I have a 5 year old, he never did this, but the 15 month old eats what she wants and then one by one splats the rest of it (remainder of the pizza crust, other half of her banana, one olive at a time flings in the opposing direction as the other... etc.). It drives me insane because I can't keep up with her. I've finally learned to just leave it all and pick it all up at the same time in the end. But that has the added annoyance of keeping the dog away from it. I'm not sure what takes more energy. (She gets sick if she eats human food, as well as I hate the behavior that comes with it).
The frustrating part is that I think she does it because she knows it makes me insane, not so much that she thinks it's funny or whatever else. She'll do it the second after I've cleaned something up, or just sat down to eat, etc. She won't do it if I'm not in the room. So, I've tried the technique of ignoring the problem, but it doesn't seem to work.
I'm hoping someone has one of those simple suggestions that make me say oh! of course. I realize that I've most likely done something to create this so if I can figure out how to stop it, it would be awesome.
As soon as she starts to throw food say, "It looks like you are all done." And then get her down from the table. My now 2 year old did this for a few months. He stopped once I consistently got him down from the table as soon as he started throwing food.
We had this issue with my son when he was about this age. This is a very frustrating phase!! After I took the food away, he had to help clean up the floor. It didn't last very long, maybe another week or two (he is a persistant little guy!!). We have the same issue with the dogs (food allergies cause terrible symptoms), I know that frustration too!! Good luck!!
When children play with their food like that they are normally board or full. So I would take the food away (as long as she has eaten some of it.)
I also would put less on her plate. If you know she starts to drop food after 4 bites, then only put 4 bites on her plate.
Tell her what you are doing and why you are doing it.
They know the word "NO" at that age.
So I would handle it this way.
1. "NO! Do Not drop your food."
2. If she drops it again I would then get up and take the food away, and let her stay in her seat.
3. I would wait about 2 min, then give her back the food to try it again.
4. If she drops food again, then I would take it away again.
Letting her know that it is her behavior that is causing this with something like. "When you drop your food you loose it."
I know that it sounds harsh, but as long as she has no medical problems, and is on the healthy side of her weight gain, then there should not be a problem with this.
Good luck
Everyone seems to be telling you the same thing, but my daughter had weight gaining issues, and I simply couldn't bring myself to take away her food. She needed to eat and not throw her food on the floor! So I would tell her no and grab her hand firmly while shaking my head. If she did it again, I would flick her fingers and say no more firmly. This worked for us, because she obviously didn't like getting her fingers flicked.
At the first sign of her throwing, take her out of the high chair and say all done.
This is something one-year-olds are famous for (throwing things down to watch mom pick them up). It is an innocent game and she can't reason why throwing food isn't okay. Since she is so young, I'm not sure a verbal repremand and taking away the food will work, but you can try it out for a week or so and see how she does with it. Another thing you can do is just put a "splat mat" on the floor under her high chair to catch anything that makes it's way to the floor and you don't have as much clean-up trouble after the meal. Generally, if you don't over-react to these little "phases" they go through, they get over them quicker. I've learned (but still have to practice) managing my outward reaction to my kids' behavior issues based on the fact that sometimes when I "care too much" about the power struggle at hand, this actually fuels the child's behavior. If I act non-chalant, but still hold my ground, then they don't have as much drive to keep pushing my buttons. :)
K., yes, you've done something to create this situation: you had a child! :) Seriously, young children learn about their worlds by exploring and testing. They are quite limited in so many ways, that they have to control their environments (and their parents!) in whatever ways they can. I guarantee your daughter will get out of this habbit soon. I really think the best thing you can do is not give her the reaction she would like to see. Very calmly and quietly pick up the food. Or, even better, when the meal is finished, simply take her hand gently and tell her it's time to clean up the mess. I bet she figures out that the more of a mess she makes, the more of a mess she has to clean. Be consistant and patient. Please don't take her food from her. I know there are some who advocate that, but it's just not a good idea. Young children need their food. If she's still showing interest in eating, she shouldn't be deprived. Remember, this is a very normal behavior for toddlers. In the big picture, it's a little consideration. It really isn't something that a child should be scolded or punished for. (As for the dog, can you put him/her in a closed of area during meal time?) There is no real answer to this. Mom after mom will tell you what worked for them, but, really it ends when the child gets through that particular stage. I think it's safe to say that most of us have been there, and we got through it. You'll get through it, too, I promise! Good luck!
