how to get 18 mo. old to stop throwing food off highchair

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Toddlers

How to get 18 mo. old to stop throwing food off highchair

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beachgirl

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 3:10 pm

I know this is very common, but...my 18 mo. old baby thinks it's funny to throw entire platefuls of food off of his highchair tray as soon as he is done/disinterested. Firmly saying no, and removing it (or him) doesn't seem to get the message across. He starts laughing and thinks its hysterically funny (he is very playful by nature b"h). Any ideas of how to address this? Or is he simply too young to grasp that this is NOT as cute as he thinks???

fiddle

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 3:12 pm

either hell grow out of it, or feed him. that way he cant throw anything. and if hes throwing actual dishes, get the ones that suction to the tray

ganizzy

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 3:28 pm

I would calmly remove him from the highchair and busy myself with something else for a few minutes, so that he gets absolutely no reaction for what he did, except removal from the situation. after a few times, he'll get it. kids are alot smarter then u think.

or I would pull off the tray and let him sit in the highchair for 2 minutes with no interaction or attention (after u say calmly, we dont throw food)

or u can try to make him clean it up, but that wont stop him from doing it again

chocolate moose

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 3:57 pm

Everyone goes through that, don't they ? We didn't give ds too mjuch at a time. Certainly not on a plate; it was right on the tray. Do you have separate milchig and fleishig trays ?

racheleezzy

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 4:15 pm

lately what we have been doing is telling her if you throw your food you go int you crib, and I sloooowly started to work, after a few times of her going in her crib for 5 minutes she stopped throwing her food over the edge. Granted it does happen every once in awhile but not often

sarachana

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 4:17 pm

racheleezzy wrote:

that is my style parenting!

hardworkingmommy

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 4:49 pm

sarachana wrote:

racheleezzy wrote:

that is my style parenting!

FYI a crib is made to sleep in not punish your children in.

Happy Mom

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 4:55 pm

Take the food away, take him out of the high chair and wash him off. Meal's over. Don't talk about it and be emotional/pleading/annoyed, don't make a big deal, and don't stick him in his crib. Just be matter of fact about it and he'll learn fast.

the world's best mom

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 6:21 pm

hardworkingmommy wrote:

sarachana wrote:

racheleezzy wrote:

that is my style parenting!

FYI a crib is made to sleep in not punish your children in.

It also makes no sense to the kid. What does the crib have to do with throwing food on the floor?

Here's what I do with my 18 month old:
-no plate- we put his food right on his tray
-We only give him a few peices of food at a time
-If he throws his food on the floor, I tell him no, pick it up and put it back on the tray. When he starts throwing it again, I say "No, give it to Mommy." I hold out my hand and he hands me every crumb of food on his tray. I show him that I put it in the garbage, and he's free to come out.

gryp

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 7:14 pm

I really don't think this is a behavior that should get an 18 month old punished. It's so common, it might as well be a developmental milestone. Smile

I think punishing should be reserved for something serious.
It's annoying, but the stage doesn't last long.

racheleezzy

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 7:38 pm

so if a kid misbehaves and you send him to his room he shouldnt go either bc thats where he sleeps....
and I think youre just reinforcin what hes doing. so you throw it in the garbage, it doesnt matter to him he wasnt eatin it anyway bc he threw it on the flloor.. I dont yell at her or call her a bad girl I tell her very camly.. dd we do not throw food on the floor, and when she does it anyway I say if u throw it on the floor you have to stay in your crib for 2 minutes, and you knwo what it worked. She doesnt throw her food on the floor that often. ocassionaly but not like she used to.

dolphin

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 9:20 pm

don"t make a big deal out of it and just ignore him or her

flowerpower

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 9:22 pm

If he thinks it's funny then just ignore him.He might do it continueously to get your attention. Give him very little food at a time.

lovemywig

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 9:35 pm

I have this with my 19 m old daughter, she throws down everything. I nicely take away her plate and tell her "do not throw down your food." If you ask if it helps, NO. but I hope after awhile she will realize what she does.

AlwaysGrateful

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 9:36 pm

the world's best mom wrote:

Here's what I do with my 18 month old:
-no plate- we put his food right on his tray
-We only give him a few peices of food at a time
-If he throws his food on the floor, I tell him no, pick it up and put it back on the tray. When he starts throwing it again, I say "No, give it to Mommy." I hold out my hand and he hands me every crumb of food on his tray. I show him that I put it in the garbage, and he's free to come out.

Wow, I didn't know anyone else did this! My dh came up with it at some point, and it really works.

As for the responses - no, but you're not out to punish him. You're out to discipline, or teach, him. He doesn't want his food anymore, and this is how he knows to tell you. If he's talking at all at 18 months, you can teach him to say "All done" or something, but if not, this is his way of communicating to you. After I taught him this, when ds was finished with his meal, he started handing me his food. Now he just says "down" or "no more" or something.

I agree that it's important to impose consquences when a child is truly questioning your authority. In this case, though, I agree with GR. I don't think it's that at all.

Mimisinger

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 9:40 pm

Whenever he threw the food on the floor, we would just turn his high chair around. He got the hint - FAST!

He thought it was a big joke. Nothing worked, except this.
If he couldn't eat his food nicely, he couldn't eat with us.

It took a few times of turning the high chair around and that was it.

Mimisinger

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 9:41 pm

Oh, and we only turned it around for like 30 seconds or so.

Mommy3.5

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 10:00 pm

Happy Mom wrote:

This. I o so far as to throw out the plate in front of the child. and say, if you throw the food, you can;t have anymore. You need to be vry calm and matter of fact with him.

My son is also 18 months, He doesn't talk, but when he is done, he now lifts up his plate and hands it to me. If I don't take it he might chuck it, but usually he will try to give it to someone first.

the world's best mom

Wed, Feb 03 2010, 11:13 pm

AlwaysGrateful wrote:

the world's best mom wrote:

I totally agree. It's not a punishment, it's teaching him that he has to give me the food so I can throw it out for him instead of throwing it on the floor.
It is actually like a developmental milestone to throw food on the floor. It's called cause and affect. The kid is learning that he throws his food and it lands on the floor and Mommy yells, or whatever you do. He keeps experimenting with it, and is learning that it always ends up on the floor, every time.

amother

Thu, Feb 04 2010, 8:56 am

GR wrote:

I really don't think this is a behavior that should get an 18 month old punished. It's so common, it might as well be a developmental milestone. Smile

I think punishing should be reserved for something serious.
It's annoying, but the stage doesn't last long.

I also have a toddler throwing/dropping food and I agree it's all part of the develpment.
I try teaching him not to do it but I wouldn't dream of punishing him.
The closest I'd come to what some may call a punishment is remove him from his chair and wash him up, meal finished. Mainly because by the time he is throwing his food he isn't really eating much anyway so it's a sign that he is done.

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