I try to prevent it from happening. Anyone not eating over their plate gets a reminder to do so. Anyone eating like a neanderthal gets a reminder to use their utensils or behave. More than two reminders and they get one last reminder that food can be taken away (its never come to this). I do this because my kids hate cleaning and vacuuming, even if they make the mess and I don't want to have one more argument about them cleaning, so I try to prevent it. If they happen to drop small bits of food on the floor, they have to clean it up right away. Anything with sauce or a drink, I will help them clean it up.

Anonymous wrote:If you are a parent and your child spills or drops food while eating at the dinner table....what is the "right" way to respond?

Accidents can happen but not all the time. Teach them table manners!

Anonymous wrote:We just clean it up. Sometimes the older one will be flailing her arms and knock over a cup and she knows to grt the "floor towel" to clean it and ill remind her to eat calmly. If it purposeful messiness then dinner is done with dinner and bored. Kids are 2 and 5.

If your 5 yr old is doing that purposefully then you're not parenting properly. At 5 they are plenty old enough to clean up anything they drop. Your 2 yr old is old enough to start helping after dinner and out of the highchair.

Is the child throwing the food off the plate to avoid eating? Or is the fork missing the hotdog and the food starts flying? Basically, is the child misbehaving or is it an accident?

What age?
On purpose?
Still learning?

Just pick it up; not a big deal. If a small mess, your kid can do it. If bigger, you help. Everyone drops things, even adults. And it is always nice to help or to be helped.

Anonymous wrote:You actually eat at a dinner table?

Anonymous wrote:You actually eat at a dinner table?

What?? We eat all of our meals at a table. Where on earth would we eat?

-np

We just clean it up. Sometimes the older one will be flailing her arms and knock over a cup and she knows to grt the "floor towel" to clean it and ill remind her to eat calmly.
If it purposeful messiness then dinner is done with dinner and bored. Kids are 2 and 5.

Unless there was excessive carelessness involved, just clean it up or have them clean it up (depending on age, who is closer to the paper towels, etc). I’ll admit to having said the spilling kid’s name in an exasperated voice, but have gotten much better at remembering not to do that.

You actually eat at a dinner table?

“Go get a paper towel and clean it up.

Age?

On purpose, clumsy, still mastering motor skills?

What type of food? Rice and noodles are way harder to eat than, say, mashed potatoes.

Are you setting up the kid for failure? A better sized cup, maybe not fill up the whole cup so if it does spill it's not so bad? Are things within arm-length so there's no need to reach hence reducing anything getting knocked over.

Give some context

No yelling, it’s just an accident, not a big deal, but they help clean it up.

If you are a parent and your child spills or drops food while eating at the dinner table....what is the "right" way to respond?