My son, who just turned one, hates being in his highchair. He refuses to sit in it, and if i manage to strap him down , he won't eat. i've tried making it a game, praising him, telling him what a big boy he is. he won't go for it. he'll eat in a chair, or while he's running around. i don't want him to eat when he's not at the table, and he's too small for a real chair. should i try and get him to eat in his highchair or get him a booster seat? if so, any thoughts on which brand? we have chairs with arms on the sides. Any help would be appreciated, he hasn't eaten much of anything for almost 10 days now!thanks in advance.
Hi M.,
I had the same problem with my two daughters, they didn't want a high chair or a booster seat either. You can try but didn't work for us. I end up using a huge pillow/cushion and put it on an arm chair instead, she would sat there without problem, both of them found it fun.
Hope it helps,
Mariana Abadie
www.MyKidsFirst.com
You might try a portable booster chair. I just checked the web site and they sell them at Wal Mart for about $20-$35. They have models that sit on/attach a regular kitchen chair as well as models that hook onto your kitchen table. I wouldn't be overly concerned about his food intake. As long as he's mentally healthy he won't allow himself to starve. He'll eat when he gets hungry. At least that's the advice my pediatrician gave to my mother 30 years ago when she went through a similar circumstance with me. He was right. I grew up healthy and happy, have never had an eating disorder and have never been overweight.
Hey M.. I have a booster chair for Emma and she loves it. It is by Fisher-price. It is a white chair with a green back, a blue tray with a white insert. I put her in that when she started trying to climb ut of the high chair. I just sit her at the table with us but if she is eating a snack and I am busy doinf laundry or something I put the tray on and some doodlebops and let her go to town. She loves to climb up in her chair but it has straps that she can't get out of. I love it. I got it at Toys-R-us. I think I paid like $15 or $20 for it. It probablly would have been cheaper at wal-mart or target. Give JJ a hug for me and I'll se ya tomorrow when we walk!
Any type of new seat might be so "cool" he will be happy to sit in it. A booster seat should do the trick. Still, he might not want to be strapped in. My 2 year old has never liked to be strapped into anything. He only likes the stroller if it is moving, if not he whines and cries to get out and move. Anyway, with meal time we get him to sit at the table for a while, but then we let him get up when he wants. Otherwise, we spend meal time fighting with him and not getting to eat or talk. We just put the baby gate up so he can't leave the kitchen. This has worked for us and he is getting better. He sits at the table about half the time. As he gets older and can better understand I will enforce table manners. His 3 year brother has to eat his food before he can play. Good luck.
Hi M., I'm a home child care provider and the little boy I watch is 10 months old and he sits in a booster seat at the table. I think the one I have is fron the first years it was like $12 for it and it folds up so you can take it with you wherever you go. 1 thing you could alos use is a bumbo seat if you already have one and see if it makes a difference on his eating before you go and buy on. I also have on that I believe is made by the first years and it was $50 I like these but I'm using them for babies right now but they also convert to a toddler seat. Hope this helps you a little, W.
Get him a booster seat. My son's been in one since he was about 13 months old. Mine started to hate the high chair, but LOVED his bigboy seat. :) You can get a nice one at walmart for like 10 bucks that works just fine, and has a t-strap and two straps to connect it to the seat. Just have to watch it when they get big enough to push off the table with their feet... :)
I have one, I think by Parent's Choice, that doesn't have a tray on it, so that the child can eat right from the table like a big kid. Your son might like that. We have also used the fold-up one without the tray. It might be the tray is bothering your kiddo, and he just wants to be all grown up already!
Good luck!
J.
My son is 20 months and has been sitting at the table in a booster seat since he was around 10-11months old. He loves it, and I love it because it gets him more involved with dinner and he's able to eat right off the table like us. We actually have 2, one stays at home strapped to the chair and one is always in the car for when we're on on the go or at someone else's house. They both fold up for easier storage if need be, and have legs on the bottom so that you can make the seat taller or lower depending on height at the table. I think I picked ours up for like $12-15.
I just purchased the Fisher Price Healthy Care Booster seat for my 13 month old and he loves it! It has the removable tray for easier cleaning and also a cover for the tray for on the go. It was $23 at Wal-Mart. It's so much easier than cleaning his hi-chair tray every time and he feels like such a big boy now! I wish I would have bought one a long time ago. Good luck! I bet your little guy will love it!
My kids loved their booster seats. I always used the cheeper ones as long as they had the non slip rubber on the bottem an if your son is only one he might need a strap to keep him from falling out. My kids just loved being up higher an setting in the chair like the rest of us made them feel bigger.
J.
I'd think a booster would be fine, maybe let him pick out the one he wants, then it really is his chair. In all honesty what is more important; that he eats or where he eats (this is a question that my friends doctor asked her when she had the same issue.)?
