Help my 5 yr old sit still at the table!!

amother

Wed, Jan 07 2015, 12:23 pm

My 5 yr old DS cannot sit by the table for more than a few minutes without getting up, moving halfway off the chair... The other day, he sat in my toddlers booster high chair, and actually sat in there until he finished his food!! That got me thinking that maybe the problem simply is that he cant reach the table, so has a hard time. Does anyone here use a booster for that age? Or any other solution?

acccdac

Wed, Jan 07 2015, 12:36 pm

http://www.amazon.com/Prince-L.....table

http://www.amazon.com/BabySmar.....oster

any booster like those may work, my daughter around same age uses it, a lot of times she'll put it on our "humps" by our fireplace and sit in it there and eat a snack

Nomad

Wed, Jan 07 2015, 12:54 pm

Maybe his chair feels too large and the booster gave him a feeling of snugness? But, I have the seem issue with my kids, so I'd love to hear what people say!

MaBelleVie

Wed, Jan 07 2015, 1:03 pm

If he's sitting on an adult chair at an adult table it makes sense. His feet don't reach the floor plus the table is too high for him to reach comfortably! I would do the same thing! What about getting something like the Tripp trapp, but cheaper- that would solve both problems.

amother

Wed, Jan 07 2015, 2:41 pm

Never would have thought of a booster seat. I was sure the problem was ADHD. I was going to suggest bring some sort of toy/puzzle to keep him sitting focused on something

amother

Thu, Jan 08 2015, 12:35 am

My 5 yr old has a chair that keeps her at a good height for the table, we got it at IKEA for my last ds. She's just five and can't sit through an entire seudah. We're working with her on staying a little longer each meal. There's a reason that kids in kindergarten aren't expected to sit at tables/desks all day. We have rules for when she can leave and how she needs to behave while she's at the table, but there's no way she'd sit through an entire meal. Some kids are better at this than others. I'd never think ADHD unless it was a much older child who couldn't sit still for an appropriate amount of time.

FranticFrummie

Thu, Jan 08 2015, 2:29 am

IMHO, it's way too early for thinking ADHD, unless there are other serious issues going on. Some kids just have a surplus of energy at certain times of the day, and that's completely normal, so it's hard to say.

I'd invest in a booster chair first, and see if you have success with that. As he gets older, he can graduate to a "big boy chair, like the grownups" when he's ready to sit nicely and act like a big boy. That will be enough incentive for him to mature into staying at the table.

Another option is to put him to work fetching things from the kitchen, clearing away the fish plates, and stuff like that. It will be just enough movement to help him sit still when it's time to eat.

saw50st8

Thu, Jan 08 2015, 7:09 am

We use Stokke Tripp Trapp chairs. They aren't cheap, but they are adjustable and feel more like a real chair than a booster.

lizard8

Thu, Jan 08 2015, 9:58 pm

My tall 4yo still uses a booster. We don't use the tray, and she is fine with it. Without the booster, she cannot sit properly and everything becomes a mess. I always wonder how other little kids transition from a high chair to a regular chair...

seeker

Fri, Jan 09 2015, 1:18 am

MaBelleVie wrote:

Do you know of anything like the tripp trapp but cheaper?

A year ago I sent my DH to pick up a toddler bed someone was selling on Craigslist. Turned out they were moving and looking to get rid of other stuff (I had been searching specifically for a toddler bed so had no clue if they posted anything else) and they offered to throw in two matching Tripp Trapps with the trays and everything for free. He didn't take them because I had sent him for the toddler bed. He was doing me a favor because we have a small apartment and don't need more stuff Exploding anger

MEN.

MaBelleVie

Fri, Jan 09 2015, 3:35 am

Lol seeker! I can so see something like that happening here. "What? You always beg me to stop bringing more stuff into our house, so I thought I was doing you a favor!"

Not much cheaper, but hauck and keekaroo make that style and I'm sure others do as well.

seeker

Fri, Jan 09 2015, 9:28 am

To be honest it also would have been a little more of a shlep for him. But the owners were helpful with the bed and surely together they could have managed it. And to give him credit, he did go back when I told him he had just left $500 worth of actually useful furniture behind but they had already put it by the curb and it got snatched up within seconds.