Does anyone else's lo throw food?!
Tayla-Rose used to be such a fab eater, never fussy, would eat anything and try everything. Now however its a totally diff story
Shes become very fussy, rarely finishes a meal and ends up throwing her food This is been going on or a couple of months now.
She doesnt listen to me when i tell her off, nothing seems to work. Ive tried ignoring her and letting her eat in peace, ive tried the 'choo choo train' ( ) ive not given pudding after and let her go hungry. It worked or a while giving her a 'big girls spoon' but soon got bored.
Tonight i kind of snapped, we had a roast and she did the usual trick of tipping it all off her plate and then picking up the food and saying 'ploop' whilst throwing it on the floor followed by 'oh dawg' and 'ut oh' (i still find it so hard not to laugh ) But tonight she really got to me so i smacked her hand...i have never done this before and expected tears or tantrum but nothing she completely ignored it i got her out of the highchair, told her she had been naughty and was not getting a pudding and carried on eating my own dinner.....(p.s i dont want to do the smacking hand thing again i still felt awful)
Any help?!

We have this from Chloe sometimes and if she starts to play up I take her plate away and everything out of her reach, make sure she's strapped in to her chair securely and completely ignore her (not even looking at her) until we've finished eating, she normally has about 2 minutes of tantrums, then gives up and asks for her dinner back, I think they all go through it at some point or another, Chloe was always an excellent eater, and lately she's exerting her independance a lot more. No seems to be her favourite word at the moment

She is so quick at flipping her plate though and no matter how tight the straps are she also climbs out (she can get her arms out of her car seat straps too )
I hope it is just a stage, thank god we have laminate flooring anyway!

Yep, same here too. We used to have Oliver in a highchair strapped in. After throwing/messing with his food and refusing to eat in, I just removed it completly, nothing, nada! I did leave him in his highchair until we'd finished but all the screaming and carrying on was putting us all off our tea so now he sits at the table on a normal chair and he can get in and out himself, he messes with his food for so long, gets down from his chair seeking attention from us..in which we just ignore him and he goes back and eats his tea, we've been doing this for about a week and its working well.

In your situation (if I were you lol) I would remove her food as soon as she started messing, don't rise to it or make conversation, just remain calm - as if your not bothered. When she's had her tantrum maybe offer it back, or just offer little bits to see if she's truly hungry.
Or if she's tipped it before you get there, just say "all gone now..no more!" she will soon learn. You might think its mean but they will have you running round for them given half the chance. Its all effect and cause and dealing with consequences.

Its a common stage and you feel like pulling your hair out, but its all trial and error.

Thanks Zee, i have been doing this and i know if she is hungry she will eat i guess ill will just have to preserve with it everyday and hope it soon sinks in that i dont 'care' if she has a tantrum during dinner time!

Ive just brought a table and chairs for callum to sit up to eat his dinner as he was doing the same in his highchair but he would scream and shake his head when he threw it on the floor ii would try again but then he would secretly put it into his lap and onto the floor or sqaush it into the corners of the highchair its changed now he has got better altho he only eats finger foods x

I did buy her her own little table and chair and she was ok then actually but i moved it upstairs beginning of xmas to make room or the tree! So ill bring that back down tomorrow and try and get her to eat nicely at her table.
Thanks for all the advise, ill keep u updated

We have Chloe on a booster seat just with a lap strap as she can get her arms out too, if you do the lap belt up tightly, they can't get out of it, but it does sound like attention seeking, so just try and ignore it as soon as she starts misbehaving, good luck x

Izzy quite often dumps bits on the floor - as its amusing for her to feed the dogs! (so they go out when she eats!)

I look at things a bit different though - I never make pudding into something special..cos I think if kids think puddings are special they may have different thoughts about them as they do their main meal, and lets face it, its just food so why think differently about fruit or yoghurt?!

I dont really make a fuss if she drops it, its usually near the end and so long as she eats enough I'm happy. I never refuse to give her a pudding for not eating all her main...if she doesnt eat all her main then more the need to give her some healthy fruit or whatever.
If she throws it then I ask if she is finished, if she is she will let me take the plate, if she isnt finished she wont let me take it!
If she finds it funny to tip the plate then maybe clean the table with milton and put her dinner directly on the there, i do it often with crackers etc

Caitlin throws food too! She usually starts well eating 5-6 mouthfuls and then starts 'playing'. She throws it straight down to the floor or flicks it at us. I dont trust her with a plate. Her high chair has a tray that gets cleaned with dettol and I just put a cpl of bits at a time on there for her to eat with her fingers, stab at with fork/spoon. If she starts messing I remove what food is on her tray telling her no, dont throw and asking if she is finished. I then carry on eating for min or 2 and then offer her a drink & then put a few bits back on her tray. (Usually she starts pointing at her plate thats on the table so I know she wants more).

If she carrys on throwing I just say all done and take it all away. Like lisa I still offer her a yougurt or a piece of fruit. Its still healthy and fills her up. I dont think she plays to get the youghurt/fruit, I think she's just had enough/got a bit bored with her dinner.

Sorry not much advice on how to get her to stop doing it completly, just try putting a few bits on at a time to save mess/wasting a whole meal.

Thanks girls. I have tried not using a plate and just putting a few bits down or her but it still ends up the same. It used to happen at the end of the meal and i didnt mind so much but now its as soon as she gets its and hasnt even tried it! Sounds stupid and i know she doesnt understand but it pee's me off that i spend ages trying to cook her different healthy meals and it goes straight on the floor, i think why bother! Its not even about what she does and doesnt like either. Lisa ive only just started doing the no pudding thing just to see if it works....it doesnt lol!
Shes the same with her breakfast and lunch too its not just dinner.

Thomas went through this stage too (still does it at times). He has his own little table and chairs in the living room which all his food/snacks is put on throughout the day and this works a little better although he rarely actually sits down for more than a minute or so at a time. When he started throwing food or tipping it off his plate I used to put it back or replace it but it bacame a game so now he has learned that as soon as his food leaves his plate it is either eaten or it goes in the bin. If he throws it all he goes hungry. Sounds mean but it does kind of work.

I'm also a bit like Lisa in that I don't generally refuse pudding as I offer fruit or yoghurt and due to Thomas' awful eating habits I like him to have this as it's getting goodness into him. He does have 'treats' though like a biscuit or a few pieces of chocolate and I wouldn't allow this unless he had made a decent attempt at his meal.

xx

Wil throws anything and everything, food, toys, ornaments

He also stands up in his highchair and thinks it is highly amusing because we have to react to stop him falling out. I now threaten him with the high chair straps and that stops him.

I find moving the food out of reach and ignoring him is the best method.