How to Teach Your Child Not to Throw Food over the High Chair

Dear B.,

I invite you to take a step back and really think of why this is driving you insane. I have 4 kiddos. They all throw food over their chair at some point. They think it's funny. They are learning cause and effect. Really, she's not trying to be defiant....she's just learning. It's not fun to spend much of our time cleaning up after our little ones, I know. But it's part of the job and it will pass; and the time spent cleaning up little messes isn't that much time in the whole scope of things. I honestly don't recommend any discipline for this. I reccommend humor...and lots of it. You can say to her, "food is for eating, not throwing." in a calm no big deal way, then show her how to say "excuse me" or say "all done please". Then clean her up and get her down and be on her way to playing or whatever. Children are curious creatures. Choose your battles. Think about why you get upset about certain things. What is your belief about it, and why do you have that belief. I always tell moms to go within and listen to their inner wise loving mamma. She will always know what to do next. It's not easy, but take a big calming breath, look at your daughter and just smile. You are her example. This does not need fixing. It will pass:)

Best wishes in your parenting journey. Embrace that yummy spirit of your daughter.

In peace,
A.
mom of 4. Birth and Parenting Mentor
www.birthingfromwithin.com

1 mom found this helpful

Usually with my 16 month old daughter, when she starts throwing food over the side of her chair it is a good sign that she is done. You might try getting some easy-washed or disposable plastic/washable cloth that you could put on the floor underneath her high chair-- for example oil cloth, plastic tablecloths, or even a plastic shower curtain or garbage bag!

I have also found that at this age, it works better if I feed her multiple smaller meals rather than 3 big meals-- she just doesn't really have the patience (or the tummy!) to sit for a long time and eat. It also helps when I give my daughter a spoon so she can try to feed herself (though this doesn't help with the mess!), or give her foods for dipping, e.g. bread in hummus dip or something, which keeps her attention because it is a hand-eye coordination challenge, I think. She also is more "engaged" at meal time if she gets to eat what we're eating, instead of baby food. Just remember, she won't be little for long... you might also try throwing some food from your own plate onto the floor just to see why it's so fun... j/k!! :-)

1 mom found this helpful

I can't give you any advice as my 14 month old twins are doing the same thing. I would also love to hear what other people have to say on this. The one thing I am doing is that when they do throw their food, I take it away and don't give it back to them.

S.

1 mom found this helpful

I read through some of the advice you got. I can't imagine my 15 month old picking up the food he drops, I just know that he seems to drop his food when he no longer wants to eat it. I just stop giving him any more food. He also likes to say "uh oh" and drop something...he is learning and exploring the world around him...really normal for this age.

B.- I think this is very normal and especially at this age. My oldest daughter did the exact same thing and it drove me crazy. Eventually, I started telling her "NO" one time when she would start and then I would take her out of the high chair. My youngest is 16 months right now and she is doing the exact same thing. I just take her out, as I have figured out that is her way of saying "I'm all done". She usually doesn't start throwing until she is full and just feels like playing with the food.

Hang in there, it does get better and they out grow it. But if you want to assert some authority, let her know it is not okay and take her out.

I have a seminar at ProActive Parenting dot net that shows parents what they can do when a child at this age does things like that. It's seminar number #1, Correcting Toddlers.
It shares a method that tells you what words to use, what actions to take and it's all age appropriate for the child. There is also more information in that Audio seminar to help with this age group.
I did audio seminars so parents could listen on an Ipod instead of trying to create time to read a book.

The method in this seminar works really well for that age group.
Good luck
S. Silver
ProActive Parenting. net

Wish I could give you some advice on this. I would like to say thank you for asking. I am battling this everyday. My 17 month old does this when he is done, when he wants to laugh at the dogs chasing the food, when he doesn't want to try something or just because he needs the arm exercise. I wish I knew why he's doing it or how to stop it. So thank you for asking the question.

I don't know if these are correct but they at least helped. I have him get down and pick it all up when he's done. For a little while he kind of thought that was fun, so I began giving him a few of those mini m&m's or chocolate chips after his meal, but only if didn't throw his food. I know, I know....sugary rewards might start him on a bad path in life but it wasn't much, it cut down the food throwing and he's really learned cause and effect quickly.

My 21 month old daughter still does it. I just tell her that we are all done and then the best part is THE DOG COMES AND CLEANS UP THE MESS. :0) I smile and am a happy mommy because she will not throw her food much longer!!!! Good luck

Try having her pick up all of the food that she throws onto the floor. It worked for our son. Good luck!

My child did this as well. I started making her clean it up. This helped alot. If she threw food I would tell her NO take her out of the chair and make her pick up the big pieces of food and put them back on her plate then she would be done eating for the momement. She still throws things some but not tot the extent she was. I just have to make sure that I get her plate when she tells me she is done.

This is a really normal phase, when my son was younger he did not dot his to much, what you could do is let eher know that it is not ok, you could also take her food away for a moment when she is throwing her food, or do this everytime she does it, I do not have any other suggestions, maybe some of the other moms have more ideas.