16 month old throwing food on the floor

[nomoreminibreaks]

Seems a little thing but every time he does it a red mist descends over me! Especially when it means strawberry juice on the carpet...

I try to make his snacks and lunch food he can feed himself but he eats a little then starts throwing it on the floor. I should have a mess mat but he has a long range now anyway.

I've tried telling him over and over, I've even shouted (which I'm not proud of) but carries on throwing it even when he seems to have listened. I know he could eat more as when I've resorted to spoon feeding him he eats quite happily.

Don't know why but it makes me so angry! Any magic tips appreciated...

No, my 16mo loves throwing food on the floor as well. And sometimes food are just dropped because she has very little coordination. For example, she holds out her bowl to ask for more cereal. Quite often this means the bowl is held sideways off the highchair and milk just falls out. Sometimes she puts food on a spoon, aims at her month and they fell off down to the floor midway.

She definitely means no harm because she'll help me pick them all up afterwards, once I lifted her out of the highchair.

I'm sure it's something you just have to live with.

BTW, my experience with mess mat is that it's for re-offering the food to the toddler. I keep it very clean so if anything drops inside the mess mat, it goes back to the highchair tray. They can throw very far, and also food splashes out of the mat all the time. We have laminate floor though so it's easy to wipe the entire area clean.

I used to spread newspaper under the high chairs, I have twins and they could fling food very far and wide between the pair of them. It's really not worth getting angry over, at this age it is not done through will. Most toddlers this age will drop or spill food simply because they can't grip it properly. A toddler's death grip makes a huge mess of bananas, for example, the yucky banana then gets dropped swiftly while toddler either likes thier fingers or thrashes hand around to get rid of the mess. They don't understand what colour carpet you have, nor how much it cost or how much work it takes to keep it clean.

I found mine would play up and throw food around more if they got a reaction, once they were older, about 2 years.

If he was dropping it by accident I could understand but it's definitely deliberate. Maybe he's advanced for his age but he has very good control of his hands and there's no mistaking that he's trying to drop it over the side of his highchair. He also puts food through the leg holes when he doesn't want it or hides it down the side of his legs.

My dd goes through stages of dropping food and toys just ignore it and it passes quicker if they get a reaction they keep doing it, and get a mat for the floor dd regularly goes for what's on the mat as soon as she's put down!

nomore my 16mo does that too. The drop over the side and then peep over. The dropping through leg holes. And the throwing. She also have a big two hand sweep that sends everything flying from the highchair tray. Very damaging with tomato sauce.

It's normal for this age. I don't think she means to anger me. She also tips her bowl upside down on her head too.

I remember this stage! It's messy, but try to see the humour. It doesn't last forever. So much easier to deal with than 'terrible twos'.

Ha, ha- I'd forgotten about the full bowl of food upside down on the head. Baked beans running down their faces as they looked at me in complete surprise.

The thing is, nomore even though they look like they have decided to do it deliberately, they have no concept at this age of what they are doing.

Hi Nomore.
I find giving DD a little at a time seems to help, it took me ages to realise, but starting with too big a plateful, even if she'll eat it all by the end of the meal often means she starts chucking it about first, like she's making it more manageable before she'll start eating.

I'd give him little bits to limit the damage, and add more as he finishes what he's got. I also got to a point with DS where he would throw stuff then look at me triumphantly as if to say "now what, woman!". After that we went with a rule of as soon as food was thrown ( not dropped) then the meal was over and I would start clearing up.

Buy a plastic table cloth and put it under the high chair.

Put only non sloppy/sticky things on the high chair tray.

Spoon the sloppy/sticky things in from a bowl that you hold.

Use a beaker or sippy cup for drinks and make sure the lid is on tight.

Use a plastic pelican bib.

They all do this at this age. They are not capable of seeing things from your point of view, so you just have to limit the damage.

I have wonderful photos of mine enjoying breakfast:

A piece of toast in each hand, yogurt and jam all over head and face, and a huge happy smile.