Advice on Two Year Old Spitting Out Food.

My husband and I go through similiar situations with our almost 3 year old. Its as if he is really trying test us and see who is boss! We ask him to pick up [whatever] and throw it away/put it on the table/put in the toy box, etc. and he will say "No" and basically stand there or go on his merry way. We eventually have started taking toys away from him or making him stand next to whatever it is until he picks it up. Its seems SO silly to my husband and I, we are thinking, "just pick up the thing for crying outloud!" But to my son it seems to be a true battle and he will stand his ground for avery long time! But, we've learned we can't back down, so no matter how silly it seems to us or how late it makes us sometimes when we are going someplace we don't let him get away with it. He's getting much better. Regarding your son spitting food, do you think it's b/c he sees that it gets a rise out of you and that's why he does it? Perhaps if you took the other route and ignored the behavier it would lose its appeal for him? Or sometimes what works for my son is for me not say anything, I just go over to him pick him up and relocate him to another room away from the action and say "we do not ***" and I leave him alone there. I don't do that often (don't want to get him used to it), but the few times I've done it have worked for me. Good luck, they can be "trying" little things, can't they?! :o)

Is this at the beginning or "end" of the meal? My first though was that he was telling you (in his own special toddler way ;) ) that he is finished eating. My almost 2 year old is especially fond of throwing food on the floor. Instead of punishing him for it, let the natural consequences take care of it. If he starts spitting or not swallowing his food, the meal is over. He will not starve. He will realize that if he does this, he no longer gets to eat. If he is just playing, it may curb the action. If he is just trying to exert one of the few "powers" he has, it will put the ball back into his court.

hello! my daughter did this at about 1 1/2...she plays, and i took her food away! if they are gonna play then they are just not hungry. after a few times of just taking the food away, and still making him sit at the table while the rest of the family eats, he may catch on. he should not be taken away from the scene! my oldest daughter use to spit food out in the trash to, she thought she was being sneaky and would go in the bathroom trash, and then would want a snack. kids do such funny things!

Hey J.! I agree with almost all the advice already posted. My 2 year old doesn't hide food in her cheeks, but used to spit her food out and threw her cup on the floor. At first I started putting her in time out and then calling dinner for her over b/c I figured she wasn't hungry. The more time outs she got, the more frequently she misbehaved. It became almost a nightly occurrance and made dinner time a drag. Then I realized that she would rather be in time out then at the dinner table. So, my next step was put her in time out then bring her back to the table and have her wait until the family was done eating. Let's just say this ticked her off. The episodes started coming less frequent and I started removing her food & cup at the first signs of being full. There were times that we weren't fast enough and if she spit out her food we just removed her plate/cup and had her sit there (no time out). Now, I think we have moved passed the phase all together. Thank God! Just remember that it is probably just a phase like everything else & I wish you the best of luck!

I have 26 month old triplets...and, one of mine is doing the EXACT same thing. It drives me crazy as well as my Husband. It seems like she is stuffing her mouth full to the point where she can't chew it. So, I've started limiting the amount of food I give her at a time. It helps some...but, she still finds a way to do it. Not only is it a waste of food...but, it is gross. She will also do the holding food in her mouth thing. I just had my kids at a Chuckie Cheese type place. About 30 minutes after we ate, I realized that she was walking around with mushy french fries in her mouth. I wish I had some advice...but, I'm having the same problems. At least You now know that Your child is not the only one doing it. I hope You find a solution.

Good Morning J., is he spitting out all types of food or just certain things like meat? I can't say most but a lot of children do not like the textures of meats. They can be grainy and just yucky to their taste buds. Corbin & Zane loves chicken nuggets ( Burger King & Micky D's) but if we fix them at home they won't touch them.

I agree with another mama that said if he is playing with his food he isn't hungry. If he is throwing it away at the end of a meal he is full. When Zane (17 months) starts throwing his Cheerios or Cheese puffs on the floor he is full. He loves fruity instant Oatmeal's also, we feed him that one and when he starts shaking his head no he is full.

Sometimes it just takes a while to figure out the actions, reasons, wants and needs of our little Munchkins.

Getting frustrated only bothers you though Not them.
If he talks some you can ask him if he is finished with his dinner, then give him a sippy to drink while you finish your dinner. (he stays put and stays a part of the family dinner conversation though)

If there is something he likes more then something else at dinner, give him more of that. All of our tastes change over time. I hated Baked potatoes, LIVER & spinach as a kid, especially a cold spinach salad i make. Liver Never COMES into my home, Still can't stand it. Our boys, now grown of course, One will still not eat Green beans or any type of potato, the other won't touch Peas if you paid him.

*Laughing* I remember at Girl Scout camp many moons ago. I thought I was sneaky (I was too) and put my broccoli in my napkin then shoved it in my empty milk carton. No one was the wiser, until I found out others campers were doing the same thing...lol

God Bless you J., and don't get frustrated, there will be more challenges down the road that will turn your hair Gray!! That's why I am now a Fake Baked Blonde..lol

K. Nana of 5

I havent read your responses but Im afraid this is the age your son hads become somewhat of a picky eater. My daughter is 4 and probably started doing that at the same age and still does. She will be eating something, and for some reason get full or sick or it....I dont know! But she will want to spit it out, and if I dont let her, she will gag on it and almost throw up!!! It drives me nuts, but I try not to make a big deal out of it. I just know I have to let her do it or she will throw up. Its insane! I dont really think punishing her for it will do any good. And I dont want to discourage her completely from eating or trying new things if she thinks shes going to get in trouble for spitting it out, she wont eat it at all. I dont know why they do this, but I have just decided I have to deal with it I guess???? Good luck!

We've had this problem since my kiddow was about this age so I will impart what wisdom I have learned in 3 years.

1) Punishment for spitting out the food doesn't work. This only led to hurt feelings, sneaking of desired foods, food avoidance, and vomiting due to a learned gag reflex.

2) Your son may have a biting issue. Mine had it because he was undiagnosed with fluid on the ears. This caused pain whenever he would bite and chew. So on top of having suddenly not liking certain textures, we now no longer ate anything that required work so we were relagated to mac n' cheese, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs...i.e. any pre-processed and easy to chew food.

3) My son's speech therapist recently told me she wished that she had gotten a hold of Sean at this age b/c he wouldn't have the problems with food that he has now because at 2 they can be retrained and easily pick back up foods, whereas by 5 they have taught themselves not to like certain foods (even if they had previously liked them) because of the chewing/biting issue.

I would recommend seeing if you can't get your son into a good qualified speech therapist to start working on these issues. If you just want to try some of the things she told me to work on with my kiddo then email me and I will pass along the information to you. Good luck!

I would not consider this behavior to punish a child for. He probably just isn't hungry. Instead of trying to control him, give him only one or two bites of each dish at dinner. If he wants more, he will ask for it. Don't give him his drink until he has eaten most or all of his food. If that doesn't work well enough, make sure dinner is not too late so he is not tired, and consider eliminating the afternoon snack or limiting it to fresh fruit or vegetables and water. Carbs, juice, sugary treats, and milk are appetite spoilers. Good luck!