Anyone else ever thrown half DC's dinner in the bin...

[guinnessgirl]

...when their behaviour at the dinner table has been shocking and they haven't responded to clear warnings to get their act together or lose their food?

He's 4, if that makes any difference. And has eaten well for the rest of the day, he won't starve!

Please reassure me that I haven't just done something totally over the top?

DD (3) was messing round with her plate the other day so was told to eat it or lose it. She shoved the plate away so I took it off her and she got down.

I take DD's away if she's messing about. I wouldn't make a massive thing about hurling it into the bin, though. I just put it by the sink to indicate dinner is over and she can get down from the table.

I don't use good as a threat / reward linked to behaviour. But if they were messing around with food instead of eating it then I would assume they were not hungry and take it away.

Food not good!

I regularly throw dinners in the bin. I'm finishing my wine alone since everyone has 'finished'. We've had a lovely chat about the Lego building app and a debate over how good broccoli actually is for you (I told them no dessert until their veg had been eaten so I won). Dd has left her mash, ds has left chicken and carrots.

I always give a clear warning first and tell dd that if she wants to eat any more she needs to start eating and stop mucking about, if she doesn't want to eat then I will take it away.

Generally if she is playing with her food enough to annoy me it's because she isn't hungry and doesn't want to eat anymore. If I think she will be hungry later then I'll keep the left overs for a bit and offer them again later.

I wouldn't make a big deal of throwing it in the bin. If they aren't hungry then they aren't hungry. I don't think it's healthy to make kids feel like they have to eat everything put in front of them.

just to clarify, he was definitely not not hungry! Just being a total little tyke, not listening, messing about, etc etc. I would usually take food away and offer it again later if he claimed to not be hungry - that's partly why I binned it, as I didn't want him thinking he could get it back later and think he'd got away with the terrible behaviour.

I wouldn't do it as a 'regular' consequence. I don't regret doing it today. But perhaps I will just take it away next time...