I went through this with one of the little ones I watch. Her Mom and I decided (since she was doing it at home also). She was only given one chance. She would throw her food and be told not to, the very next time no matter how far into the meal she was she got her food taken away from her. And that was it until the next food time (snack or lunch or whatever). She quit within 3 days. It depends on the child but this worked for us.
Good Luck!
Hi K.,
I would suggest that once the first piece of food is thrown down, to giver her a firm warning and the second time, take her plate away for a couple of minutes. She will realize that it's not a game. Of course it might take a time or two, but stay firm on one warning and then take it away. You haven't done anything to make her do it. They're just curious and will do things for reaction. Good luck :)
If she is throwing the food, I would take the plate away...she can always eat later if she is actually hungry, but if she is throwing, chances are she is done eating.
I just have a second to write so I haven't read everyone else's responses. I hope I'm not repeating. My twin sons did this and it drove us crazy too. Eventually, we just told them that if they threw food on the floor, they were all done eating. Then we had to follow through and take them down from the high chair and end the meal if they threw food. If they hadn't eaten much yet, I might let them try again after a while so that teaching this behavior didn't starve them. What we found was that they almost always only did it when they were pretty much done eating any way. It did not work immediately but it did work and they stopped throwing their food. Good luck!
My son is 15 mo also and we too have been going thru this. We recently overcame it by using baby signs. I simply told him that he must be done if he's going to throw his food. Then I have him sign "all done" and he may get down. We went thru like 3 or 4 days of him really fighting it, i'd have to tell him he was finished and if he wouldn't say all done I'd take the tray away and have him sit there until he signed it. He might protest or cry for a few minutes no more then 5 min later he'd frustratedly sign it and he'd get down. I had to remember to stay completely calm and talk in a normal tone, and then once he'd sign it I would respond with big cheers/praise/clapping. It took a couple days, you have to be consistant everytime. Now instead of throw something on the floor when he doesn't want any more he'll hand me the food or push it away and sign all done without even being asked. Good luck to you!
Mine did this and I ignored the advice for too long: "Make her help you clean it up." I didn't believe she was old enough to help out, and waited until she was 18 months--wish I hadn't! Sure, they can't be MUCH help, but they really don't like having to do it! So try it; it works in a few days.
We do the whole "food stays on the plate, plate stays on the table" thing but that has been a much slower learning process.
Suddenly ending the meal didn't work for us because she used it as an excuse to leave the table, and we kind of want her to stay at the table as long as everyone is still eating.
Also, consider or try putting her in a booster seat on a regular chair right at the table. This was another piece of advice I ignored too long. Sometimes they really just want to feel like part of the family table. It improved our 19-month-old's table behavior instantly and she still talks happily about sitting in her "nice" chair (instead of the high chair).
i think your daughter is definitely doing it for attention, and i think most kids do it for attention. oh my, that is so annoying. my daughter (21 months old) has always done that and hasn't stopped. when she does it we say "no, your food stays on your tray". and then she does it again. we just gently grab her hands and say "all done?". if she says no then she gets another chance to eat without throwing her food on the floor, after reminding her her food stays on her tray. if she does it again, we take her food and say "all done". if she complains we remind her again about the food on the tray and give her a little back. often she will eat it nicely. but as soon as she starts throwing again, she's done. we take her tray and clean her hands and she's done. it conveys the message that if she throws her food on the floor she's gonna lose it (or tries to). p.s.: we also have 2 dogs and they stay either in the garage or outside when we eat because they do the same thing, hover around while we're eating and jump at her food. as soon as we're done they get invited back in and they clean up the mess. if your dog can't eat human food then you just get the joyous job of cleaning her food off the floor before your dog comes in.
We did a few things at that stage as my son is now just over 2 yrs. old. I would get him down if he threw something and make him clean it up by moving his hand to the food and putting it on a paper plate or napkin. Adding "we don't throw food, yuck!" Or we would insist it go on the side of my plate or his or near his plate. Reinforce when he did it right. You put your food on mommy's plate, yeah! Or we put him in timeout or he was done eating as soon as one piece hit the floor and started snack early (with healthy stuff). Or I gave him a choice (something I could live with). Later, we started a rule that if your cup stays on the table you can keep your horse if not I take it. Pick something your 15 mos. old likes and doesn't want to lose for the day. Good luck.
