Oddly enough, this has never happened to me before!

[PrettyCandles]

What's the appropriate response when a 16m picks up his bowl and spoon in the middle of lunch, looks you in the eye, and flings the bowl and spoon over his shoulder?

I just ended lunch without any fuss but left the bowl etc on the floor so that he could hoover if he chooses. Also so that he doesn't see me doing something interesting in reaction to his behaviour, ie getting his beloved dustbuster out.

lol PC I had to read your post about 3 times before I realised that when you say "so that he could hoover" - you meant so that he could eat it from there - I was trying to picture a 16m old getting the vacuum out the cupboard and cleaning up his own mess .

Sounds like a pretty reasoned response to me (none of mine have ever done that either!)

I'd have cleared it up (without dustbuster!) so that he doesn't decide that it's more fun eating his food off the floor and start doing it at every meal...

Of course he is now ratty because he is hungry.

Am VERY impressed that he's never done this before. Ds (13mo) has been doing this for months, then picks up the broom and sweeps it (thereby effectively spreading the mess around)

Not only has he never done this before, but neither of my other two ever did it either. Of course I've had plates dropped over the side of the highchair, lumps of food thrown, food and dishes worn on the head, and so on, but this calm, blatant eyeballing and chucking is quite new to me.

dread to think what my 3rd would be like if I ever have one.