Does anyone have any suggestions about my one year old throwing food? He seems to do it when he is done. Although when I take him out of his chair he still eats (what's on the floor). For those of you with experience in this, thanks for any tips!
This is a pretty common stage, I think all kids go through it. When he throws it, stop eating and make him get down and help you pick up the mess.
Do you have a dog? We always made sure our dog was around when our little one went through that stage. At least then we didn't have to pick up the food. She also threw her plate as soon as she was done. It almost became a game to see if we could snatch the plate before she threw it. And it wasn't just us - it was the sitter too. We'd compair notes to see who got the plate before Natalee could throw it on the floor - HA! We just kept telling her no, we don't throw plates and she eventually stopped. But I do recommend the dog at dinner time. Mine are now 6 & 8 and the dog is still handy. Good luck and God bless!
alison, my son has always played in his food when he was done eating. i have to watch him because (at three!) he still does it, and it ends up everywhere. you can correct him by telling him "we don't throw food on the floor", and take it away. and repeat. and repeat. and repeat! eventually he will probably stop throwing it on the floor - however, i figure if i was strapped into a chair, unable to get down, with a plate of food i was too full to eat, and nothing else to do...yeah...eventually, i'd probably start messing with it too! so just have some patience. if you watch his cues you can probably nip most of it in the bud. remember, he's only one :) good luck!
Not uncommon at that age, some do it and some don't, but say 'no, don't throw food' and take it away and as you take it say something to let him know he should say in some words, ' Thank you, I'm finished'. You need to repeat this. If he isn't finished put the food back. Don't let him eat off the floor unless you want his manners to be not so good. He needs to realize he's not a dog but how to eat nicely. It really is common for a one year old to throw food. They don't know how to say they are finished and if you don't let them continue they learn quickly. If you eat with/by him it really helps too. No chance to throw it with you there teaching him how to eat.
We taught both of our sons how to signal that they were done. Just a simple hand clap, then arms out. That's it. When our youngest does it (he's 14 months and has been doing it for four months or so), we let him out. Sometimes when we feel they haven't eaten quite enough, we'll ask them to take 2 more bites and then they can get down. With our oldest who is now 3, we've taught him to say "May I be excused?" and he says it every meal. It takes patience and work, but the rewards are awesome!
All children go through stages, but its up to the parents to train/teach the child how you want it done. The don't just grow out of these stages of throwing food it will continue, and then when they get older it turn into other bad habits because they haven't been taught what is appropriate behavior. How do you want him to be when he's eating his food, when he throws it you need to let him know this is not happening and not accepted. #1 tell him no we don't throw food, you don't have to be loud when you say it just firm and mean it, then take the food away when he throws it & if he's not finished eating thats to bad, he made a wrong choice, (they have got to learn conquences for bad behavior) do this a couple of days and if that don't work #2 you repeat no we don't throw food, take food away and slap his hands and say I said we don't throw food now you listen to your momma, repeat until he don't throw food, and if he continues the slap on the hand gets harder until he don't want that any more. If he's really stubborn, if you have tried #1 & #2 for a week, then he will need to be removed from highchair, immediately taken to his room, reminded why you took him from his chair, we don't throw food, momma told you no and I mean it, and given a harder spanking on his rear end, and if that don't work the first time, the second time you remove the diaper or what ever thick clothes he has on and usually one good swat will do the trick, if you do these steps with CONSISTANCY (every single time) you will be the one in control and not the child. these steps work with anything you want to teach them, but don't let them grow up ugly and your embarrassed to take him out in public because of his behavior, because it not his fault its your fault for not teaching him the right way to act. Go to any of the schools kindergarden classes and you will see what happens when your child is not taught the right way to behave. It is sad what families are letting their child turn into, and you don't experience the joy of having an obedient child, because when he respects you and your word he will respect other in authority over him in years to come, and he is confident in himself ( that is not the same as boastful or full of pride or obnoxious) there are plenty of them out there I work with alot of them. Because they were allowed to grow up that way. Parents are to busy to train up their children or they let some one else do it for them.
Hope this helps you and your little guy.
Hi Allison!
My son did it when he was finished too. If I knew he was done and got him out in time he wouldn't do it. You just need to understand when he's finished and get him out of his chair before he does it. If the rest of the family is still eating, just remove his plate. If he has thrown the food before you could get to him then pick it up before you get him out of his chair to keep him from eating it. Definitely tell him no firmly if you catch him doing it and like one of the other mamas said--teach him to signal when he's finished. My son now just hands me his plate and says "All done." Good luck!
