Catchy: Why all kids should be allowed to be messy eaters

Why all parents SHOULD let their kids be messy eaters when they’re little – as psychologist warns strict rules around meal times lead to poor food habits

Psychologist encourages messy eating in kids as it’s key to developmental skills
Dr Rachel Cohen and her husband founded the $15 Catchy to help kids eat better
Kids learn through play so it’s important to incorporate different foods into diets
It allows kids to create bonds with food that will impact future eating habits

By Amelia Roach For Daily Mail Australia

A clinical psychologist who specialises in eating disorders is encouraging parents to let their children eat messily as babies as it is key to developmental skills.

Dr Rachel Cohen, from Sydney, is passionate about eating habits and founded her small business Catchy with her husband Brad to help fussy little eaters enjoy meal time.

The bib is an innovative $15 gadget that allows feeding time to be fun and messy which, she says, is pivotal for growing a child’s mindset around food.

A Clinical Psychologist, who specialises in eating disorders, is encouraging parents to let children eat messily as it’s key to developmental skills

Dr Cohen says research shows that kids who have parents fussing around food and cleaning up mess while they eat they are more likely to become fussy eaters.

She insists parents incorporate different textures, consistences and flavours into a child’s diet for them to explore with, as kids learn through play.

The bib was developed when Rachel and her husband began dreading meal times due to the mess their daughter Maya would make.

Dr Rachel Cohen, from Sydney, is passionate about eating habits thus founded her small business with her husband Brad to help fussy little eaters enjoy meal time

Why is messy eating crucial for a child’s development?

Research shows that kids who have parents fussing around food and cleaning up mess while they eat they are more likely to become fussy eaters and form bad habits around food
Children learn through play, by letting them ‘play’ with their food they can explore all of their senses.
Constant exposure to particular food can make children feel comfortable to explore textures and flavours.
It can take 10 to 15 attempts to expose a child to a food item before they actually try it.
Letting your child create an important relationship with food from a young age will impact their future eating habits.

The couple, along with thousands of other parents, have learnt to embrace messy eating with the non toxic food safe bib.

The game-changing product allows Rachel to practice what she preaches as a psychologist and lets her daughter experience food with her senses.

The bib works to contain mess and allows parents to scoop the food out of the bib and put it back onto the child’s plate, just as Dr Cohen does.

The bib is $15 and allows feeding to be fun and messy which is pivotal for growing a child’s mindset around food, it contains mess and allows parents to scoop food back onto child’s plate

‘The environment we set up around meal times can pay an important role in a child’s later development and openness toward new food,’ Dr Cohen told FEMAIL.

She does not believe in force feeding but in allowing children to explore their food even if they just squish the substance in-between their fingers.

Her gadget allows children to create important relationships with food that will impact their future eating habits.

‘The environment we set up around meal times can pay an important role in a child’s later development and openness toward new food,’ Dr Cohen said

Thousands of customers have shared just how impressed they are with the product and say that it has become a must-have with little ones.

‘What a fantastic invention these bibs are. Spills drop into the well . So easy to clean and comfortable for the baby,’ a happy customer wrote.

‘I wish I ordered one sooner. This has been a lifesaver for cleanups after meal times. We absolutely love it, I could not recommend it more,’ another wrote.

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