"Meal Time" Suggestions

She thinks its a fun game, so you should show her that its not. Stop the meal, ask her if shes ready to go to bed (or something else that she probably will not like) and if she still refuses, do what you threatened. I used this technique on my 18 month old last month. It takes a few trys, then she got the point.

My little boy is 19 months old and does the same thing. If its just finger food, I put two pieces of food on the tray. When he eats those I put more.

All my kids did this...unfortunately its not going to go away for a while--for different reasons. Just for sanity's sake, I suggest you go to wal-mart or Target and buy one of those disposable plastic mats and place it under her high chair.

As far as stopping her from throwing her food, the only thing i can suggest is that you not react to her "uh-oh"s. it will be hard, but believe me, she's doing it for attention. If you are worried that she's not getting enough to eat, don't. She won't throw the food when she's really hungry.

ONE THING I DID TO KEEP FROM PICKING UP FOOD OFF THE FLOOR AND IT BEING WASTED, WAS TO FEED MY SON MYSELF. I KNOW MOST WOULD SAY TO JUST LET THEM TEACH THEMSELVES AND IT TEACHES THEM HOW TO BE INDEPENDENT. BUT I FEEL THAT IT GIVES THEM TOO MUCH FREEDOM AND LIKE YOU SAID, SHE'S WASTING MORE THAN SHE'S EATING. I WOULD TRY TO FEED HER FOR A WEEK, AND THEN TRY ALLOWING HER TO FEED HERSELF FOR A WEEK. MAYBE SHE'LL GET THE PICTURE SOONER OR LATER. I THINK THAT MY SON WAS NEARLY TWO OR RIGHT AROUND HIS 2ND BIRTHDAY BEFORE I ALLOWED HIM TO FEED HIMSELF.

I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK.

M.

Hahaha. I remember those days all too well. I think my daughter thought it was fun too. I didn't make a big deal about it though. I just basically ignored it. I did tell her not to throw her food, but I didn't make a huge issue out of it. I fed her a lot of the time at that age. Now that she is older (3) she feeds herself. It was a gradual thing with her learning to feed herself. She started telling me she wanted to do it by herself, now she does a pretty good job feeling herself, she occasionally gets things on the floor but she doesn't throw it down on purpose anymore. It's really just a phase, and it very normal behavior. =)

Try not giving her the food to throw. Go back to feeding her yourself and see if this corrects the problem. Toddlers think it's a funny game to watch their food hit the floor and Mommy pick it up. Don't react to it and don't pick it up in front of her either. This worked for me, but you have to be consistant. My son was the absolute worst with this...especially at restaraunts...embarrasing!! You could also take her hand while the food is in it and she is about to through it and give her a stern look and a serious "NO, NO." Both approaches work, but it just depends on the child.

At 16 months, your daughter is entertaining herself with a game. All toddlers go through this. The best way to stop it quickly is to say "no" firmly the first time she throws food. When she does it again, remove her from her high chair and say "All done" and put everything away. You will have to give her more food in 20 - 30 minutes and start the process again, but she will very quickly figure out that meal time is not play time. Good luck.

My daughter will be 16 months on the 29th, and she does the exact same thing! She just learned to say "uh oh" this week. She loves to feed herself, but also loves dropping things on the floor. It usually doesn't happen right away in the meal. For the first few minutes she's happy to be eating. But a couple minutes in, she wants to play with her food. :)
I usually take the bowl of food away from her at that point, and feed her for a little while, and then let her try again. I still end up with some food on the floor, but not as much. And, she still gets to practice feeding herself every meal... just not the whole meal.

My daughter did the same thing at that age (she is now 22 months old). I remember being very frustrated with her and concerned that she wasn't getting enough nutrition. Honestly, the best thing that worked was reducing the number of snacks between meals and making sure she was hungry before attempting meals. I found that I was giving her little snacks all the time, so when I gave her lunch or dinner she wasn't really hungry, and it was more fun to throw the food than to eat it. Also, you might try reducing the amount of food you are putting on her plate, and if she eats it all, you can always give her another round.

