Please help! Toddler rocking highchair!

[jocelyn4]

Hi,

We have just inherited a new (old) table which has a structural bar at the perfect height for DS1 (18 months) to put his feet up to and push off to rock his highchair (Babydan wooden highchair a bit like the Stokke one). He can do it any where on the side or end of the table.

Things we have tried:

• wedging the highchair underneath the table (he pushes it out)
• moving him back from the table (you'd have to move him too far from the table to get to his food, plus get all the spillages on his lap)
• ignoring/ not drawing attention to it
• getting him down after a couple warnings on the basis that if he's hungry he'll eat properly
• and in sheer desperation... getting him down and putting him straight to bed, on the basis that if he's acting up he's most likely tired.

I'm not keen on the last two... and I'm sure consistency is the key. But consistently doing what?! We have recently had DS2 (a week ago) which may well contribute to DS1 acting up but the rocking had started before then.

We thought we might try a booster seat instead to see if that makes it harder for him to rock, but apart from that I'm stumped. He generally listens to instructions about safety etc pretty well, he just can't seem to resist the urge...

I'm a primary school teacher so I have seen plenty of chair rocking in my time, but with this I don't have a clue, so any tips you may have, please help!! Has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks

Is the bar all around the table? If not, move his chair. If it is all round, then I would move the table so that it is close to the wall...and put the high chair with it's back close to the wall so he can't get enough leverage.

If he rocks the chair, just pull it away from the table so he can't reach. He'll soon realise if he wants to sit at the table like a big boy, he's not to do that.

Yes Awfulmaureen, it is all round the table unfortunately... Any alterations would interfere with its structural integrity somewhat ;) Thanks for your suggestions. I can see how this may seem really trivial but it is making mealtimes which are usually lovely family time into a real hassle. Will try some things out tomorrow, here's hoping!

I think I'd go for the easy option and use a high chair tray. If you don't have one could you borrow a high chair that does for a while?

This is s stressful time for all concerned and you need mealtimes to be relaxed, communicative occasions.

Deal with the behaviour at a later date when you haven't just given birth and you all have more energy and resources to throw at the problem.

it might be time to take him out of the highchair and use a booster seat on an adult chair instead.

Put the highchair against the wall, sot him in it. Push the table up to him.

What sort of floor do you have?

Could he push the table away if he's braced against the wall?

With my 2 year old she gets 2 clear warnings and on the third time it's end of meal for her. We pull her chair away from the table and she generally has to wait while we finish our meal. It's mean working.

OTOH she eats well and doesn't start playing up until she's eaten something. If we had a picky eater we might not choose to do it.

Thanks everyone! Unfortunately we can't brace the highchair against the wall as the feet of it stick out quite a bit further than the back of the seat. The floor is pvc table cloth on carpet, so I suppose it's relatively easy for him to move the highchair once he gets enough purchase! Like YBR says, if he's properly hungry and not tired/ grumpy he's less likely to do it, so we do our best to create the right conditions! Good to know it's not just us! Thanks for tips everyone.