when do babies stop playing with their food?

My son is 14 months and he loves to self feed now. I try not to let him "play" with his food, but he does like to pick everything up and squeeze it and rub it around. As long as he's eating, I let him do that. When he's done eating and just making a mess, I distract him and get him cleaned up. There's a difference between making a mess and learning about how things feel. I also tell him not to throw things, or make a mess. I don't know if he understands it yet, but it's better than waiting until he's 4 and expecting him to know what to do. Good luck!

I also have an 18 month old. They are messy it's fun and feels good to them. I tell her no no when she starts. i have decided that this is usually when she is done eating. As for will they ever stop. Heck my 14 yr old will show me her mashed potato sculptures still!

He will learn in his own time. It won't be soon though because he might be making a mess with his food now because he just hasn't worked out how to feed himself without making a mess, but give him a few more months and he'll know the difference and he'll be deliberately making a mess and throwing food at you! My youngest is 20 months old and is exceptionally good at meal times. Up until about a month ago, he would throw everything on the floor if he didn't want it but now, because he can speak really well, he can tell me that he has had enough and he passes me the plate before it gets chance to get to the floor. But my oldest son, who is now 7, still makes an awful mess sometimes. He doesn't play with his food though, he stopped doing that when he was about 3. So there are no guarantees of when a child will stop doing these things. I think not making a fuss is a good idea because, as I am sure you already know, the more you tell a child not to do something, the more they will do it(especially boys!)