Also, my daughter only really did the food throwing thing for about a month before she grew out of it. I know that seems like a long time, but it's not too bad in the grand scheme.

Good luck!

The only thing I disagree with is telling her "no." As soon as you start that, she will learn it and use it against you! It is hard, but I used "we don't....do that, etc." It worked a lot better than no, but it took me a while to master it. My son is 6 now and has yet to try to tell me "no", when I ask him to do something. He may say, " I don't want to," but he soon realizes he has no choice and it is easier to just do what I ask. I hope my next one learns as well!!!

Dear B.,

When my children have done this, I just put a couple of bites on the tray, and when they've been eaten, they get more. If they throw any on the floor, then I take them out of the high chair.

Hope this helps!
Blessings,
R.

Supporting you as you nurture your family.
www.NurturedFamily.com

My son is 16 months old and has been doing the same thing as your daughter for a few months now.
We did 3 things to help. First, we let him do this for his sake of understanding. When he'd throw his food, we'd say "all gone" and he signals that he is done eating.
Then we decided to buy him a little table so he can sit at it instead of the high chair. Also, we have a booster seat that is attached to our table so that he can sit close to us. Our son loves the new table & chairs the most. We encourage his independence and need to explore. Hopefully, one of these ideas will work for you.

right now, yes she is in that stage that she wants to know What is gravity? I use to give my children pots & pans with toys and let them play in the tub w/ water I would sit down and just let them play all they want, all they want to know is what happen if it falls she will be great in science. dont stop her from been curious

Welcome to being the mom of a toddler. I would not tell her "no" for the simple reason that she needs to learn from you how to use words to express herself. I know it will be tired and as a single mom it takes more effort but I would say "We don't throw food." Then take the bowl and assist her with eating. In a few minutes you can give her the bowl back or put a few bites on her tray. If she continues, then you can tell her when she throws food "I see you are done with dinner" and take her food and put it away. Let her see you put it up and if she kicks up a fuss tell her she can have a snack in a bit. Yes, you may have to put her back in the chair in 20 minutes but after a few times of removing it she will start to get the picture. The secret is you must do this every single, solitary, no matter how tired you are, and if you pick up one more piece of food you are going to scream, time. I am working with a behavior specialist with my son that is possibly autistic and it really makes a difference. Kids work best with boundaries and if they stray beyond those boundaries they need consequences. It will take a while but kids are smart and they pick up quickly, especially when it comes to the meals.....they don't like to miss a single one.

I think it is worth a try to try Monica's suggestion of feeding your daughter yourself and taking away her "power" as well as having to pick up food up off the floor(which also is a reaction that resembles a game to her perhaps). She may catch on that she has lost some of that I-can-do-it-myself power.
You are a single parent, and you have enough battles to fight alone. Try this and see what happens. She has plenty of time to feed herself after this phase passes.
Best wishes.

Your right. It sounds like a normal developmental stage. She is experimenting on the control she has on her environment. You could limit the amount she has on her plate and if she eats it, quickly reward her with more. If she throws it, make her wait before giving her any more. Meanwhile, she can see you happily enjoying your food.

B.,
When my son went through that stage I would take his food away from him when he started to throw it. He stopped throwing his food after a couple of days.
G.

My son thought it was funny to see me pick up his cup, his food, his plate, etc from the floor during meals. I gave him a good fuss and told him that I was not playing his game anymore. If the cup hit the floor, I left it there. He's cry because he was thirsty, but I'd remind him that he threw it down so that means he didn't want it. I told him that he would have a drink after he was through eating his food.
*I felt terrible, but I had to stop the "game"*
I also put a shower curtain on the floor under his highchair until he got the idea that making a mess only makes his food go away and that he should at least try to get it in his mouth. It took a few times for it to sink in, but he got the idea as I'm sure your little one will too.
Hang in there, it will all be worth it before you know it.