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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

When should they stop throwing food on the floor?

19 replies

MegBusset · 20/05/2008 20:39

DS is 15mo and has always been more of a food-thrower than a food-eater. When he's had enough of something (or just feels like it) he will chuck it off the edge of the highchair. He will also do this if he gets hold of a bowl (hence meals are generally served directly onto the tray).

I'm sure this is totally normal and I haven't been stressing about it, but have a vague feeling that at some point it will need tackling -- but how and when?

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ratbunny · 20/05/2008 22:21

oooh yes. I'd like to know when to tackle this too!
I must say, its usually his chucking stuff on the floor that I realise he has had enough, and get of the computer

EBenes · 20/05/2008 22:27

DD is 17mo, and only just now is most of the stuff not going on the floor. But some is still going on the floor when it amuses her. She knows it's wrong now, but gets in a kind of mad circle where she shouts 'MESSY!' and makes more mess. I'm quite level and have never got upset at mess (actually am quite piggish) so I'm not sure where she got this from. Of course I'm not her only influence.

I just keep gently saying 'No, not on the floor, darling' and hope that will work.

Original poster

MegBusset · 20/05/2008 22:31

Oh good, glad I'm not the only one who hasn't bred perfect table manners yet! His favourite move is a wide sweeping gesture when faced with a trayful of peas, scattering them implausible distances across the kitchen floor.

Never mind, perhaps I will get a dog to hoover up the spillages...

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PerkinWarbeck · 20/05/2008 22:34

actually, this went away on its own in DD's case. We moved from The Sweep 'n' Shove to handing over the empty dish a couple of weeks ago without any effort. I do have to be quick to take said dish though - there's about a 3 second window before it hits the floor.

snotbuster · 21/05/2008 10:23

I took the tray off of DS's highchair and sat him up against the table in it. Still threw stuff but mostly landed on table instead of floor! (oh hang on, what's that crusty cornflake doing on the carpet?)
I don't think it's worth making too much fuss about. They all do it and getting cross just make it more rewarding for them. A dog is a very good idea MegBusset.

peacelily · 21/05/2008 10:35

dd did this then started handing over her plate at about 15m but hey now at 20m she's doing it again!!

Getting v fed up with especially as it's now v deliberate and I've treid every parenting trick in the book (ignoring etc.)

I think (and it's just a hypothesis) that she's fed up with the high chair cos she ate all her breakfast this am when sat on a cushion on a normal chair.

Will have to wait and see......

EBenes · 21/05/2008 12:13

Oh yeah, I also use the high chair up against the table now. I think that is what's helped, snotbuster.

PerkinWarbeck · 21/05/2008 16:42

aargh peacelily - and there's me all smug . you have given me a glimpse into the future

pelvicflawed · 21/05/2008 19:42

We went through this big time when DS was about the same age - food got flung in every direction and on every surface - tended to be when he didn't want it/had enough. We put the high chair up by the table and have encouraged him to put food on the main table when he had had enough. To a certain extent it was one of those dreaded phases that now he is 2 seems - hopefully - to have passed. Drove me mad though at the time and I don't think my walls/floor will ever be quite the same. It will get better - honest!!!!!!

CantSleepWontSleep · 21/05/2008 19:46

Dd used to be an absolute nightmare for this. I mostly just tried to ignore it. Can't remember exactly when she stopped, but somewhere around 18 months I think.

brightongirldownunder · 22/05/2008 01:40

I nearly broke my leg this morning sliding on a piece of spaghetti from last night's food chucking! Have found that the stokke high chair really helps as you can park them up at the table and a waterproof tablecloth (nice offcuts from Cath Kidson). DD is nearly 13 months and is terrible eater, though is beginning to use spoon, even if its wrong way up.I've also noticed that when I eat she watches and tries to copy me. What does that say about my eating habits?!!!
Oh yes and I went to get milk from shop earlier only to be told I had weetabix on the TOP of my head. How the hell it got there I just don't know...
I'm sure at some stage they have to change - you don't see too many adults throwing food on the floor unless they've had one beer too many.

susiecutiebananas · 22/05/2008 01:54

this is my biggest annoyance with my 15month old DD (or is she 16months? ) Anyway, she is so good at it. Knows full well how much it P*s me off too. She even looks me in the eye as she calmly chucks it. one hand one way, the other the other way. Sometimes I find it on the other side of the room! Sometimes its just a few its, othertimes the whole plate gets dumped.

