I think to some extent, yes, it's because babies realise that they'd better get the food in their mouth rather than pitch it across the room if they want to eat - there's no backup of mum or whoever spooning stuff in as well. So while they're getting the opportunity to play with their food and learn about texture, etc from the word go, they're also learning that Food Is For Eating Not Lobbing, m'kay? But I also think that "mess" is an individual child thing. DS1 is the cleanest child in the world, completely naturally. He ate black cherries in a white top, bibless, when he was 16mo and there wasn't a mark on his top when he'd finished. I would have trouble doing that! DS2 is one of the muckiest, but getting MUCH better lately (he's 18mo). I have been utterly laid back with them both about mess, because I am utterly laid back about mess in general...! But DS2 seems to have taken me rather more literally than DS1, shall we say?!