15 Month Old Won't Eat in High Chair

Seriously, who cares?! My son had the most beautiful, carved, oak high chair and I envisioned him sitting in all of it's glory, eating all of his meals....NOT! Never happened. He hated being confined like that and really, when you think about it--would you like to eat like that? I wouldn't. Let him go, They are too busy at that age to sit for a meal. His attention span will grow as he does.

It's very much NOT a horrible habit. Toddlers, because they have such short attention spans, are often better off eating exactly the way your son is eating now. Don't worry that you're starting a bad habit. As he gets older, he will be better equipped to sit through meals at the table. I think it's cruel to force a child that young to sit through a meal when they're just not ready to do so yet. The only caution I would have is not watching tv while eating meals. I could see that leading to bad habits. Otherwise, please, let your son be 15 months and eat the way that works for him. A suggestion though-have you tried a booster seat? Much less confining than a high chair so maybe he wouldn't mind sitting a little longer. Give him time, eventually he will sit through a whole meal.

Over time gradually see if you can move him to the kitchen table or high chair, but I wouldn't make a huge deal out of it. Why not bring a couple of toys to the high chair so that he can eat and play there?

MANY MANY MANY kids HATE high-chairs and will NOT eat in them.

My kids, were that way

Feed your child, elsewhere. It is fine. There is no 'rule' that a child has to eat in a high-chair.
Just do what works, and dont' do what does not work.

My kids, ate at child height tables and chairs in our family room. Then when they got older, they are at the dinner table with us. It has been NO problem... at all.
They have manners and at restaurants too.
No biggie.

All the best,
Susan

Have you tried a booster seat instead? Make a big deal of taking him to pick his own "big boy seat" and then strap him in and treat him like a big boy who stays at the table during meals. If it doesn't work let it go. If he's eating, the staying at the table will come later.

You seem to answer your own question and call it a "horrible habit" which makes me think you are doing this against your better judgment because it's easier. I would follow your instincts here and nip this bad habit in the bud.

I would definitely break this habit now. Otherwise, I see a future of bad restaurant experiences and eating in front of the TV. I've seen it happen with other people's children. As a person who had NO problems at restaurants with my children I can't tell you how amazed I am (and not in a good way) at how I see many young children behave at dinner time in public places.

No healthy child will starve themselves. If he's hungry, and you make it the rule that eating happens AT THE TABLE (high chair or not) and excuse him when he's finished-he will learn to eat a normal meal. This makes for more peaceful family meal times (not too mention less mess) and will prime you for having good public manners from your child sooner, rather than later.

If you keep allowing him to treat his meals as an optional and impulsive endeavor you are only making things harder for yourself later. But then again, maybe your standards aren't as strict as mine are for meal time behavior.

Some suggestions: 1. Follow a routine as much as possible-if he naps, plays and bathes at the same times each day, he's that much more likely to accept eating his meals at regular times. 2. As soon as you can (I realize he's young for this now) involve him in setting the table and serving his own food. Even something as simple as putting the napkins on can make a child feel more invested in the meal times.

Interesting question- I don't think it's a bad thing to allow him to play during meal times, but I wouldn't necessarily keep up the pattern you have now b/c he should be working towards eating independently.

-You may want to consider switching him to a booster- this helped my son enjoy meal times b/c he felt like a big kid and wasn't pulled away from the table.
-Try allowing him to eat and play at the table with you while you are eating. If your son is like mine at that age, he was done eating in 5 minutes and was ready to do his own thing. We started letting him have some paper and crayons at the table and other toys. It kept him connected to us during meal times, but wasn't asking him to do something stressful
- Making a "rule" means you have to follow it too! If you and your family eat anywhere in the house aside from the table (even snacking) then you are sending a mixed message!

I remember my pediatrician saying to us... don't make meals stressful. At this age, they will eat when they're hungry. Family meal times should be about the social interactions and being connected. Even now, at almost 2.5 when he's "done" eating, he stays at the table and talks to us or colors while we eat.

At his age, he is going to keep going anyway, and the important thing is that you get him to eat. The ideal would be to create a habit of discipline by eating in the high chair, but if he is resisting, just go with the flow.

One way we got my daughter to eat in her high chair, was to use those annoying dancing and singing animals that people gave us for her. To me, they aren't really that bad...I set several on the diningroom table and would start one. While it was singing/dancing, I would get several bites in. Now, she likes food so much that I don't have to use them. I keep one in the car for avoiding meltdown moments when we are late for her nap or whatnot. Hope this helps.

I think this will cause bad eating habits (I bet your Pediatrician would agree). They make the booster seats that you put on chairs so he can sit at the table with you. Also, be involved with him while he's eating. When he takes a bite say, Yay! Big boy bite. Lots of praise. And make the TV is off and anything else that might distract him.

Try putting a booster seat at the table while the family is eating. Maybe give him a small toy to hold and play with.

Unless you mind him playing and eating at the same time, let him keep doing what he is doing. We have strict rules in this house: either you are playing or you are eating, and you eat at the table.

Now, since you have already introduced playing into eating, you may have to wait till he is older to break him of this habit. Just keep in mind that everything you let hi, do, will turn into a habit, so if you don't want him doing something, don't let him do it the first time --and trust me, when he gets to be around 18 months, this is going to be really, really important, cause that's when he will throw himself on the floor if he doesn't get his way.

My ped said that this is the "on the go" phase and that if allowed, they will eat everything on the go, so it is important to make them sit in the high chair or booster seat for meals. Snacks are okay on the go, but meals, including milk should be at the table.

I personally don't think it's a horrible habit. High chairs are fairly recent inventions in the history of human civilization. As are many ideas about what constitutes civilized society. Some kids are calm and compliant enough to make a high chair seem like a wonderful invention, but for active children, they are very nearly instruments of torture.

Since mealtimes are ideally happy times when we connect with each other socially and get good nutrition, there's nothing wrong with keeping it age-appropriate. In fact, I've known kids who are never required to spend more than a few minutes at the table until they are perhaps 3 years or older.

Many children do well as "grazers," a very healthy eating style that allows them to eat, digest and run on a few bites at a time of healthy foods kept available while they play. I never required my daughter to sit in any kind of chair longer than she was able to do so happily. My grandson, now 4.5, has been handled almost as leniently. Both kids learned table etiquette and socialized at the rate they were capable, and both were very civilized and participatory at mealtime by the time they were maybe 3.5 to 4.