Whoopsie Wipes for mealtime

The trouble with a pre-moistened wipe at the table is what it leaves behind. A face cleaned with it is a face with a thin film of surfactant and fragrance on it, an inch from the mouth, and a toddler’s next move is to lick that inch. A Whoopsie Wipes square wetted at the tap leaves water. Use it dry first for the drool and the dribble of milk, because dry cotton lifts that better than anything wet; then wet the same square, or a fresh one, and take the yoghurt off the chin and the banana off the fingers. Fold it once more and do the tray. One square, three jobs, into the bin.

Two honest limits. A cotton square is not a way of washing hands: the CDC says soap and running water is the way to get rid of germs in most situations, offers an alcohol sanitiser only where soap and water are not available, and does not list wipes at all. Our square gets the food off so the hand-washing can happen. And a dry pack at the table wants a bottle of water beside it, because a dry wipe on dried-on porridge is a scrubbing brush; wet the square first and the porridge lifts. At three meals a day for a child who feeds herself, budget four or five squares a day on top of the changes, and the twelve-pack starts to pay.