Crawling and Eating?

[turtleschell]

So DD doesn't really eat much when I sit her in her highchair, but when she crawls around and steals things from my plate etc she is much more enthusiastic about eating, so lately I've been letting her do that for her lunch meals.
Does anyone else do this?
Obviously it creates huge mess for me, and when she's older I'd make her sit at a table, but is this ok in the meantime? Am I creating a bad habit?
What do you do?

[onthefly]

Yep, we did this a lot as DS much preferred to eat on the go. Would just put out little plates of stuff for him to grab when he wanted. It is messy, but at least he ate. I don't think it's a bad habit - DS mostly eats sitting down now (unless we're out at a park or something). I think it's jus really hard for them to sit still when they first start moving.

[turtleschell]

Ohh thanks marcellus, I'm glad I'm not some filthy parent!
It's just so nice to see her eat with a smile on her face instead of scowling and throwing things.

[sloane]

i also have one that likes to eat & explore. apparently high chairs are a total appetite suppressant & booster seats aren't much better we also just put out bowls of food & he eats & goes. i'm actually finding less mess than when things were dumped over the side of the high chair.

my mum & dad are getting him a little table & chairs for christmas so i'm hoping he enjoys sitting at that to eat. wishful thinking?

[CrazyLady]

It's just so nice to see her eat with a smile on her face instead of scowling and throwing things.

lol, this was the primary reason we let DD do it too. Now she has her own table and chair (she finds the big chairs intimidating) and feels quite important. She runs to her table and waits when I say tea/breakfast is ready!

[~Hestia~]

If you're a filthy parent than I'm the Queen of filthy parents LOL!
Moo only eats dinner in his highchair, and that's because we eat together. When he hears his toast pop up in the mornings, he dashes over to the mat and sits down ready!

It does create more mess, especially once they start walking. But I'd rather he eat!

[onthefly]

llittle table and chairs is a good idea. We have a little desk with seat attached taht my dad made - DS always has his breakfast and snacks there. He can stand and dance, wiggle, whatever, but it keeps the mess contained to one area (more or less)