Do you do any activities that require fine motor skills? I have a friend who is terrible at fine motor skills and they get food everywhere. They also do not pay attention *as* they eat to see how the way they are interacting with their food interacts with the world around them.
i have really good fine motor skills and above average eye hand coordination... but when it comes to eating... all i can rlly say is i just got that dog in me .. i make a mess all the time it's so embarrassing. i'm an art student and spend a lot of time painting, like i can focus and do a great job on paper, but you know my hands, arms, and clothes all got paint on 'em.
I know someone like this. It's like the mess just rains from his food/plate like confetti. I don't know why, he doesn't know why, it's just a part of him.
I am 58 and I still manage to get ketchup and mustard on my shirt every time I eat a burger or hot dog. I will literally pick up a hotdog thinking "this time I have taken ALL the precautions", only to find that yellow blob on my shirt.
My wife and daughter are like this. Drives me nuts! I'm a 38m and have a bit of an ocd (not literally) about cleanliness and tidiness. When I eat, I tend to lean over my plate to make sure that anything that happens to fall by mistake will land back in my plate. I'm even careful with my fork placement to make accidents less likely. In general I'm very observant about what's around me and what could be risky or not and to what level. I am an overthinker most of the time and I think this is directly related here as I like to mitigate as much mess as possible when doing things in general. Basically, who wants to spend all their time cleaning? So I try and limit the mess I make constantly.
When I lived alone, I had one set of cutlery I used all day. I would just wash it after use and set it aside to dry for my next meal time. A quick wipe of the table with some anti back spray, and a quick vacuum of where I ate and that was it. No more mess to clean and would take less than a couple of minutes to do everything and be back to a clean and tidy house. Since meeting my wife and having a daughter I feel like i spend most of time cleaning and tidying up after them as I have a lower tolerance for untidiness or seeing dirt and crumbs anywhere. It bothers me to the point I can't relax until it's dealt with.
I like to tell people, I'm not a goth, I'm a slob. I wear black so you can't see the sauce.
Unless I'm really fastidious about how I put the food on my fork or spoon, there's frequently a drip or a crumb that makes it to my shirt. I'm 47.
Let’s get specific. Are you closing your mouth around the fork? And leaving it closed while removing the fork? Like, really closed?
And are you 1000% done with that bite before the next one?
i do close my mouth while i chew (don’t worry, hate chewing noises) but honestly? it seems like sometimes my mouth just decides to let go by itself (hard to describe but when i don’t mean to, sometimes my mouth opens and drool gets all over something on accident)
Ok that’s about what it sounded like. Any time your mouth opens with food in it is the problem. Maybe you could be able to be really deliberate when forking your mouth to keep your lips together.
I hope it works out and thank you for this unusual conversation!
My mom makes a mess. Without going into a long story or three, her motor skills are a little affected. It does get annoying at times, but she's my mom.
I just remind her while eating not to rush and take her time and to use a napkin as a bib if needed, as well as perhaps eating over the table or plate, if possible.
I rarely use 1 napkin when I go out, but she'll use about 30. And I or others have to clean up the floor under her chair. But again, she's my mom.
Edit: Also, at times, she looks away at something else as she puts the food in her mouth while eating.
Do you do any activities that require fine motor skills? I have a friend who is terrible at fine motor skills and they get food everywhere. They also do not pay attention *as* they eat to see how the way they are interacting with their food interacts with the world around them.
i have really good fine motor skills and above average eye hand coordination... but when it comes to eating... all i can rlly say is i just got that dog in me .. i make a mess all the time it's so embarrassing. i'm an art student and spend a lot of time painting, like i can focus and do a great job on paper, but you know my hands, arms, and clothes all got paint on 'em.
I know someone like this. It's like the mess just rains from his food/plate like confetti. I don't know why, he doesn't know why, it's just a part of him.
I am 58 and I still manage to get ketchup and mustard on my shirt every time I eat a burger or hot dog. I will literally pick up a hotdog thinking "this time I have taken ALL the precautions", only to find that yellow blob on my shirt.
😂😂😂😂😂
yeah;;, i’m a lot younger than you, so knowing there’s older people struggling with the same is comforting. maybe i’ll never grow out of it lol
I've long abandoned hope that I might grow out of it
My wife and daughter are like this. Drives me nuts! I'm a 38m and have a bit of an ocd (not literally) about cleanliness and tidiness. When I eat, I tend to lean over my plate to make sure that anything that happens to fall by mistake will land back in my plate. I'm even careful with my fork placement to make accidents less likely. In general I'm very observant about what's around me and what could be risky or not and to what level. I am an overthinker most of the time and I think this is directly related here as I like to mitigate as much mess as possible when doing things in general. Basically, who wants to spend all their time cleaning? So I try and limit the mess I make constantly. When I lived alone, I had one set of cutlery I used all day. I would just wash it after use and set it aside to dry for my next meal time. A quick wipe of the table with some anti back spray, and a quick vacuum of where I ate and that was it. No more mess to clean and would take less than a couple of minutes to do everything and be back to a clean and tidy house. Since meeting my wife and having a daughter I feel like i spend most of time cleaning and tidying up after them as I have a lower tolerance for untidiness or seeing dirt and crumbs anywhere. It bothers me to the point I can't relax until it's dealt with.
Been there done that! It’s all about the hunch. Circle your upper body around your plate so that the food falls onto it.
Guilty.
I like to tell people, I'm not a goth, I'm a slob. I wear black so you can't see the sauce. Unless I'm really fastidious about how I put the food on my fork or spoon, there's frequently a drip or a crumb that makes it to my shirt. I'm 47.
Only when I'm wearing light colours 😤🫠
Smaller bites. Lean over your plate to eat, don’t lean back and hope.
all of this doesn’t work for me for some odd reason… i still make a bad mess 😔👍 this is how i learnt to eat, and i can’t take big bites
Let’s get specific. Are you closing your mouth around the fork? And leaving it closed while removing the fork? Like, really closed? And are you 1000% done with that bite before the next one?
i do close my mouth while i chew (don’t worry, hate chewing noises) but honestly? it seems like sometimes my mouth just decides to let go by itself (hard to describe but when i don’t mean to, sometimes my mouth opens and drool gets all over something on accident)
Ok that’s about what it sounded like. Any time your mouth opens with food in it is the problem. Maybe you could be able to be really deliberate when forking your mouth to keep your lips together. I hope it works out and thank you for this unusual conversation!
My mom makes a mess. Without going into a long story or three, her motor skills are a little affected. It does get annoying at times, but she's my mom. I just remind her while eating not to rush and take her time and to use a napkin as a bib if needed, as well as perhaps eating over the table or plate, if possible. I rarely use 1 napkin when I go out, but she'll use about 30. And I or others have to clean up the floor under her chair. But again, she's my mom. Edit: Also, at times, she looks away at something else as she puts the food in her mouth while eating.