After High Chair -What's Next?

Unless your child has some developmental issues (in this case you should consult your pediatrician or physical therapist for strategies) I think every 4 year old can and should be expected to behave at the table.
You will probably get some resistance when introducing new mealtime rules, but with persistence he should get the concept really quickly.

Good luck.

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I do NOT recommend a booster at ALL for this age! My daughter has been out of a booster for at least a year and she's 3 1/2. He needs to learn that there are rules and consequenses for not sitting. 4 is way beyond knowing that. Not trying to sound rude at all... My kid is CRAZY!!! She's non-stop and wild, but with time-outs (supernanny style), she has learned very quickly that sitting and eating is her best option.

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I have 4 year old twins (along with a 6 year old and a 1 1/2 year old) My "baby" is in a booster seat at the table, but my twins and the oldest all sit in the seat. Sometimes they are little monsters and have trouble sitting still but they know that table time is eating time and they are to sit and eat. the thing that struck me is he is expected to sit at the table alone and eat... i understand that your husbnad works late so he cant participate in family dinners buy why are you and the other kids not eating at the least dinner together? If he has to sit by himself and eat i cant say that i blame him for not wanting to do that. Rather than put a 4 year old back into a boster seat (which i think he is way too old for) i would work on getting the family together for meals and reinforce meal time rules with him.

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In all honesty and I'm not just trying to say this to be mean. Sit down and eat with him. We do not for the most part have family dinners at our house either. Our kitchen is very small, so most the time we are eating in the living room. I do absolutely find my kids eat a ton better if either my husband or I sit at the table with them. Otherwise, I send them in there and they eat what they eat. If they get up and say they are done, then they are done. They don't get anything else to snack on.

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four is way too big for him to only behave at the table if he's strapped in. just my opinion, this seems to be a life lesson that has been neglected - he should know how to behave at the table by now. unless he is too short to reach the table he doesn't need a booster, and you're certainly not doing him or you any favors by only getting one in order to strap him in again. i would suggest making this your next project - teaching him to sit properly at the table with the family. don't let him get up. help him stay focused. four year olds still require LOTS of repetition and direction. just part of our job. good luck!

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We got little booster seats that strap to the big chairs at the kitchen table. The ones we had actually had seat belts but we only used them occasionally. We just pushed them up to the table. I have a plastic placement for each child with educational stuff on it. I got them at Walmart. I would encourage you to sit and eat with him to model how he needs to behave. Tell him where he will sit. Have set mealtimes and stick with it. I told my kids at dinner, if you don't eat, there will be nothing else until breakfast. If they didn't eat their breakfast, it became their morning snack. Lunchtime is easy because I usually let them pick what they want. He is in control and you need to get it back.

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You don't have to eat with him, but try keeping him company. Even if you are just in the same room and talking to him.

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We use a Stokke adjustable chair - it grows with them. It eliminates the wiggling around on the knees! It's a little pricey but very good quality and turns into a grown up chair eventually. There are also a few cheaper knock offs that would work too.

I agree with a booster seat. I actually got rid of mine and my children sat at the table on normal chairs from three years old.

At 4 years old my daughter had been through a high chair, a booster seat and was just sitting at the table on a regular sized chair. I know it's probably crazy with more than one kid, but if you can just sit with him in the kitchen while he eats he may be more likely to stay in his seat. My daughter is 5 and sometimes we sit down to eat as a family and sometimes we don't - because she hardly ever eats what we eat. Even when she's eating alone either me or my husband is almost always in the kitchen with her. She won't stay in her chair either unless we're there constantly reminding her.

Have meals together whenever you can and get a booster seat. They strap on to a regular chair and he can sit at the table and join you. We make it a habit that kids need to sit at the table until the meal is finished and then they have to help clean off the table. Start now before it's too late so he has good manners. What will you do if you go out to eat and he won't sit still. Best wishes.

A booster seat. It clips around the back and bottom of the normal dining chair

http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?ref=+220798&am...