Throwing food from high chair... Not funny any more...

[WillYouDoTheDangFanjo]

DS is 18 months.

He has always thrown the odd bit of food, but over the last 4 months it's become very very very very very very very irritating.

We have tried time-outs, ignoring, firm "no" and of course giving him only one morsel of food at a time (one in three chance it will get thrown.)

He enjoys using cutlery, but after a short time flings that as well (ouch)

A standard mealtime is - DS eating about 7 mouthfuls, then flinging cutlery, food and/or plate and then screaming loudly while the rest of us eat. If he likes the food, it still happens.

Never had this with DD - she dropped things often, but never did deliberate overarm lobbing.

Any ideas?

We have tried letting him eat straight off the tray (with no plate) with no plate. He then swipes it from side to side until it flies off the sides.

My 18 mth old DS2 also does this. He reminds me of the Swedish chef in the muppets. Sometimes he'll actually beckon for something just so he can then lob it .

I have to sau that I find it kind of hard not to laught as it's just so deliberately outrageously rude.

say not sau

laugh not laught (ffs)

Of course its funny. Its incredibly funny to an 18 month old to see food and cutlery falling to the floor. Its even funnier watching Mummy and Daddy pick it up. Time outs will not work.

Could I suggest you feed him off your plate so he feels involved rather than trying to get your attention by throwing things?

We've tried that, beenbeta. You certainly don't need to be concerned about DS's level of involvement & attention. He has always eaten at the table with us, even when breastfeeding (memories of eating my chopped-up dinner one-handed). I'll try sharing a plate with him again tomorrow though and pay closer attention to what happens.

I guess it's "just a stage!"

Really is just a stage! Just going to have to put up with it I'm afraid.

Give him lots of other opportunities to chuck stuff if that's the game of the moment.

He's not doing it to be a pain in the arse, he's just playing. It's just a bit of an unfortunate game.

Before I opened this thread, I knew EXACTLY how old you were going to say your baby was...

Yes, a phase indeed but bloody irritating. It's something to do with not being able to get down independently as well as what Been says. When I could bear it no more with dd, I bought a low IKEA table and chair set for her to eat from. This meant that she could get up and down as she wanted (she didn't really bother tbh) and it wasn't as interesting a height to throw food from.

When I felt confident that she could get up and down from a Tripp Trapp, I got one of those. I've just got another Tripp Trapp for ds (1.10) but stay close when he's in it.

It's been an improvement.

Ah ha! That's really helpful, Rosebud. He has a little chair, will try and find a little table to match. Thank you.

Thanks for the encouragement, RainCloud!

Both of ours went through a phase of this. We found they were less likely to throw food if the high chair was brought up to the dining table rather than using the tray, it's harder to throw it clear of the table than the tray so they got bored of trying.

Thanks everyone. So today, we have tried...

Breakfast - a plate of scrambled egg, tomato & soldiers for DS and me to share (his favourite). Few mouthfuls and then whoops, egg on my face.

Lunch, he ate alone in the highchair with tray - sounds so forlorn, doesn't it - he napped a bit longer than usual, so DH gave him some of last night's spag bol. DH held the bowl and spoon fed him - we never do this any more, but it was the afternath of last night's spag bol that prompted this post. Pinching up bits of spaghetti from a plastic mat (and walls, and table legs, and highchair crevices) is a thankless task.

Dinner, we had salmon, veg & noodles - took the tray off and sat him at the table, He ate his favourite bits really nicely, and then got a bit swipey when just the green beans were left, so we moved the plate out of the way. End of meal - 2 green beans on the floor. Unprecedented!

Haven't trie little chair & table yet, but will keep that in mind if things get messy again.

So, bringing the trayless highchair to the table wins. DH & I are asking, why didn't we think of this ourselves?!

Thanks everyone!

DS is 15 months and has been doing this for a while, since feeding himself really. If he doesn't want to eat something or has finished, food and spoon go on floor.
Was hoping it would improve soon. Looks like I've got a long wait yet....

all of my dc went through this.we tried everything!then decided only thing left was to ignore it!they soon stopped because it was no longer a fun game.