Trowing food off of high chair tray

[vadensmommy]

So is there any way to stop them from doing this?  I have started putting paper towels down on the right side as this is where the majority of food ends up, so that way I can give it back to her without it ever having hit the floor.  Can you/Do you reprimand them for dropping the food off?  DD does it all the time, not just when she is full.  If it is mushy, or if it is just new she just drops it off.  Doesn't throw it, just drops.  Thanks in advance!!!

[em_here]

DD does this all the time! Its just them realising they can throw it I think, asserting their independance.  They do not understand reprimanding and I wouldnt do it purely because it can turn feeding into a battle of wills etc.... I would ride it out tbh, if they dont want to eat it they wont.. hth a little, the mess is driving me mad atm lol

[vadensmommy]

I figured this was pretty standard, and so far I don't do a whole lot but pick it back up if it falls on the paper towels and give it back to her.  Don't want food to become a battle of wills.  I am not exactly underweight, so I don't want to push dd in any ways when it comes to food.  Guess we'll just be picking up food off the floor for a while

[em_here]

lol yup, its all good fun isnt it  Atm we also have her screaming when strapped in, so we have to unstrap her or she wont eat then she stands up every 2 mins, sigh its a mare, is she spirited by any chance? If so, well it only gets madder lol

[linfran]

I have to admit I was a bit mean about this.  When ds was younger he would throw food off the high chair all the time.  I ended up telling him "food on the floor goes in the bin" and I would lift the food up and put it in the bin so he could see me doing it.  I also didn't replace the food that he threw.  He soon made the connection that he if dropped the food it wasn't that funny after all because there wasn't going to be anything else on offer.

It probably sounds harsh to a lot of people but the result is my son (now 21mo) eats fine with a spoon and fork, and drops very little - we haven't had to use a bib on him for the last six months.

[* Paula *]

Definitely a phase, Thomas outgrew this very quickly.

[mari]

What I did was, put a plastic mat under the highchair, ensuring that it is clean and when they drop the food just pick it up and tell them that we keep the food on the plate.
It kept the floor clean, if nothing else!  They eventually grew out of it. HTH

[Ennypen]

Like others have said.. just a phase.. the novelty wears off for sure.

William would never be given any of the food that he threw back.. the dog would have eaten it before it touched the floor for most time...

My advice would to be cool about it.. dont laugh at it, or show any reaction - that way its not turned into a game or battle of wills it will just fade away.. like most phases our little ones go through to test our nerves!

H xx

[Missy Lou]

ditto to pps.  my DD did it too.  so frustrating.  if it was ok i'd give her the food back (like depending on what it was).  i'd also give her the spoon back.  if she threw it again, i'd figure she was done.  it ended suddenly.  IMO it doesn't really affect how they eat in teh future. i never did anything about it and DD eats fine. 

[tylersmommy]

Agree with pps...just carry on and don't show any kind of reaction. It's a phase and it'll pass before you know it. I did (and still do) end the meal if Mackenzie was dropping more than she was eating. It often meant that she was full and looking to entertain herself.

[vadensmommy]

Thanks for all the responses
I said this on another post - silly me, we were given a plastic high chair mat for just these occasions, but I returned it.  At the time I guess I thought it would be easier to clean the kitchen floor than to clean the mat, and that may still be the case, I don't know.  I'll just continue picking up and returning it to her probably.  I'll probably try to sneak it back on the tray so it doesn't become a "game" for her.
It is already too much of a game for dd to help me type to your girls

j bbui

7ho bn8hjlm

That was just her saying hello
Thanks again!

[Ennypen]

Hiya little sweety... I love your bib.. and your cute smile!

Waving!!

Lol.. I share your feelings about the mat under the high chair.. we have wooden flooring where we eat and it is easier to use a floor wipe after Woo has eaten than have a mat to clean. Mats can be invaluable where there is carpet though.

H xx

[vadensmommy]

   (vaden is waving back Helen-you should feel special, she just learned how to wave)

I hear you on the carpet - we too have wood floors in the kitchen where we also have a little breakfast table DH and I eat at and have the high chair next to us, so it is easier to clean. 

Even with the plastic mat though, I seem to remember it didn't seem very wide, but then again I never took it out of the package.  DD can sling food pretty far, so with her aim and distance, the mat still may haven't done us much good