only wants to eat in front of TV!

[Kaffywithak]

Little one is 17mths and starting to refuse his highchair! He likes to sit in a big chair when he can, so we have now got him a booster for our dining table, which he likes sometimes.
But prefers to eat on the sofa in front of the TV, unfortunately this is post being ill where it was easier to feed him there.
I keep trying the booster and he will start there but soon wants to leave with half his meal left.
Where as in front of the TV he will scoff the lot, although we end up having to feed him so as not to make mess, so another issue is not learning self feeding skills.

Anyone else have a TV head toddler!!!
Does it matter, could I wait until communication is better and then start him at the table?
We have tried to eat together as much as poss which does help but we struggle to eat so early! 5pmish usually.
I guess I just persevere with trying to get him to eat at the table.
We've only just started sleeping through the night and I'm very anxious about him not eating enough and effecting his sleep.

You need to be a bit tougher OP! I'd have a complete TV ban for a few days. He might not like it but he will get used to the new rules soon enough.

Answering this as a childcare supervisor with 11 years experience:
The main concern here is that you’re feeding him when he’s at an age where he needs to be practicing himself. Mess can be cleaned up but delays in a child’s development are a lot harder to fix.
Also, you say about waiting until communication is better, but he is already communicating what he wants. He’s at an age where it’s vital he understands rules and routine- e.g. mealtimes are for sitting at the table as a family. Set a specific time each day for this. You as the adults need to make it work and possibly adapt your schedule too- you’re the ones setting the example. Then afterwards, at another specific time, it’s TV time. Children thrive off routine as it makes the day make more sense to them. Don’t use the TV as a reward or punishment, but simply a separate thing to mealtimes.

Eating in front of the TV can become a habit that's hard to break, so I'd try to discourage it, especially at this stage when he's still trying to work out what a 'normal' mealtime should look like.

We have TV, music, books, drawing, etc separate from meals - once food is being served, books and crayons go off the table and the focus is on the food and interactions with each other.

Thankyou, your right he does need to keep practicing, he is already very good at feeding himself so I'm not worried about delays but I understand he needs to keep up practice!
We are not worried about mess.
You are right about communication, we do lots of signing too, so trying lots of ways to communicate.
We don't use TV as a reward etc, we have avoided it at mealtimes the last few days and he's had 15-30mins in the morning and afternoon, after or before mealtimes generally when I need to get some bits done, tidying, washing up, getting things ready for the day!
Thanks for the advice and reassurance