Girls Throwing Food

Perhaps have THEM clean it up...throwing food on the floor is a no-no. They think it's a fun game.
But better yet, give them only a few bites at a time.
And then there is nothing left to throw. Time to nip this one in the bud, dear.

This is completely normal. Dole out the food a little at a time, as soon as they start throwing, mealtime is over. It is natural and healthy that they engage in this behavior and you should not scold them for it. Guide them by telling them not to do it, but dont scold.

This is a very common problem! I dealt with it with all 3 of my girls- now 20, 18, & 15 years old. The only thing that I found that worked was to remove them from the table immediatly!!!! If you can't get them down right away, then remove the food from in front of them! Hope this helps!

S.,
I have an 18 month old boy who does the same thing. Not every meal & he is getting better.
When he throws food, I get him down from his high chair & have him clean it up. It's frustrating b/c sometimes it takes him FOREVER to clean it all. But I sit there patiently wating for him. Sometimes he doesnt want to do it, but I dont give him that option.
I also sit nearby while he is eating & watch for his signs that he is going to throw & catch him before he does it.
Hope this helps
H.

It looks like they are allergic. try www.naet.com

Do you feed them alone-- meaning is it just them eating, or is it a family mealtime with you and your husband? Can you sit with them while you are also eating and just give them a few bites at a time on their plates? That way until they grow out of this they are only throwing a couple of bites on the floor. Also, are they speaking? Teach them to tell you when they are all done or sign it if they aren't speaking much yet.

My son did this around that age as well. Here is how we stopped the behavior: We taught him the sign for 'all done' (shaking both hands in the air). We when he appeared to be finishing eating we would ask him if he was 'all done' verbally while making the sign. As soon as he either made the sign or said all done we would remove the food from in front of him and give him praise. He was then allowed to come down from his high chair and play quietly while we finished our meal. If he threw his food we would tell him sternly 'no' and told him he had a time out in his high chair until mommy or daddy were done and could clean up the mess that he had made. We reminded him that he needs to indicate he is 'all done' and he is not to throw his food. He fussed and screamed, but we finished our meal and then cleaned up the mess. We verbally reminded him while we were cleaning that he was in time out because of the mess he had made and he had to wait until it was clean to be done with time out. This took some time to work, but it did stop the behavior. On rare occasion it does still happen, but it is very uncommon. We still react in the same manner. Hope this info helps - and good luck!

i fed my kids in a booster chair or high chair into which they were strapped. The chair had a tray for food, but I would place the food on the kitchen table, out of reach. Then I would just feed the child, a little bit at a time.....my kids never had access to the whole huge plate of food, until they were old enough to stop throwing it.

They also sell plates on suction cups that stick to the tray. This is just a phase....soon they will outgrow it and move on to something new!!

Help us help you... what is your response when this happens?

The first thing I would do is watch for them to be done and get them down right away.
I would also teach them to pick up their own mess. Yes, obviously if it's applesauce they can't, but crackers etc. they will be able to do that.
You may not be comfortable with this, but you could try swatting thier hand and saying NO very firmly.
It will just be trail and error to see what works, but I would DO something. That is not acceptable behavior. I have delt with it at some point with all my kids (4) so it's normal. You just have to decide what you are prepared to do to stop it, if anything. Good luck!

I am going through the same phase with my 18 month old daughter right now. It is a slow process but I am seeing an improvement. When she throws something I give her a warning, telling if she is done she needs to tell mommy or hand me her food and if she throws anything else she is going in time out. If she continues I remove her and put her in her time out chair and tell her she is in time out for throwing her food and disobeying mommy. After she is done, we tell her we love her and reiterate why she was in time out, then we have her clean up her mess. We have been doing this for about a week and a half and are seeing a great improvement. Hope this helps!

my son went through the same thing at their age (he is now 29 months) and I spanked his hand with a ruler each time he did it and said calmly, we don't through food. I repeated this action and words calmly (I didn't get upset) each time he did it and within @ 1 week he never did it again.
Kids will do what you let them, sometimes I'd like to through food if I was allowed!! LOL
God Bless.

Hi - I got some great tips on this site a few months ago....the "No Thank You Napkin".

We are working with this for my own daughter and it is keeping the food off the walls and away from the diabetic dog. the basic premise is when she calls out all done we put all the food on the napkin and i take it away. Ok and she gets a sticker too :-). it works great when she doesn't like something and in restaurants as well.

good luck!

Everything I've ever read (and I've done plenty of reading trying to learn what to do with my twins) says that if they are doing that, they arent hungry anymore, and they are either trying to get a reaction out of you, or more likely they just like to see what happens when food falls. All kids do it. I'm going to bet all the answers you are going to get are going to say take the food away, they are done. What I've done to give myself a break from cleaning floors (and walls) occasionally is to make dinner and sit with them somewhere and just feed them off of one big plate for the 3 of us, or let them eat in your yard. If they throw food down or make a mess, no big deal. Obviously it doesnt solve the problem, but it might save you a little trouble!