Author Topic: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair  (Read 9229 times)

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Offline buttonbaby

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I am not sure if this is in the right board so if not I am sorry.

My 14 month old ds ALWAYS throws food, cups, spoons etc from his highcair...mainly because he doesnt want it or he is finished, as soon as he is takes a sip his cup goes flying , he does not seem to realize he can just place it down.
So I am wondering how to aproach this ...should I teach him to place the cup down and how would I go about it?
Should I have a consequence when he throws and what should it be?
He has no words and doesnt understand no...mainly as he is not mobile  (well just started shuffling but just little bits at a time) so is not getting into situations that require saying no plus if it was a dangerous situation I would say dangerous rather than no but even then he doesnt hear that much for the same reason.
Any adviced appreciated,
Fiona
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Offline becj86

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2012, 22:26:19 pm »
.mainly because he doesnt want it or he is finished
He's communicating the only way he knows how. You can start verbalising for him "Oh, you don't want that to eat? Lets see what else we have" or "So you're finished eating, right, lets get you out of the chair and cleaned up so you can go and play". With the sippy, I just put the cup back on DS' tray. He has learned that if its on the tray, he can get it again next time he wants it. Its pretty hard to actually stop him throwing though :-\ With DS, if he's throwing, he gets out of the chair straight away as its a sure sign he's finished eating.

I'm sure someone with more wisdom will be along shortly :)

Offline buttonbaby

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2012, 22:34:25 pm »
Thanks bec....I forgot to say I have been using sign(he was not passing hearign tests and has glue ear) with him since he was 8 months old so I would sign finsihed and say the word  when he does it but he has not signed yet (started sign with dd at 6 months and she was signing at 8 monhts with a good few signs by 11 months) so I am trying to give him an alternative way to communicate but as he is not picking that up its great to have any other sugestions
« Last Edit: May 15, 2012, 23:03:18 pm by buttonbaby »
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Offline ~inbalance~

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2012, 23:00:22 pm »
I think it's a big part of the age too. Does he sit at the table or does he have a tray? I have to say my ds2 threw everything at that age and it was so frustrating, but as soon as I removed the tray and put him at the table with us, he stopped altogether.
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Offline buttonbaby

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2012, 23:06:05 pm »
Thanks inbalance. I did wonder was it an age thing. He sits at the table but it happens with both.
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Offline ~inbalance~

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2012, 23:17:01 pm »
That's tough, I mean even if it's an age thing doesn't mean he shouldn't be taught it's not acceptable.  Some advice I got was to put him down immediately once he throws something, even if he's only had one bite.
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Offline We Three

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #6 on: May 15, 2012, 23:21:06 pm »
 When we went thru this, I'd keep it positive..."Food stays ON the tray, please"  if she threw her cup, I could tell it was more of an experiment for her, she'd drop it over the side and watch what happened....gravity is amazing when your a baby!  ;)   I would put her cup on the counter (away from her) after a few times, and wait for her to sign or otherwise let me know she wanted it, and I'd give it to her and say "Your cup stays ON your tray, please."
 With food, I'd give him just a bite at a time, and that might help. Lots of pieces on the tray might be more conduscive to throwing, but just one or 2 pieces might be more about eating, kwim?

Offline buttonbaby

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #7 on: May 15, 2012, 23:39:19 pm »
Inbalance ... I did the removing from chair thing with ds plus teaching alternative ways to explain and it worked well but her level of understanding was better(ds has referred to early intervention as a little delayed in milestones), also with dd he had many feeding difficulties and weight gain is an issue so I think removing him friom  A meal would be hard me.  Il keep in mind but will try other suggestions initially...a mix of all here ...
Thanks Amelia. ...good suggestions there also.  Thanks all. ..you have all given me ideas that I do think will make a difference.
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Offline ~*Nicole*~

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2012, 01:42:48 am »
Mine has been throwing things from the highchair for awhile now and is even MORE in love with it since he learned to say "Uh Oh!" He likes to throw things off of and over anything he can think of now. Throws things in the trash, over the gate at the top of our stairs, off the changing table, off the table at the doctor's, over the side of the crib.......

at this point I think there's no stopping him. Ugh.

Definitely one of my least favorite games....and seemingly it is HIS favorite. :(

I agree with the others about keeping it positive or redirecting him or giving him words to use. I know DD did it as well, but she wasn't quite as enthralled with it as DS seems to be. I think she just sort of grew out of the phase.

But in the meantime, I'll be right there along with you.

"Uh Oh!"







