Throwing/Pushing food from High Chair

[MommyMoulton]

Well.. DS is still throwing/tossing/pushing food off his tray... been almost 2 weeks now. He doesnt do this at daycare. Looking for tips on how to stop this behaviour.
- We have tried ignoring it
- We have tried removing all food and letting him down( he comes back 30 seconds later crying because hes hungry)
- We have tried offering less choices at once
- We have tried less amount of portions at once
- We have tried allowing him to use his own spoon or fork

Nothing seems to be helping.

[ZacsMumme]

Hugs, does he do it at every meal?  Or just one ie dinner?
Do you think it could be developmental, or a cry for attention ie if your ignoring him (not on purpose) while eating together? Z throws food when he has too much on his plate too

What works for us typically is the first throw I would take that piece away (dirty now) and calmly but firmly say 'we don't throw food Zac, are you done? ' I keep it simple so he understands. Sometimes he will say 'done' in which case i remove the food. I then say 'when you finish you just tell mummy your done.'  If he says 'no' i say 'ok, if you throw it again I will assume yor done.' if he keeps throwing I remove what isn't in his hand. If he cries for it, I give him 1 piece at a time.

Personally I'm not a fan of trying to control food, but working with them to teach desirable behaviour around eating is more effective - for us anyway. The reality is though, it will take time and it is in part developmental. FWIW Now we rarely have thrown food, but it did take months, ignoring it kind of works...but only for a period of time. What will work long term is good modeling and , e will get there Hun 

[Fiver]

Does daycare do something you don't?  Do they put food on a plate/bowl and then put that on the tray rather than just putting the food on the tray?  Or am I misunderstanding what you're saying?

[MommyMoulton]

Daycare does nothing different than I do. With the exception that there is alot more kids eating at the same time so more distraction I guess.

[ZacsMumme]

Do you eat with him? Or sit with him?  - maybe that's part of the problem? - attention/interaction?
W have just got a toddler table and chairs and I have to say Z eats better at it than in his high chair...maybe thats part of it, eating at a table and chairs rather than in a high chair?

[Mattsmummy]

My DS does exactly the same thing...he is tossing food down for the dog who he knows sits right beside the high chair.
We have started putting the dog downstairs so he's not a distraction.  We have started taking all the food away if he tosses it and then giving him one piece at a time.  I do find that if I offer a piece to him while he is still working on one in his mouth, over it goes.
He has always sat at the table with us. I think it's part developmental and part cheeky monkey...
I also find if he's not that hungry, say at daycare he had a late snack, he will not eat as much.
In the morning, he still tosses a few pieces to the dog, but eats most of his breakfast...

[Lemonthyme]

My son did the same.  We started eating with him more which helped but I genuinely think it was just a phase and whatever we'd done he would have got passed it eventually.