At what age did you stop using a bib?

[lmwbasye]

I was watching Jon and Kate tonight and noticed that their nearly 4 year olds still do....I knew they did at home, but they also use the disposables when out.

I would love to use one (so tired of stains) for my 3 1/2 year old, but don't since I felt like he was too old. Anyway, watching this episode got me curious what others do.

TIA!

[babyready]

My 3 1/2 DD still wears one at home. But we don't use them outside the house anymore. Most people I know don't still use them at this point. But I hate stains.

[elizabethkott]

Right about 11 months, the Monsterbaby discovered he is a mini-hulk in training, and began ripping his bib off.
It's horribly frustrating to deal with all the stains.
Oh well.
:D
If you can get your 3 1/2 year old to wear it, heck I say go for it!
But if you're looking to make some money, buy stock in Tide-to-Go sticks... I go through them like water! :)

[lisams]

Right about 11 months, the Monsterbaby discovered he is a mini-hulk in training, and began ripping his bib off.
It's horribly frustrating to deal with all the stains.
Oh well.
:D
If you can get your 3 1/2 year old to wear it, heck I say go for it!
But if you're looking to make some money, buy stock in Tide-to-Go sticks... I go through them like water! :)

11 months here with both of my kiddos. They would just rip them off and I pretty much gave up. We do have a few t-shirts that are named the "spaghetti shirts" which we put on over DS's shirt when he's eating something messy, like spaghetti!

[DrSally]

I know 3-3.5 yr olds that don't wear them. Of course, if you can't keep them on them, there's nothing you can do. Isn't Kate from that show a little anal?

[vludmilla]

Wow, I guess I'm lucky. My DD (21 months old) actually *asks* me for a bib before she eats!

[egoldber]

Amy rips hers off most of the time and has since she was about 14 months. So I only really bother now if its something particularly messy.

[pb&j]

Kate is very high strung about stains.

DS is 2.5 and eats with fingers and utensils. We put a bib on DS at most meals that involve messy things like yogurt or spaghetti or chili, but never remember to bring one when eating out. And for "clean" meals, we don't bother.

He is an exceptionally neat eater, though, and always has been. You know all those pics people have of babies with strained peas all over their faces? We don't have any, because it never happened. Food got within a 3 inch radius of his mouth and simply disappered.

[tnrnchick74]

I really do like the show and I would NEVER judge the family because, quite frankly, I have no idea how I would manage that big of a household.

If she can get 4 year old to wear a bib - GREAT! And if I had that many kiddos, I think I would be a little anal about stains too. can you imagine the amount of laundry? Can you imagine the clothing costs?

[ilovetivo]

Wow, I guess I'm lucky. My DD (21 months old) actually *asks* me for a bib before she eats!


Ditto - dd's almost 3 1/2 and I don't care what other's think, she's still wearing one :) We use the Bumpkins art smock at home and out. We get enough stains as it is :)

[maestramommy]

Dora is still using hers. She's pretty much feeding herself everything, and certain foods, like noodles and soup and be pretty messy. She also just learned to drink from an open cup (yay!) so that can be a little messy too.

Arwyn has been pulling her bib since the beginning. I put a paper clamp on it and that helps, and I just keeping taking her hand away and repeating, "no you have to keep your bib on if you want to eat." I did the same with Dora and after a while she would take it off to signal she was done.

[s7714]

I honestly don't remember a specific age, but it was when it got to be a constant fight to get them to wear it. At ages 3 and 5, I still make both my DDs wear them on occasion (yes, even my 5 year old!) for really messy things like popsicles or ice cream cones. My 3 year old will ask for a bib once in a while when she's eating cereal or yogurt--I guess she knows ahead of time that she's going to make a mess?!

I detest dealing with washing bibs though so I was happy to see them go! But then I'm one of those who hates touching dirty dishes unless I have rubber gloves on--cleaning the food goo off bibs and out of their catch-all pockets is just yuck!

[bubbaray]

You mean I'm too old to wear a bib? j/k ;)

DD#1 was around 2.5 or so. BUT and this is a huge but, if she's wearing a white top and we're having a red pasta sauce or similar and we're at home, I make her wear a bib (she d/n like them anymore b/c they are for "babies) or take her shirt off. I got so @#$%^ sick of stains on clothes.... Bad mommy.

