drinking in the living room

[kathymuggle]

We allow eating anywhere on the ground floor.  People regularly drink (coffee, water, etc) in the living room.

DD, 8, has spilled drinks at least 5 times in the last week.  She has always spilled the appropriate amount for her age, but this is getting to be a bit much.  Usually the spill is on the floor, which can be wiped, but sometimes it is on the couch.  I think she is simply not as aware of her environment and her cup as she should be.

I do not want her drinking in the living room right now - maybe not for the next few months, until she grows a bit.

The thing is - other people (including myself) do want to drink in the living room, and they rarely spill things. I am drinking a coffee at the computer as I speak.

What to do?

Poll time

[D_McG]

can you give her one of those sports bottles?  We don't allow open cups outside of the kitchen.  I use a travel mug for coffee.  My kids use some form of closed cup, too.

[rubidoux]

That does sound like a lot of spilling.  I feel like my seven year old doesn't spill more than a couple of times a month maybe.  BUT, he is very careless with his cups and bowls and things.  Or maybe not careless -- maybe it's an age appropriate misunderstanding of his physical reality.  Either way it can make me crazy.  lol  So, we have a table where his water glass or whatever has to stay if it's not in his hand.  Part of the reason for it is that I also have an almost 2 year old, so it's the only way to keep it away from his brother.  It works out pretty well, though.  He can drink in the living room and we don't have a lot of spills.

[limabean]

My kids can drink in the living room if they have a covered cup. If they have an open cup they need to stay in the kitchen. 

[Alyantavid]

My 8 year old spills alot too.

We keep all food and drinks in the kitchen (dh and I can and do eat elsewhere), except on movie night.  Then they have pop and popcorn in the living room. I just watch alot and make sure they're aware of where things are.  They do pretty well for the most part.

[geekgolightly]

My DS, 7, is pretty good about not spilling his drink, but when he was younger it was a big problem. Our solution was to have him drink only in the kitchen. He would cry "unfair!" but we explained to him that it was completely up to him and as soon as he could keep a drink without spilling it, he could drink like the rest of us. We still have a problem with him running or not paying attention to his personal space and drinks spill occasionally that way, but that is another issue entirely.

We did let him use sippy cups but he didn't like having to use a baby cup, so it didn't hamper his initiative to drink with the grownups.

[nextcommercial]

She's spilling, nobody else is, so she needs to keep her cups in the kitchen for a while.  Nobody needs the exact same privileges as everybody else if they've proven they can't handle it right now.  It's not like you won't reinstate it later on and let her have another try.  Even an adult would have to stop taking cups into the living room if they kept spilling it.  

[laohaire]

I don't think this makes logical sense, but I think it's ok to have water, coffee or tea outside the kitchen/dining areas. I don't think it's a good idea to have juice, milk or soda outside those areas. The water makes sense - a spill is not a big deal - but coffee has plenty of staining potential, so I don't really understand my own opinion on that. Yet I do think people in general often have tea in the living room or whatever, so I can't be the only one who has that idea.

That said, if that were the rule, then I think that could be applied equally to everyone. The 8 year old can have water outside the dining areas. Maybe I'd enforce that she use a reasonably small cup, though, so she doesn't regularly spill 32 ounces of water on the sofa. I'm hoping she doesn't drink tea or coffee, so it's either water or she has to go in the kitchen. You are still permitted to have your coffee at the computer. That's how I see it.

We were pretty lax about drinking anywhere in the house (even upstairs - or rather, mostly upstairs - it's FREEZING downstairs in the winter and we tend to gravitate upstairs when it's cold) but DD, 5 years old, has a habit of spilling too, so we clamped down on that. But DH is pretty much constantly nursing a cup of tea, and he'll do that anywhere and I don't think that's caused any confusion or resentment. (Though I know a 5 year old isn't an 8 year old :)).

[CatsCradle]

We have a no-drinks policy in the living room (for everyone) unless certain guidelines are followed.  DD can drink in the living room if we set up her little table and chair.  No drinks are allowed near the couch and chairs.  This policy is for the living room and bedroom only.  DD can have drinks in her playroom and our computer is also part of that playroom. 

I know it probably sounds silly to some, but we don't plan to buy any new furniture and rugs until DD is older, and it is important to us that we take care of them for the long term.  Plus, it is not like we live in a castle, LOL, people can walk a few extra steps to the kitchen table if they are thirsty!

[kittykat2481]

We have a little table (from IKEA Kids) in the living room where his drinks stay. No drinks on the couch. If a spill happens, it's no big deal! (And at the table, spills are much less likely to happen.)