Occasionally she will put what she doesn't want onto the main table, but its rare. I'm trying to keep encouraging her to do this, when I see her little hand start to move out in that direction, filled with food, I say 'put it on my table, good girl, and smile a lot and clap if she does- which seems to be getting the most results recently...

Apart from this recent approach,I have tried the not getting angry approach, which made no difference at all, I've tried the stern 'NO' approach. I realise that the more fuss you make the more they do it as they are getting a response from you. I've tried ignorig it completely, even tried simply distracting her, or making the meal time really interesting so she just doesn't get bored and do it. ( don't have the energy though most of the time! )

I've tried everything I can think of! Its a really big problem for me as I find it so difficult to get down to the floor to pick it up with my back problem. If I don't, as soon as she is out of the highchair, she is under it, picking it up and eating it. If I try to pick it up first, then she is there, pulling my hair, or touching my head, covering me in the food that is on her hands - to her great amusement.

I wish I could find an answer to this one! Anyone?? Please, there must be something I can do!! I've tried a splat mat, so that I can pick it all up together i one go, but she manages to get it to land further than the edges most of the time Clever girl I reckon

Am hoping it will just become a boring thing for her t do and it will stop soon... >

CantSleepWontSleep · 22/05/2008 08:02

susie - I never saw it as a problem if dd ate the food off the floor. It got mopped 3 times a day, so was at least as clean as the table!

To help with the back problem you need to get yourself a dustpan and brush with a long handle.

cluckyagain · 22/05/2008 08:08

Don't worry - they stop doing it on purpose and then just accidentally miss their mouth, sweep things off with their elbows, sit on their knees and miss the table, stand to eat and miss their mouth again etc, etc. My two oldest are the worst (7 and 5) and the floor is like a war zone after every meal! Joy.

WilfSell · 22/05/2008 08:37

About 44?

susiecutiebananas · 22/05/2008 10:50

can'tsleepwon'tsleep , I've got one already, made a huge difference to my world, my DH couldn't uderstand why I was so excited when he bought it home from tesco!

I don't mind her eating what she's just dropped, only, she always seems to find something that i've missed fomr the day before

Willself, Noooooooooooooooooooooo !!!!!!!!

EBenes · 22/05/2008 11:49

My kitchen isn't eat-in big, so I have to clean our non-varnished oak living/dining room floor after every meal, and it seems to be the perfect medium for permanent strawberry/raspberry/blackberry stains. DH will give her fruit for breakfast and then just leave it all splatted on the floor until I find it 3 hours later, and there's a gorgeous summer-fruit mosaic under her seat now.

However, DH has started giving her kiwi fruits for brekkie now, so I am very very sick of black seedy poos, but that's another story.

brightongirldownunder · 22/05/2008 14:45

I have found a solution - well at least for a few days..
The Night Garden magazine always has stickers in it and I'm covering her cups and plates in them and saying "have some Tombliboo milk" or "Maccapacca eggy on the plate". Tonight (Sydney time, its your daytime!) the only thing she threw on the floor was the chip DH gave to her (Good girl!). The downside is that not only am I slowly losing it with all this bloody nonsense talk, but I've started covering everything with stickers. and so has DD - including my boobs. Had a pontipine wedged down my cleavage - can't imagine the creators of Night Garden being very impressed....
Oh and Dd found a bowl of raisins under her cot which are at least a week old (says a lot about my cleaning!). She ate each one and then individually spat them out. They looked like small cockroaches so I tried to kill them. Luckily didn't call pest controller - who may have have also been covered in stickers if he'd come through the door anyway.
Off to bed - night night!

NappiesGalore · 22/05/2008 14:46

"Right NOW!" in my house...

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