Help - My son just throws all food on the floor!

[babybouncer]

My son is 9 1/2 months old and we've done BLW. He's slowly got better at eating the food, rather than just playing with it, but still has definite favourites (mainly cereal, bread, cheese and some fruits). He's taken to throwing food he doesn't like onto the floor, but just recently he's started throwing everything onto the floor - including his favourites - without even attempting to taste it. If I pick it up and pass it back to him, he usually throws it again, but it i leave it on the floor, he leans over and stares at it.
Mealtimes are over so quickly, and, especially at teatime, he's eaten almost nothing. I'm starting to get frustrated and don't know how to get him to eat.
Any suggestions? Please.

all kids love spag bol, have you tried that?

I'm a big believer in "If they're hungry, they'll eat"
Up to one yr, food is just for practice. They get most of their nutrition from milk.

I wouldn't worry. If he doesn't want it, just take it away.

Ignore the chucking (old shower curtain on the floor helps reduce stress levels!) and it will pass. You could also try giving him food at different times, eg in the pushchair, on a bouncy chair, in the garden, whatever. I think cooking something specially and then haveing a rigid mealtime is much more likely to get you frustrated when he lobs it on the floor giggling!

It's flippin' maddening, I know, but won't last forever.

Are you all eating together when he does? This is the best way to get him into the habits of good eating. Babies copy what they see, so if he sees you eating, he will follow( in theory).
Also, let him eat off your plate, as food always looks more inviting if it is someone else's.

Thanks. We do have a huge shower curtain on the floor, unfortunately he's very good at throwing! And we do mostly eat together, except for his tea - 5 o'clock is a little early for me, so I just have a cuppa.

I was being so good at being laid back, but the friends I had who were BLW have all given up now they've discovered their babies seem to enjoy purees, so I have no idea about what is probably normal and what I should try doing differently.

FrazzleRock - he's started dropping bottles, so does that rule still apply? I get stressed when he seems to have eaten very little during a day, but is still a bottle down, and sometimes he demands an extra bottle at night (although he never seems interested at the time he used to have that bottle).

I have three big grown up kids...they used to do the same. Naturally you worry bout them not eating ..but try to remain really calm. When he throws food on the floor say firmly "NO",,,they do understand at 9months this word. Only give him small amount of finger food so he is not wasting too much chucking on the floor. Ensure he is really hungry when you feed him, and try to intercept as he is about to throw on floor. It wont last forever...good luck !

it's a phase - both my kids went through it.

If they are hungry they will eat and at that age the odd missed meal really won't hurt.

How much do you put actually in front of him at any one time? Whenever my two went through a phase like this I would keep custody of the plate and just put a tablespoon of whatever on their mat at a time. It seemed to improve matters - they are less willing to chuck if there's hardly anything in front of them.

But also at that age they are learning to discriminate between tastes and the "eat anything" phase is starting to pass. They are learning that some tastes are tastier than others and all-veg-on-the-floor may become the norm for a while

Yes, until he's on cows milk, his milk will have more nutrition than solid food.

Ours went through a little of this but as our floors were tiled (overseas) it was easier to clean up !

We quickly found that she was infinitely better if she could eat the same things as us and if we ate with her. So that is what we did as we had that flexibility and it did not lead to her calling the shots but our being flexible.

There are loads of things which you can eat the same. All pasta dishes are virtually ok as you can just chop the baby's one up into smaller bits. Hearty soups are the same for all etc.

The greatest issues we had and still have to a degree is her wanting to put her own pepper and spices onto dishes and we have to come up with inventive ways to satisfy her desires whilst protecting her from putting everything into her food. Her own, empty clear pepper mill seems to work well !

Our daughter is 9 months and we have basically the same thing - she used to be such a good eater. Basically the only things she will eat are things that are novel and freshly cooked (ie: no leftovers from the night before!) but even then she won't eat much. So no advice here just sympathy. I figure she'll eat if she is hungry.

Mine both went through this stage. It will pass in a couple of weeks. Try just putting 2 or 3 bits in front of him at a time. I think it is this age that they slow down their calorie intake as they stop growing so fast. I find mine go off food for a couple of days before they are ill. You can't understand why they won't eat anything even their favourites and then they develop a cold and it all makes sense. Give fruit or healthy snacks at other times and eat too and he will be fine.