Bibado came to be when co-founder Rachel, mom to twins, was overwhelmed and frustrated with the lack of coverall to keep her twins and her kitchen clean during mealtime. Every parent has been at the breaking point during a chaotic meal, while in the thick of a particularly messy meal, Rachel had a lightbulb moment of ingenuity and quickly cut up an old umbrella to keep the mess at bay. Flash forward a few years later, several rounds of tweaking and perfecting and now 1 in every 6 families in the UK is a fan and loyal customer of Bibado.
I had a chance to interview the creator to learn more. Although my kids are older now, I definitely could have used something like this with my younger - she always was (and still is) a messy eater!
Where did you get the original idea to use an old umbrella?
This is a great question and one I get asked a lot!
When I was weaning my twin daughters, I was really frustrated with the bibs that were available on the market at that time. From a practical point of view they didn’t work that well - the girls were still messy, as was my kitchen and my sanity!
My daughters usually looked uncomfortable in coverall bibs as the fabric was stiff and thick, and when I used a Scoop bib it seemed to be the only part of them that remained clean! Their sleeves and trousers were usually covered in food by the end of a meal!
My daughters were really curious about food, and loved exploring textures and flavours. understandably as they were learning, there were many drops and spills along the way, resulting in many a ruined outfit, plus the clean up operation afterwards. I was frustrated at the time it took to clean up after messy mealtimes - times this by three meals a day plus an outfit change at each, and all the extra washing they generated, and I was forever in clean up mode!
I thought there must be a better way of doing it, and in truth, it is the reason I chopped up my old umbrella. It was waterproof, lightweight and about the right size, so I thought this would be perfect to use as a test fabric! My Mum had taught me to sew as a child, so I got out my scissors (sorry umbrella!), and about an hour later the first prototype was ready. It was not beautiful, but it really proved the idea worked and my girls were much cleaner and dryer after their mealtime explorations.
Given I have twins, it was a really good way to test whether my invention had worked! I tried the first Bibado Coverall on one of my daughters Eve (which I still have as a reminder at how far we have come), and used my regular bib on Beatrice. The difference was enormous! Eve finished her meal completely clean and there was a clean highchair and floor around her. All it took was a quick wipe of her hands and face plus the highchair tray, and that was it. Whereas, with Beatrice I still needed a time-consuming clean up afterwards of the highchair, the floor, and her, plus another clean outfit. I knew at this point I had created something different and practically useful.
The other funny thing was that when I started telling people about my idea, everyone said to me "that is a great idea but surely that already exists", or "there is a reason why it doesn’t". This for me was the validation I needed that I had created a new product that could help parents all over the world
Why is this a better option than other products for keeping babies/high chair/floor neat?
That is a great question, especially as there are cheaper bibs on the market, but none which deliver all the clever and innovative product features that the Bibado Coverall does.
The Bibado Coverall has many benefits for the baby and parents alike which are closely connected.
Mealtimes are a time where babies are learning a lot. The phrase "play is learning and learning is play" also applies to mealtimes, and it is something I am really pleased that the Bibado Coverall can help facilitate. When babies are weaning and learning to eat independently, a vital part of how they learn is gained through exploratory play and sensory feedback, both with their hands and their mouths - which means them getting stuck in and having a go at feeding themselves.
This helps develop their fine and gross motor skills, hand eye coordination, as well as the oral muscle movements babies need to successfully chew and eat. These are vital skills for babies to learn and practice. As parents, we should be really encouraging this. Baby led weaning is hugely popular in the U.K. for that reason, but the downside is the mess it creates as babies learn. This sometimes puts parents off, and this is understandable. The Bibado Coverall takes away the downside of the mess created during a meal, as it completely contains it. Our U.K. patented design means it attaches universally to all high chairs, tables and strollers to catch anything that babies drop or spill, meaning it doesn’t end up on their clothes, stuck to the highchair, or scattered all over the floor. For both babies and parents is a huge advantage. The phrase that sums this up for me is "more of the fun, and less of the mess", which is the best way to learn.
Through parents and babies having an enjoyable time during mealtimes, we are fostering a positive mindset, for both of them. I remember how stressful mealtimes could become, as the food I had spent time preparing was often dropped and splattered all over the floor. And babies pick up on that frustration!
Without a positive mindset, babies are less likely to want to try new things, and so mealtimes can become a battleground, which all adds to the stress. Allowing parents and babies to just enjoy the experience of learning to eat together as a family is something I am really glad Bibado is able to help with, especially as it makes the clean up after mealtimes so much quicker and easier.
For the Coverall itself, I really wanted to create the best possible bib I could. A bib that actually kept baby clean; one that was easy to use; offered a universal fitting on any highchair or table; was easy to clean; portable (it has a handy internal pocket which means you can take it out and about with you); designed to last and grow with your child from 6 months to 3 years old (with fully adjustable neck and adjustable sleeve lengths), plus was durable and a worthwhile investment for parents. We have recently introduced our easy-wipe fabric which makes clean ups even easier, which I am delighted about.
Other bibs on the market deliver against some of these product benefits and features, but not all. That's why, I feel parents internationally have embraced the Bibado Coverall, calling it a game-changer and life-saver, which is music to my ears as I set out to achieve a Coverall that was innovative and offered a practical solution to messy mealtimes.
What are your best tips for helping toddlers progress towards neater eating while not adding stress to mealtime?
Teaching babies early on in their feeding journey to explore food through curiosity, play and discovery, as well as building the confidence and positive mindset to self feed will help enormously. By the time babies reach toddlerhood the fine motor skills needed to self feed are improving, as well as quite often, an independent mindset. So, really it makes sense to try and encourage that independence early on so toddlers feel empowered to self feed. If we can set them up for success through products that help young children self feed, this can also really help.
We have recently launched our handi cutlery range, it is specially designed for little hands and also if babies or toddlers drop them, they do not end up in the floor, as they are attached to our Bibado coverall, which means they can have as many goes as they like. As they say practice makes perfect!
The Bibado coverall is designed to grow with your baby until the age of around three years old, which means it will be able to protect your toddlers clothes at mealtimes as well, whether they are still sitting in their highchair or have progressed to a booster seat. As well as attaching to the highchair, it also attaches to most tables with its adjustable straps, which means even when you toddler is ready for a booster seat at the table, you can relax and enjoy the family meal without worrying about mess and clear ups. All children develop at different speeds so it is important that our products are designed to ensure they work for all children, at whatever stage or age they are at. My daughters were born very prematurely and this caused their development to be a little slower when they were very little. I wish I had managed to make the Bibado coverall and our handi-cutlery soon enough for them to really benefit from it.
All our products are designed to set up children for success at mealtimes and fostering curiosity and exploration, with a positive mindset.
Encouraging toddlers and babies to join in at family mealtimes will also help. As soon as possible, it is great to eat together as a family. Babies and toddlers love to be included with other siblings and their parents. They learn so much by watching others, I remember clearly my daughters having their arms outstretched and wanting the food off my plate, this is great for expanding the range of foods you toddler is happy to try and eat. It also helps promote toddlers and babies social skills, family mealtimes in my house are certainly a noisy and fun affair and probably my favourite part of the day.
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