Offline buttonbaby

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2012, 06:13:03 am »
Lol Nicole.  Nice to have company though :-)
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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #10 on: May 16, 2012, 07:36:02 am »
I would put her cup on the counter
I did this
With food, I'd give him just a bite at a time,
and this although usually 2 or 3 pieces but reduced it if there was dropping and throwing.

I would 'catch' DS's arm as soon as I saw he was about to throw or drop something and just take it off him, I'd usually say something positive like 'oh you've finished drinking let me take that for you' and put it on the counter or table out of reach until he gave a cue that he wanted another drink.  During 'bad' phases I'd almost keep hold of the cup as I passed it back to him and watched really carefully to see if he was asking for it to drink from or to drop again.  If it was for throwing I'd keep hold and just remove it again.
If you can catch the arm/hand just before a throw I am sure it reduces the throwing and helps to keep the meal time positive.  When stuff did make it to the floor I totally ignored it (most times - these days he so rarely throws that I now tell him we don't throw food it is for eating or for clearing away) even if it was his drink, he wasn't going to die of thirst within one minute so I just left it on the floor with no reaction and would pick it up after some time had passed to separate the cause and effect aspect of the game (I drop mummy picks up, great, I drop again, mummy picks up again).
And, at the end of every meal I offer a plate, bowl or my hands to 'clear up please'.  This is, in effect, a filling and dumping game but you guide where the dumping goes (on the plate) and give lots of positive reinforcement for each item being picked up and dumped on the plate and thank LO for such lovely table manners when they have finished clearing up.  The trick with this is to totally remove the plate once all the items have been dumped on it (mine also dumps his fork, spoon and cup) to prevent the next part of the game which is emptying the whole thing out again.
I have not found a problem with a particular age (DS now 16 months and been clearing up since we started solids at 6 months) but I have noticed that there are long periods of lovely clearing up and zero throwing then suddenly he'll drop food over the side again.  It's always at the same time or just after some other developmental milestone as though he knows the rules of the world have changed (from crawling to cruising perhaps) and things that weren't possible before are now possible and he tests all the 'old' rules to see if they still apply.  After one or two meals with some dropping and my intervention we get back to clean eating again (it's really important to intervene quickly at these testing points I think).  Because DS is generally so good at being clean at the table and has already established the 'rules' I have moved on to telling him 'no, we don't throw food.  Food is for eating or clearing up' and I pick it up, hand the item to him and immediately say 'clear up please' and indicate the plate.
One other particularly noticeable time is if DS needs to pee or poo.  He will suddenly throw food.  If I give him a chance to go potty or go in his nappy and a nappy change he will then eat nicely again.


Offline buttonbaby

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #11 on: May 16, 2012, 21:04:54 pm »
great suggestions creations. like the clear up idea a lot. Thank you.
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Fiona

Offline Lemonthyme

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #12 on: May 19, 2012, 19:09:22 pm »
I'm really sorry but my son used to do the same, he's now 24 months and it's a very rare occasion anything goes on the floor (in fact he gets a bit upset when it does).  I can't totally remember how we got there.  I think we kept telling him "No" without shouting and taking things away when it looked like it was going to get chucked.  Eating with him I'm sure has helped too (as did sticky bowls!)
Here's my blog which is focussed on simple food for babies, toddlers and families http://mamacook.blogspot.com/

Offline buttonbaby

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #13 on: May 19, 2012, 19:16:32 pm »
Hi lemonthyme...good to know you got there :0)
doing a mixture of above..trying to catch arm and redirect him verbalising finished, no thanks etc. Aslo one thing at a time and holding cup and physicially guiding him to leave it in front of him. We do eat with him most of the time(if a bit early I jsut have a cuppa beside him jsut so he si not on his own). I find sticky bowls dont stick for us so I sjut use the tiny diner mats. Thansk again to youa nd everyone for your advice...working on it :)

Actually throwing toys too...he loves noise and think he loves to hear the crashing sound..oh the joys!!!!
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Fiona

Offline Lemonthyme

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #14 on: May 19, 2012, 19:20:01 pm »
The funny thing was for my son, if I made him a tea he really loved, it wouldn't get thrown.  He knew what he was doing!  So I often made more experimental food for lunch and old favourites for tea so I knew he had a full tummy at bedtime lol!
Here's my blog which is focussed on simple food for babies, toddlers and families http://mamacook.blogspot.com/

Offline buttonbaby

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Re: How to stop 14 mth old constantly throwing things from highchair
« Reply #15 on: May 19, 2012, 19:25:43 pm »
Oh good thinking...will think about that and see if I could do similar for ds!
Hello from Ireland!
Fiona