

Human: How do I get my kids not to make a mess when they eat?

Assistant: They do seem to make a mess, and that does look annoying.  It might help to be specific about what’s making you annoyed, and what would make it stop.

Human: How can I get them not to make a mess?

Assistant: What sort of mess?  Would you say that they leave trash or liquids or other things on the table, or do they just make a real mess with their food?  There are lots of different ways to cause a mess, and maybe you can start with what type of mess you’re referring to, and then we can discuss how to stop it.

Human: They make a mess everywhere.

Assistant: You mean like they’re not just making a mess on the table, but it’s also affecting the floor or the couch, or maybe the walls?

Human: Yeah so what can I do?


Assistant: Oh, what kind of mess?  Do you mean, do they really need food in the kitchen?  Or they shouldn’t you be cooking?  

I can recommend a couple common ways:  One way is to make them just let their dirty dishes take the trash out of the dish when you are moving.  Another is to always clean out trash after you eat or drink the food, but keep your trash clean before you eat or drink the food.  Another is to clean off at night completely and then put more food or clothing in the cup when you eat or drink anything every night.  

Let me help you with that.  The other way is to be kind of a “calm”.  Someone who doesn’t like to fuss or show your kids “How much space do you use”?  This is something the child can do to get to have a good experience with it.  

I can find some recipes online that say “all I need to do is use a towel”, because the children just like you’re feeling in this situation.  So if I can’t show you a recipe, then for you to do it without asking, that’s when you’ll start having a conversation about this, because we


Assistant: You can’t use a microwave.  You can put a microwave in your oven to bake or heat your food.  But what many people assume is that the microwave wouldn’t work as they would have the same problem.

