My friend Statia from Failure to Nap (again, no link because I’m doing this while having no direct internet connection, so deal. Or just google it.) asked me how I deal with sloppy kids. How she knows my kids are slobs is really just a wild guess on her part, but it’s a sad truth. Sparring Partner is not allowed to wear light colored clothing when we go out to eat because without fail, he will drop something either on his lap or it falls off the fork to his mouth and hits the target which is right there on his chest. The funny thing is is that his ENTIRE family is the same way! A meal out with in-laws would almost be comical as one-by-one, they each spill something on the front of their shirts. My FIL goes so far as to tuck his napkin (and by god, if you don’t give him a fucking cloth napkin, your ass is grass) into his shirt collar.
My son has inherited the chronic slob gene. And for whatever reason, even a napkin on his lap or right there at the table does not hamper his wholly annoying habit of wiping his hands on his pants or shirt. By the time he finishes breakfast, the kid looks like he’s been playing outside all day. It’s hair-pulling frustration.
Aitch has an excuse to drop things down her front. She’s barely two. However, she’s got this thing about napkins and will demand one for every meal. Plus she uses it correctly, wiping her face and hands and then digging into her whatever with her fingers until she realizes that crap is some kind of messy and she’ll use her napkin once again.
The reason I’m sharing this with you all is I actually have a wonderful tip to pass on to help keep your baby/toddler fairly clean looking. Of course, you can always use a bib. You know, that obnoxious slip of fabric that barely covers a kid’s breastbone and gets ripped off within 2.5 seconds of being put on? Or that hard, plastic-molded, feed-trough that looks as if your kid vomited in it after a meal because it prevents them from sitting up close to the table? I actually stumbled upon this item, this lunch life-saver, by accident.
By the time Aitch was old enough to start solids, I finally had the nerve to go through some of Doodicus’s packed away clothing from when he was wee little. Inside were several plain, white t-shirts, size 4-5 (or small) from Hanes. Most were stained and I thought briefly about cutting them up and turning them into rags, but then realized they would be PERFECT to protect Aitch’s clothes. They slip easily over her head, and while now half her arm is uncovered, that’s no big deal since everything else gets covered – all the way down to her lap. Sure, they don’t keep her waterproof, but big deal. Red sauces, syrup, peanut butter, etc….all dreaded by-products of feeding your kid are now no big deal. Aitch can’t yank the t-shirt off like a traditional bib and they are super comfortable with no rubbing plastic edging. I try to keep at least one in my bag for times we go out as they take up no more room than any bib.
So there you go. Go, My Children, and invest in t-shirts for your little Rug Rhinos and free yourself from the tyranny of bleach, Shout and pre-soaking. Unless you are married to Slobnourous Max, which sorry but you’re just fucked.
Punch Drunk 