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Does your toddler throw food on the floor during meals? Lots of CafeMoms report that this is a common problem.
Is this just a phase or is it preventable? Moms in the Stay At Home Moms Group (must be a member to view) have plenty of tips to get kids to stop...some apparently are more successful than others.
How do you get your child to stop throwing food on the floor?
Here are some tips from CafeMoms on how to get kids to stop throwing food:
- mommy2bunny recommends a time out. If they continue to do it after the time out, then they don't get to eat anymore.
- superpickle says "First throw and the food is gone."
- Busymoma07 makes her son clean up the thrown food, but unfortunately he likes it and thinks it's a game.
- Many moms suggested only giving kids tiny bits of a food at a time to reduce the amount that finds it's way to the floor.
- I liked yannaboozmommi's method of teaching her 15-month son to say "all done" instead of throwing the plate on the floor.
For related reading on toddlers and food, check out Cafe Cynthia's post on letting toddlers eat or drink food in the grocery store before purchasing it in Toddler Buzz.
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Comments (10)
Hand smack.
I also agree that taking the food away as soon as it's been thrown is a good idea for OLDER kids, but I don't think babies would connect the two concepts. I guess it depends on the age of the child we're talking about here.
Excellent point, fluud7. Age totally matters. The idea about teaching kids to say "all done" instead of throwing food wouldn't work for babies, either.
fluud, are you saying a baby would not understand just taking the food so instead you would smack them??? I dont think a baby should be smacked NOR would they understand what the hell you did it for! And if you are talking about older children, why would you smack their hand if you think jsut taking it away would work?
I made DS start cleaning up his own mess. He didn't really like that concept and stopped thowing his food. That's what worked for us.
My rule is one throw, get a warning (we don't throw food we throw balls), two throws and your food was gone and they were removed from their chairs and the dining room, When they were about 5 months old I taught them sign langage for all done and more. This way even though they couldn't speak they could still communicate. My DD threw her food for two days until she realized she was really hungry and wanted to eat instead of play. DS only did it for a day, LOL! He always has loved his food, LOL!
My son only does it when I'm not paying attention to him. He wants my attention, so he throws food on the floor and says "naughty, naughty Kalten!" Well, that gets my attention! I take away whatever food is still on the tray, and I make him get down, pick up the mess, put it in the trash, and then he gets BACK in the high chair (because he just wants to get down anyway!) until I vacuum up whatever he missed and get the carpet cleaner.
Simple solution in my case, get off the computer and pay attention to the kid!
Hmmm My daughter (18 months) says "All done" or "I finished" and picks up her plate with both hands and hand it over to me.........
However this does not stop her form feeding part of her dinner to our dog. Now if only there was an answer for that one.
In all seriousness if my daughter is fooling around with her food at dinner, then I give her a warning and after that I take her plate away and say in a firm tone "You lose it" or "It's gone." I set the plate away from her up on the table. Usually she begins to cry or she'll sit there, play with what is on her tray for a few minutes and then want it back. I hand it back and give her the stipulation that she must EAT her food.
I've also noticed that sometimes, she just needs a break from eating what's in front of her. She'll start to play and that's when I know that for a few minutes she needs a break. I'll give her a toy, and then after a few minutes give her back her plate and she'll finish her entire dinner.
one toss and they are removed from the table. I wait 5-10 mins. and start again. If they repeat throwing foo they are done till next meal-snack time. repeating warnings and nonos only makes it a game. Out of 4 kids none of mine tossed food. As far as feeding it to the dog, put the dog outside or take away their plate.
we are fighting that battle, it's now turned into two warnings (one for each twin), and then hand smacks, and then to crib till everyone else is done eating.
for the mommy against hand smacks, i don't do it hard. the frown on my face hurts them more than my fingertips due.
to each his own, i guess.