DD#2 still wears a bib and will until she get's her driver's license. She's a messy eater.

If I had 6 kids the same age as my DD#1, they'd either all wear bibs for meals or go naked. Kate seems to do enough laundry as it is!

[KrisM]

Both my kids ripped them off themselves about 14 months. DS would wear one again nearer to two. DD refuses.

But, since about age 3-3.5, DS doesn't really need one. He spills at times, but it's rare. He probably spills on himself about the same amount of times that I do :).

DD is still a bit of a mess with somethings, but is overall neater than DS was at this age. Hopefully in a year, she'll be good too.

[pastrygirl]

My son is 23 months and uses a bib only a couple of times a week, if that. He's a very neat eater, and has also been ripping his bib off for months (velcro, snap, tie, it doesn't matter!) If he made a mess when eating, I'd probably still enforce it.

[Wife_and_mommy]

I stopped w/ DD around 3.5 because she didn't really need it. If it's something messy or she's wearing "nice" clothes I might but usually not.

I stopped w/ DS recently unless it's messy food(yogurt, for example). He gladly wears one when I deem it necessary.

I didn't think to bring bibs this past Sunday when we went to the beach. We had ice cream for dinner....it wasn't pretty but all in all went okay.

[elephantmeg]

DS wears his-and wipes his hands on the sides of his shirt. So the front stays clean but his sides don't. Any suggestions for that?

[Happy 2B mommy]

I put one on DH and he's 37! (just kidding, but really, he's almost as bad as DD)

DD is 18 months and doesn't fight the bib. I have the vinyl ones from Walmart with the snaps, so it's impossible for her to pull it off. I figure I'll keep one on her as long as possible.

I remember my mom putting me in a raincoat for 'messy' food meals. I must have been 4 or even older. But when I was growing up we were pretty conservative with water, so keeping laundry down to a minimum was really important.

[egoldber]

I have the vinyl ones from Walmart with the snaps, so it's impossible for her to pull it off.

:ROTFLMAO: Sorry, that's amusing. I have those too. Amy can definitely pull them off if she's determined!

[KpbS]

My smart sis has her kids (5, yes 5 and 2) wear the cloth type over the head bibs. She swears by them b/c they mop up spills--helping w/ food stains--and encourages her kids to use them as napkins since they are right there (ie can't fall on the floor) and are absorbent.

HTH

[Clarity]

A Better Bib? It seems to have pretty nice side coverage. Or one of the Bumkins smocks?

[kijip]

I dunno, I have figured that not using them encouraged neater eating. We stopped when he was about a year (he could get any of them off anyways- velcor, snaps the hard plastic ones, the over the head ones). And while he has had some spills and spots and the like, he is a pretty neat eater at almost 5, able to remember to put his napkin on his lap and use it to wipe his mouth. I think that comes from several years of practice. In my mind wearing a bib at age four just means they have to start learning later. But take my word with a grain of salt, cause we also mostly skipped sippy cups...he was drinking from a glass when he was 1 and 2. Also, I don't do the laundry in this house much so maybe my opinion would be different if I was the one with the oxyclean out all the time when he was 2! :)

[mudder17]

Well, with Kaya, we probably used it for 2.5 years or so, though not always at every meal. After that, we only used it with her if she was eating something particularly messy. With Mika, we used it for maybe the first 6 months she ate solids and after that, it's only been when she's about to eat something messy and sometimes we forget. :oops:

[mom2binsd]

DD will be 5 on Sunday...she has been wearing the same two Bumkins Jr. Smock bibs for almost 3 years...they truly are the best...rinse clean and dry in an hour..she wears them at home for almost all meals and out at restaurants still..she has never known any different...and it has kept her clothes stain free (I hate stains and it would drive me crazy to have her have stains on her clothes that we take such good care of...) as well..we are out to dinner at least once a week at DH's work..we eat at the restaurant in the hockey arena and then go to the game afterward so I like her to look nice.

BUT I won't be sending a bib in her lunchbox to Kindergarten (I just mentioned this to someone actually the other day).

DS age 2 also wears his Bumpkins bib all the time, never pulls it off and we'll use it till he does.

I'd wear one myself if I could find one in my size...I always seem to get a splatter of something on my white shirts!

[hollybloom24]

My kids just turned three and they wear them at home - hate stains!