getting grossed out

[mamamanda]

My 3 y.o. Ds is very easily grossed out. He isn't doing it for attention. He really gets sick. If he sees snot, blood, spit, etc. it often ends with him vomiting and then crying b/c he feels bad about it. I don't know why this happens, but I do know that I've always been the same way. Thankfully I stop short of throwing up & just feel nauseous. I tell him if he feels sick to look away & think of something happy. For the most part this is working, but I have a dcg 4 who is a very messy eater. She lacks the skills she needs to eat properly & I am working with her, but it is going to take some time. Milk/food drips out of her mouth a lot which is more than Ds can handle. If I'm being honest I often feel sick myself while watching her eat and I often have to eat later. There are legitimate issues with muscle tone so she's not doing it on purpose & she's actually made progress. My concern is that today I know she realized he got sick when he looked up at her (drool dripping from her chin.) I assured her she didn't do anything wrong. I'm worried about her confidence, but also his ability to eat too. He is very underweight. Aside from feeding them at different times which would be tricky I'm not sure what else to do. Anyone dealt with this? I have mentioned it to our Dr. He says Ds just has a sensitive stomach. I'm telling you I get the weirdest issues around here.::

[AuntTami]

My 3 y.o. Ds is very easily grossed out. He isn't doing it for attention. He really gets sick. If he sees snot, blood, spit, etc. it often ends with him vomiting and then crying b/c he feels bad about it. I don't know why this happens, but I do know that I've always been the same way. Thankfully I stop short of throwing up & just feel nauseous. I tell him if he feels sick to look away & think of something happy. For the most part this is working, but I have a dcg 4 who is a very messy eater. She lacks the skills she needs to eat properly & I am working with her, but it is going to take some time. Milk/food drips out of her mouth a lot which is more than Ds can handle. If I'm being honest I often feel sick myself while watching her eat and I often have to eat later. There are legitimate issues with muscle tone so she's not doing it on purpose & she's actually made progress. My concern is that today I know she realized he got sick when he looked up at her (drool dripping from her chin.) I assured her she didn't do anything wrong. I'm worried about her confidence, but also his ability to eat too. He is very underweight. Aside from feeding them at different times which would be tricky I'm not sure what else to do. Anyone dealt with this? I have mentioned it to our Dr. He says Ds just has a sensitive stomach. I'm telling you I get the weirdest issues around here.::

Could you turn one of them around or face them in slightly different difections so they can't see each other? I'm not sure if there's a way to do that without singling one of them out but that was my first idea

[AmyKidsCo]

I had the same thought - maybe actually put them next to each other so they're facing the same way. If you can fit 3 on a side and put someone between them that would be even better.

[Shell]

I know my dh's sister deals with this, and I'm fairly certain he does as well.
My dh won't eat with us, he does dishes, smokes cigarettes, etc- anything to avoid eating with our kids. I know it bothers him- I am apparently not the neatest eater- he has made little comments in the past, but overall he tries to hide how he feels about it. I spoke to my bil, and his sister is the exact same way.
I do think it's some sort of issue- deeper than a sensitive stomach- maybe it's a type of syndrome? Idk, but it truly bothers people and I think people need understanding and accommodations (which it sounds like you are doing a great job helping).
I like the suggestions listed above. I would say try those. Dh purposely isolates himself, and although I don't like it that he doesn't eat with us, I think that's an accommodation he has made for himself.

[Blackcat31]

My 3 y.o. Ds is very easily grossed out. He isn't doing it for attention. He really gets sick. If he sees snot, blood, spit, etc. it often ends with him vomiting and then crying b/c he feels bad about it. I don't know why this happens, but I do know that I've always been the same way. Thankfully I stop short of throwing up & just feel nauseous. I tell him if he feels sick to look away & think of something happy. For the most part this is working, but I have a dcg 4 who is a very messy eater. She lacks the skills she needs to eat properly & I am working with her, but it is going to take some time. Milk/food drips out of her mouth a lot which is more than Ds can handle. If I'm being honest I often feel sick myself while watching her eat and I often have to eat later. There are legitimate issues with muscle tone so she's not doing it on purpose & she's actually made progress. My concern is that today I know she realized he got sick when he looked up at her (drool dripping from her chin.) I assured her she didn't do anything wrong. I'm worried about her confidence, but also his ability to eat too. He is very underweight. Aside from feeding them at different times which would be tricky I'm not sure what else to do. Anyone dealt with this? I have mentioned it to our Dr. He says Ds just has a sensitive stomach. I'm telling you I get the weirdest issues around here.::

I have two tables.

A large stop signed shaped one that my littles (under 3) sit at and a smaller square shaped table that my 4 oldest kids sit at.

My DS was the same way as yours when he was young. We used to make jokes that anytime he got hurt and bled, he would probably throw up. My DS was also bullied at school a lot too so my DH made sure to teach him how to defend himself and we always figured, he would knock his bully out and then toss his cookies... ::

Anyways, I know, not a laughing matter because it IS hard to deal with but my suggestion would be to maybe get a small table (kid sized) that you could put your DS and maybe 1 or 2 others at while eating so that the "cleaner" eaters can eat in peace while the messier ones can eat and neither group gets offended, hurt feelings or nauseated.