My 18 month old recently refused to sit in his highchair to eat, so we converted it to a booster seat and he readily sits in the chair at the table. Here’s the problem. Because he’s eating at the table, we’ve introduced plates. He now enjoys banging the plate & dumping the food on the floor.
Should I just put the food on the table or keep trying with the plate? One issue I have is that we have an old “antique” wood table and the surface isn’t smooth. I’m not worried about the table, but I am concerned about the bacteria/germs that may result from food being mashed into the tiny crevices in the surface.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts & input!
this may sounds kinda of funny but i went to the dollar store and got a bunch of plastic plates and then i would put a piece of duct tape on the bottom of the plate to they couldn't pick the plate up or dump it..
Ahhh, toddler hood! I suggest keep trying with the plates. We got our daughter her own plate set and that helped a bit. We also have an very antique dining room table. I have placed on it a flannel backed vinyl table cloth. THis protects the table and can be sanitized. When our daughter would dump food on the floor, we would tell her, and still do, that it is bad behavior and remove her from the table. She is not a fan of the corner time out and it helped lessen the food on the floor. Just my thoughts.
I defintely think that he should learn food goes on the plate and not the table, especially if your worried about sanitation. I know that I have seen plates and bowls with suction cups on the bottom. I suppose if you got something with a character he liked, maybe he would enjoy that. Otherwise I say that even though it is frustrating just be consistent and hopefully he'll learn. Good luck!
You can get one of those plastic mats that go on to the table and they can also go into the dishwasher if needed. I have them at our table because we also have an old table. When it is time to set the table I just wipe the back with water and it sticks to the table really good. You can get them at Wal-mart in the place mat section. They also make a mat that you can put on your floor to catch the food. They are found in the baby section with the carseat covers and such.
Also if you take his food away when he is doing this he will realize that it is not ok. And if he throws a fit he has the option to sit nice or get down from the table. Just amke sure that you are always sitting him at the table and always with a plate, spoon, and fork. The more he uses all these items the better he will be.
I have a couple of plates that were given to me that have a rubber suction cup on the bottom of them. They work great. Now I have only seen them in random magazines. Sorry that I couldn't be more helpful. I'm sure if you search the web you should be able to find some.
They do make bowls that suction to surfaces. You could try that. Also, I know of a lot of people that use the press and seal wrap on the table like a table cloth. It makes for easy clean up. Hope these ideas help.
I ususally don't have this problem at his age cause I put their food on a plate and give them a spoon from the moment I start feeding them food, but what I do even early on is warn them No and put the plate back in place, the second time they do it I take the food away, it's really amazing but they pick it up very fast and ususally it doesn't take but a couple of tries.
Now to your table, felt lined plastic table clothes, I personally don't like them but with 7 kids, they are a lot easier to deal with. The plastic table mats work to but I find that the little buggers learn to lift those up also so it can sometimes defeat the purpose :).
Hope it helped.
Try a placemat. They even make placemats with little suction cups so it sticks to the table, and my son had one like that that had a little tray that hung over the side of the table to catch food from falling onto his lap or the floor. A placemat would be easy to clean and will protect your table from food buildup. You can introduce the plate again when he's closer to 2 and understands that throwing food or dumping his plate is unacceptable.
M.,
I would get one of those vinyl table clothes that is easy to wipe off or pick up and shake outside. You can get them anywhere or go to a fabric store and pick some if your table is an odd size. I have seen them at Walmart and sometimes in the clearence ailse. That way you could put food on the table. I would keep trying the plate but, at his age he will love doing what he is doing.
Also, if you need you can get one of the plastic off the roll to cover the floor. I know we need to do that since our dining room has carpet.
Congratulations on your two children and enjoy.
A.
Kiddopotamus makes a great product called "TinyDiner Portable Placemats". They come in blue and pink for sure. They are a ruber material and they fold out over the edge of the table, inlcuding a little food catching pouch that hangs down right in front of your child off the edge of teh table. (I found these at walmart.com for about $10). They also sell disposable placemats in Sesame street and Dora, that I have seen for around $18 for 50 of them. These might be good options for you!!
