the inevitable jam smear.
As long as she cleans herself up afterwards, don't stress too much about messy eating. She'll figure it out!