[GoBecGo]

If you spill a drink does your DH berate you and insist you can't be trusted to drink anywhere but the kitchen?  That seems so heavy-handed to me - appropriate for deliberate chucking about of drinks, wilfully staining furniture etc.  Totally OTT for an accidental spill, no matter how often it happens.

I was the clumsy child.  I always cleaned up if i spilled.  I have mostly grow out of it.  DP was a clumsy child.  He still VISIBLY FLINCHES if he accidentally spills something because of how his parents reacted to it.

So i vote have her clean it up.  She'll grow out of it.  Meantime start saving for your new fancy couch you can get when all the kids are grown and out the house.

[VisionaryMom]

Is 5 times in the last week typical or an anomaly? That changes how I would handle it. If it's an anomaly, I'd chalk it up to being a bad week for her. If it's always that often, then I would probably work with her on how to handle herself. DS has always been really careful. He moved to open cups before age 1, and he's had a handful of spills ever. DD is another story. She just turned 4, and she still spills often. We mostly work with her on recognizing that her elbow is near her cup, putting her cup there will be a problem when she lifts her popcorn bowl, etc. She really needs more instruction on physical space. Maybe your dd is like that, and you could (gently, of course!) work with her on it.

[kathymuggle]

I have never berated anyone for spilling things.

In reality, if I spilled things regularly I would stop drinking outside the kitchen or get a mug with a lid.  Cleaning up is no fun - particularly if it stains.

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by VisionaryMom 

Is 5 times in the last week typical or an anomaly? That changes how I would handle it. If it's an anomaly, I'd chalk it up to being a bad week for her. If it's always that often, then I would probably work with her on how to handle herself. DS has always been really careful. He moved to open cups before age 1, and he's had a handful of spills ever. DD is another story. She just turned 4, and she still spills often. We mostly work with her on recognizing that her elbow is near her cup, putting her cup there will be a problem when she lifts her popcorn bowl, etc. She really needs more instruction on physical space. Maybe your dd is like that, and you could (gently, of course!) work with her on it.

I am not sure.  It seems a bit higher than usual this week - but I think she is a bit "spilly" to begin with.

I might try to work with her on being more aware of her personal surrounding - but i do not want to make her self conscious, you know?

I am heading towards using a kid table for her in the living room.  She has done this before and it does work.  I had hesitated, as she often brings in the table, starts playing with stuff on it, does not clean up after herself and we have (another) flat surface with clutter on it.  However, if might be the solution -  and it might just be she has to clear it off or clear a spot on it before she gets a drink.

[Mosaic]

Ok, I voted "no one drinks outside of the kitchen", but not for the reason you might think.

The thing is, if your DD isn't aware of her own drink, she's sure as heck not going to be aware of anyone else's drink, and you're still going to be cleaning up lots of spills. I say this because I had to give up coffee because sure-shootin', DD knocks that thing over in spite of multiple, MULTIPLE reminders/warnings, no matter where I put the dumb thing. Unless you can somehow put your coffee high up on something that can't be bumped, you might be surprised at your daughter's spilling ability.

[lexapurple]

I think I would ether prohibit everyone from drinking staining liquids in the living room or provide containers that are not easy to spill. I would rather buy new cups and bottles than create another clutter area with extra furniture, just for drinks.

[Octopus8]

I voted "other". I would get a few of those covered cups - not baby sippy cups, but the travel cup kind. They have hot and cold cup versions at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

[childsplay]

My kids still spill a lot too. (Particularly if they're anywhere but the kitchen!) They can drink from open cups all they want in the kitchen, however they need to fill a water bottle if they want to take it anywhere else in the house. Since they only drink water (no juice/milk) I'm not terribly concerned if the odd cup makes it's way out of the kitchen or a water bottle gets knocked over in the hallway.

I chose other. Does she take a water bottle to school? Maybe she'd drink from one at home too?

[One_Girl]

Is she going through a growth spurt?  If so she is probably more tippy than usual.  During the growing years kids aren't always aware of where their bodies are and they tend to be clumsy.  I would not do anything except encourage her to find a place to set her cup so it won't spill and let her clean it up.

[pianojazzgirl]

I'm tempted to vote that for now she should have to keep drinks in the kitchen, even though others are allowed drinks in the living room.  We do this at our house *but* the big difference is that the dining table is in the same room as the living room, so even though kids need to sit at the table to drink they can still stay in the same room as everyone else.  So, I didn't vote because I'm not totally decided.

I do think having a special "sports" bottle for her to use  - to help minimize spills - is a good idea.  Or only allowing water out of the kitchen.