One thing I knew in theory about toddlers thanks to all my book reading was that they are quite independent, and value getting to do things all by themselves. Despite being aware of this, the reality of it has hit me like a ton of bricks, in some ways. In particular, I am challenged by how this plays itself out at meal time.

You see, I seem to take issue with messy eaters. Which is sort of strange, because I’m not Miss Manners at the dinner table, myself (and goodness knows I don’t have any problem being messy in other areas of my life). But seriously, I cannot stand seeing a kid with food all over her face, in her hair and on the table. Like, I sometimes have to leave the room. Yeah.

So that meant that I was spoon-feeding Darah for longer than most babies. Tim would let Darah try out her self-feeding skills when he was on meal duty with her, which I was grateful for, because I did feel bad that I wasn’t giving her the opportunity to practice. But I didn’t feel bad enough to turn over control to her.

That is, until she DEMANDED it. Oh yes, that day has definitely come. Darah WILL feed herself. On any given morning, you can hear me in my dining room stifling my shrieks as I watch her dump food EVERYWHERE. I give her the smallest of spoons, and yet, she defies gravity with how much food she loads up on them, and then turns the spoon over just a second too soon, getting 75% of it on her bib or the table.

I’ve learned the hard way that meals are best served to a toddler with no clothes on, because she can find a way to get food not just on the front of her shirt, but also the back and the arms! It’s a little bit impressive! But there have been days when it has either been too chilly in the house, or when I just didn’t feel up to getting her undressed (especially during her food meltdowns where she seems to think that she might actually die if she doesn’t eat right that second). Even though we have great bibs, she almost always gets something on her clothes. And even if she doesn’t, her bibs are beyond toast. I usually have to rinse them off in the kitchen sink before adding them to the laundry hamper. Sometimes I miss a spot, as is evidenced by me finding black beans and blueberries IN THE WASHING MACHINE. Ay yay yay!

You know what else is going in the washing machine with those super stained clothes? Purex with Zout. This is a fabulous new product from the company that makes my beloved fabric softener crystals.

Basically, it is a detergent and a pre-treater all in one. I can tell you from personal experience that it has removed all sorts of berry stains (blueberry, raspberry, marionberry, strawberry) from Darah’s clothes and bibs. It has also gotten out baked bean sauce! And I didn’t even have to pre-treat the clothes, which is amazing.

It contains the following three elements, which is what makes it so effective against so many different types of stains.

• protease: works against protein-based stains such as grass and blood
• amylase: works against starchy stains such as chocolate and tomato sauce
• mannanase: works against guar, which is used as a thickener in many foods, such as ice cream, barbecue sauce, and salad dressing. it is sticky, which means that it sticks to clothing, too.

If you’ve got a messy eater in your house, I’d say this is a must-have for your laundry room. And I love the price point (ARV is $3.49…budget-friendly!). Look for it at your local Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger and Publix stores! Also note that it comes in a fragrance-free formula, for those of you with folks in the home sensitive to fragrances. Yippee!

You want to try it, don’t you? Good news! You can get a free sample of Purex with Zout right now!

Win it!: TWO of you will be scoring a free product coupon for Purex with Zout! Woo hoo! The contest will run until April 22nd at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: This contest is for my Facebook fans, so for your mandatory entry, please like me on Facebook and come back here and tell me you did (If you are already a fan, great! Just say so for your first entry).

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Purex on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect

Rare bonus entry: Tell me how you dealt with/hope to deal with the messy toddler eating stage! All tips welcome! 🙂

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.
Disclosure: I am a Purex Insider, which means that I received complimentary products for review in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given!