high chair rejection

[prana]

Hi there,

My Lo is 13 months old and has discovered her legs. she cannot walk on her own yet but loves to stand and try to walk against furniture and holding the pusher.

However, in the past few weeks it has been increasingly difficult to feed her on the high chair. ( Previously the meal times would not take more than 15min and she be sooooo good eating herself as well spoon feeding)...Now She will sit on it for couple of spoons and then would want to get off it. I have tried giving her fav finger foods but still gets very angry if  I make her sit on it for too long. And would refuse to eat anything. Once off it, she will eat anything i will give her but that means I have to walk along with her. This cannot be a long term solution though. right now I am on holiday at my parents house where there is sooooooo much house help that this does not seem that too painful. But once I am at home with no help, t would become a nightmare as it means I would have to clean up the whole area she has travelled in the house. Plus It is a very bad habit as well

I really don't know what to do. if I let her be and not feed her, she would wake up in the night feeling hungry


Is this a common phenomenon for Lo of this age or is it just mine being spoilt at grandparents house???

[tylersmommy]

Keep in mind that growth and appetite slow down quite a bit after they turn 1. While most LOs go through the hating to be confined phase, she might well not be as hungry as she used to be, especially if she's still on formula or bfing a lot (both are filling and high in calories). Repeat after me, and keep doing it as she gets older: Healthy kids don't starve themselves. They have an uncanny ability to regulate their food intake.

I agree that following her around with food isn't a good idea. Put her in the high chair and end the meal when she gets mad, even if she hasn't eaten. Then leave it until the next feed time. I'd be willing to bet that she doesn't wake hungry in the night...her body knows what it needs. Hang in there!

[lilmonkey]

At around 14/15 mos dd hated to sit in the high chair.  What I did was seat her at the table with a thick cushion and her eating improved or at least she was willing to sit for longer periods of time.  I think that she just wanted to be like mommy and daddy.  It was also the time when she prefers our utensils and flatware.  Maybe you can give that a try.  I know of some toddlers who have meals at toddlers table.  We also went through a period where dd and I have our meals there. 

HTH

[tuta]

I have to say that Ds rejected all highchairs very early on and pretty much detests them to this day.  We sat him on a cushion and let him 'eat like us' and it really helped but once he is finished there is not much on earth that will keep him at the table.  The meal ends there. When he is hungry he eats when he isn't he messes and leaves as previously said

Healthy kids don't starve themselves. They have an uncanny ability to regulate their food intake.

Somedays it is like stuffing a couch and others like feeding a sparrow - no two are the same.

[tylersmommy]

Oh yeah, that reminds me...we also started letting her eat at the table once the high chair became a fight. She actually figured out how to wriggle herself out of it and leap out, no matter how tight we buckled her in. Once that started happening around 14 mo, we got her a Cooshee booster and let her sit at the table. It's like Tuta said, though...once she's done, she's done, and there isn't much that can keep her at the table.