You were so lucky that your first one didn't do it. I think it is pretty normal for kids to do this. Sounds like she is eating what she wants and then is done and decides to play. When my daughter did this, I just took the food away. If she cried or fussed for it back, I would return the food to her. If she did it again, I said very calm and signed "all done" and took the food away and took her out of the chair.
If they are hungry they eat, if not, they cause havoc. She will eventually learn that if she does that it will go away and then hopefully the behavior will slowly go away. My 2 year old occasionally still plays this game with me. It is all about attention. :-)
Good luck.
K.,
I have a 15 month old who does the same thing. The only way that I have found to stop the behavior, at least so I can manage it, is to only give her a little bit of food at a time. When she is done with that, she gets some more. That way I can stop her before she throws a ton of stuff on the floor. I have found that after a while of doing this, I can sometimes give her all the food and just keep an eye on her. When she starts throwing or dumping or even looks like she is going to do so, I get her out of the high chair since she is done. That way, it no longer seems like such a fun game for her. Hope this helps. God bless you, your dog, and your floor!
Have you tried taking her food away when she does it? That's what I would do. She gets a verbal warning - that's not nice throwing your food - you need to stop throwing your food.... Then if she continues to throw her food then take it away. She's done eating her food. I think she is definately playing a game....it's funny watching "mommy frantically picking up the food that I throw". In whatever you do - you need to stand your ground and stay consistant. I think that's definately the hardest part about being a mom and parent. Good luck - I hope you find a way to get through this challenge.
This is ABSOLUTELY normal. In our house, we call it the "mommy fetch" game! It is just that to the baby...a game to see what happens. I think the baby has a dialogue going on inside their head, as in, "I throw the food and look! Mommy gets it! Look she gets it again!" At the age of 15 months, this is endlessly entertaining. Just have patience and remember...this too shall pass!
I also agree with the mom who said to make your baby part of the family and pull that high chair up to the table. We have a booster/high chair that straps on to a regular chair. This enables us to remove the tray and set a regular placemat for our almost-two-year-old. If I do NOT do this, he throws food and whines and has a fit. I can't say I blame him. He's only a few feet further away in the high chair, but it seems like he's not part of the family when he's out of the circle of people. He just wants to be included!
My 16 mo. old does the same thing. It doesn't bother me and I don't react when she does it so I don't think your child does it entirely to get your reaction. I think it is just a phase and will work itself out. Try putting the dog out at meals or behind a gate out of the eating area. Also, I have found when she is done with one item and ready to move on to the next she just doesn't want them in the same space. If I sit her highchair next to another surface (counter, table) that she can reach she (with a little direction) will set the unwanted items on that instead of throwing them on the floor. Good luck!
Phase, phase, phase,...experimentation with sensation. Tell her she can't spit food, but she can spit in the tub or shower, or outside. Give her safe colored water that will not stain the tub. And she will soon get bored if you don't get mad at her. When she spits food, she gets down. Finished with dinner. Fini.
K.-
This is totally typical behavior. She is absolutely doing it because she gets a reaction from you. Both of my boys (4 and 18 months) did it. Completely annoying, I agree. Fortunatly, I have a dog who takes care of the mess for me, but that doesn't correct the behavior.
Keep in mind that she's not too young to learn that bad behavior won't get her what she wants. If you take her food away, she can't throw it. Just tell her 'food is for eating, not for throwing' and take her tray away for a minute. She'll protest, so give it back and say it again. As soon as she chucks the food, say it again and take the try away. Repeat this again, and tell her if she does it again, the food goes away until the next meal. She's not going to starve--just the opposite. She'll learn that if she's hungry, she needs to eat the food and not pitch it. She'll also learn that she can't push your buttons--at least not in this scenario! Hang in there.
What you are talking about is a phase she goes through.
this is the terrible twos..some go through hitting--like my daughter ---others go through biting ,,,etc
all u can do is whenver she does that you put her on a time out for only 1 minute,,and u talk to her ,,by her own language to understnd ,,,dont talk much but show her she is being punished because she splat the rest of the food..and be consistent..
