highchair refusing! 18mths

[milkyman]

My ds loved his ikea antilop but increasingly refuses to eat at it. We can't really all eat together as he goes to bed at 6pm and dh gets home at 7pm. He wants to wander around with a large messy bowl of pasta! If we got him a table he would try and lift it as he is very strong! What strategies are there? Can you buy booster seats but that means more strapping in?

You're in charge. He eats where you want him to eat. He will get the message pretty quickly.

My child refused the high chair, the car seat and the push chair at various times. And while it was somewhat embarrassing when she kicked off while out and about I didn't give in.

Dd is a very tall 12m old and she likes this. It's suitable til age 3 (15kg) and I think makes her feel together with us.

Other than that I'd only give food in the high chair. He'll soon eat in it if he gets no food elsewhere.

How do you know he'd lift a table? Does he only do it a tea time?

I'm with the others - chair, or no food. Harsh, but works.

no walking around with food in our house either.

My DS was also a highchair refuser and also a little Houdini so would squeeze and wriggle until he'd escaped the straps at which point it was safer to take the highchair away. He now either sits on a small kids chair at small kids table in the kitchen or on a booster seat at the main table - oddly he doesn't seem to mind being strapped in to this. Mealtimes are now a much more peaceful event!

Can anyone recommend a sturdy kids table? Given up with high chair as mealtimes brcome a battlr

is it just tea time? Is he maybe too tired to eat at that time? you can get a booster seat that will attach to dining chair and he could sit at the table and feel bigger even if you don't have meals together you can have a small bowl of what he has to model for him.

My worry for an 18 month old if he wants to walk round and eat now I don't see he is less likely to if he isn't strapped in.

Booster seat at the table, I never strapped mine in but then I was always sat with them. And second the sitting at the table or no food, they soon get the message :)

Its all mealtimes when he refuses to sit in highchair

Mine doesn't use a high chair any more. We put food on a low table for them to get at. Now at 4, ds eats with us no problem. Didn't have to do a food vs chair war.

Ours became highchair refuseniks at about 18 months and just knelt up to table on regular dining chairs. No wandering round with food.

Just get a booster cushion for chair. Many dont even come with straps it's just to boost to reach not to strap in

My DD is older (19 months) but we've had the same thing for the last cpl of months. We have always eaten together around 6.30 during the week. Weirdly she is ok with sitting in it with just me home at lunchtime; so (in order) this is what we tried:

Letting her sit on us (unpleasant for everyone)

Got a booster seat (limited success)

Ate picnic style in the living room (more pleasant for us but she still wanted
to sit on one of us!! Admittedly she did eat more for a while)

Got a toddler picnic bench so she could get up and down herself while we ate (limited success)

TBH i'd have been happy with ay of the latter 3 but none of it worked that well so today I have initiated re-conditioning - food in the high chair / on the booster or not at all. I figure if she is hungry she will eat. Fruit and snacks she has always been aloud at any time so i've left them unchanged.

I've also just given her dinner as normally she has milk around 5 and then dinner at 6.30 which I don't think was helping as she wasn't really hungry.

We had both DC sat upto the table on a booster seat or a cushion. DS2 was a nightmare for his highchair but became a lot better when he sat with us for meals.

We do not allow wandering with food/drinks at any point, sitting down or not at all.