Placemats?

If your kids sit at the table and don't use trays -- do you have placemats, tablecloth, or what?

Amy has recently been wanting to sit "right at the table" in her booster seat, rather than eating off her tray. I know this is a skill they need to learn, but it's awfully hard on the tablecloth. Plus, she sometimes decides to yank on the tablecloth to see what will happen.

So I guess we need placemats. Is there a kind that will suction (or otherwise stick) to a wood table, but that can be removed for easy cleaning, without hurting the wood?

 

I'm not sure...but I do know that with my oldest DS when he made the jump from booster with tray to the table, I bought some foam sheets (at WalMart--about 12in x 12in) and let him paint it with finger paints and told him it was his special mat for eating and if he wanted to eat at the table with Mom and Dad he had to use his mat, and he always did. I don't remember how old he was, I want to say right around 2, so maybe making a placemat together that she thinks is "extra special" will keep her on the placemat?

 

We use plastic or vinyl ones - Target. They don't suction to the table, but don't come off too easily.

 

They actually make disposable placemats that they sell at BRU. My friend had them when we went out to eat with the girls one day. They were awesome. You peel off the paper around the edges and then just stick it to the table. They also peel right off. And it has some shapes, and pictures and other stuff to entertain them while they eat. I guess placemats would work except that they tend to slide (depending on the kind) which could lead to some other clean up matters.

 

This placemat is so great! It savces on cleanup too and sticks to the table. We bring it with to restaurants. We also have the same brand bid. Super easy to wash too.

Placemat

 

We are high chair people, but my sister's 18mo eats at the table from her booster. I thought her solution was great:

She purchased an inexpensive felt-backed vinyl tablecloth and then cut it and added elastic to the edges so it would snug-up to the underside of the table keeping it 'childproof' (not sliding around/off).

It works great: she can quickly/easily wipe down the area while also keeping the table cloth were it should be instead of on the foor.

 

We just put their plates on the bare table. To me it just seems easier to clean up when it's just the table -- a quick wipe with a clean/damp rag as soo as we're done with dinner (or obviously quickly wiping up serious spills), and we're done. I usually spray the table with the Lysol Food Surface Sanitizer before each meal too, because although she's technically not allowed on the table, I KNOW one of my cats gets up on the table when we're sleeping or out of the house because I can see cat fur there in the morning and when I come home from work.

Anyway, to me it seems like dealing with separate placemats would just make cleanup more complicated. But I grew up in a household with the most gorgeous hardwood dining table, and my mother never used tablecloths or placemats except at Christmas, so it honestly just never occurs to me!

 

Since we have an antique table that shows water rings instantly, yes we use placemats. I used to use the Tiny Diners (that were linked in a pp) but now we just use vinyl placemats. My favorite are the ones from Pottery Barn Kids, but right now we are using some Halloween ones from Target!