My 1 year old has started throwing his food. He is usually still hungry and will eat some pieces but likes to toss some across the table. I am hoping it is a phase that will pass but has anyone experienced this and did it pass? We can discipline him when playing by redirecting but not sure how to handle this. I have been trying to only give a couple pieces at a time or taking them away for a few minutes if he tries to throw them but not sure if that will eventually work. Thank you for your help!!
This is normal and honestly, there is not a whole lot you can do to prevent it. My one year old does the exact same thing. We've tried rationing his food out to him while he's in his high chair, or giving his food to him all at once; it doesn't make a difference. Just hang in there- it's a phase!
It is definately a phase. Our daughter started throwing her food when she was about the same age. It didn't matter how much attention we were paying to her. She would throw food even if it was just me and her eating together. But, she never threw food at day care! She liked to see what reaction she would get from us. The more we reacted the more she would throw it. We also noticed that she would throw foods that she didn't like or when she was starting to get full. We would put just a little food on her tray so if she started throwing it it wasn't such a big mess. If she was throwing just one of the things on her tray we would remove that one food. We tried having her help pick up the food she had thrown or use her little broom wo sweep it up, but she found that fun and would throw even more food. She is 18 months old now and still throws her food once in a while but not nearly as often as she used to. Now it usually when she doesn't like something. One thing that helped was when we started serving her her food in a bowl or on a plate instead of just on her highchair tray. It does get better!
He probably got a reaction the first time he did it and now he is trying to get the same reaction from you again. I would just ignore the situation. If you punish him, he will probably keep doing it (bad attention is just as tempting as good attention). It may take several times, but if you don't show any interest in his new trick, I think he will stop.
Take him from the table and ask him to pick up his mess. A lot of times, it's just an attention getting measure. I have seen some tots throw food when they are done with that item, or when the parent/caregiver is not paying attention to them. The child is now self feeding, but for the first time it's not you feeding him. He's not getting as much attention during mealtime as he is used to. Even if he says that he is done eating, after he has cleaned up his mess, put him back into the high chair and reiterate that throwing food is not appropriate.
If he starts throwing food, give him a warning that he needs to STOP. If he keeps it up, then take the food away from him. If he throws a fit remove him from the table. He'll learn pretty quickly that throwing food is not acceptable.
the less attention you give this habit, the better...
even negative attention is going to encourage this :D a simple, no we dont do that, and really just try putting up with it and completely ignore it might help. obviously, certain situations require some action, so i always just took the plate and food away from my son, and he got the idea that throwing = no more meal. i even put him down out of the high chair, ending the meal, but that is up to you since some families you really want the kids there at the table with you, and thats ok too.
good luck!
Hi Danielle,
My son is 13 months old, and he throws his food sometimes, too. I only put a few tablespoons of food in front of him at anytime, so if he decides he's going throw food, it's not going to be a huge mess for me.
When he does throw food--or otherwise starts playing with it--he gets one, and only one, verbal warning that if he doesn't stop, his food is going to be taken away. If he continues to play with it, meal/snack time is over for him.
He learned really fast that we mean business. The one warning now almost always does the trick. Also, I have learned that when my son starts to play with his food, he really is getting full, but he may be snacking on food that's in front of him just because it's there.
I know how frustrating this can be. But it is all a part of his learning cycle. He is learning about time and space. When a baby drops their food off the highchair tray onto the floor and it stays there they learn about gravity. They also learn about space and distance.
I remember when my granddaughter was in the phase of throwing her sippy cup across the table and it would land in the plate of an unsuspecting family member. I am not sure why she did that but we did do everything we could to stop that behavior. It might be that he is trying to get attention so he throws food to get attention. I am not saying that you don't pay him enough attention; I am saying that he may feel left out because it is normal for the other family members to talk and the baby cannot join the conversation so he knows that right now he is not the center of attention so he is trying to put himself back into the center. It is a phase and he will outgrow the behavior.
