Rubbing Face while eating??? HELP!!

[jamieshaw]

Does or has anyone had any experience with LO rubbing face, neck & head at meal times. My LO is 13 months and has done this since the moment he first got baby food. He cannot keep his hands away from his head while he eats. Not only is it messy, it is starting to concern me?? I know it is not allergy related because there is no other skin or allergy issues presenting itself. He also starts the extreme rubbing as soon as I put him in his highchair and he sees his food? It seems like some sort of bad habit, but I was just curious if anyone has ever dealt with anything like this before. He love food and eats great, but can't keep his hands off his face/head/neck. I am wondering if there could be some sort of sensory issue associated with food??  PLEASE OFFER ANY IDEAS OR THOUGHTS YOU MAY HAVE!!

THANK YOU!!!

[Tweakster]

Interesting.  Finn occasionally does this.  It's the worst when he gets pasta sauce in his hair lol  Head rubbing is his calm down tool though.

Wondering what others say.

[Kiwi_one]

Curious to see whether there'll be any more replies if I bump this up. Mina rubs her face a lot at mealtimes too, especially dinner (at least we can shower her at that time of day!). It may just be a boredom thing for her, something for her to do with her hands; we often end up giving her toys to play with at mealtimes to distract her enough to eat.

[lulunut]

I have an LO who does this too!  I just thought it was because he usually gets food up his nose when he grabs it!  It's itchy after so all his food ends up all over his face since his hands are so dirty!!  I just try to wipe him with a cloth but he usually rubs his face more so I can't get much of it cleaned off!  Now he is itchy because he has food in his eyes and it just goes from there!!!  I take photos!  It's funny!