20M Old Throws All Food on the Floor!

Have you tried either ignoring the problem or reverse psychology? My 17 month old throws food on the floor all the time too and it seems that if I just ignore her when she does it she doesn't do it as much. It's like a challenge for her. I haven't tried reverse psychology but I just read about it in "What to expect: the toddler years" book. They say to tell they the opposite of what you want them to do and then they think they are disobeying and they do it and you get what you want. It's a win-win situation. And it doesn't effect their psychological development. Good Luck!

Try taking her food away and telling her she has one more chance . If she throws food again, calmly take her away from the table and tell her she is all done. She will quickly figure out that she should not throw food. If she eats without throwing food reward her by having her give the puppy a treat, If you give her food to the puppy, even the left overs she will think that this is okay to do and continue to throw food.

This is probably going to sound harsh, but I have seen it done in one of the best child development centers I have had the privilege to work at. When one of the kids would throw their food the teacher would say, "When I see you throw your food you are telling me you are all done." Then away the food would go. I mean sit and watch her like a hawk. Before you hand her the plate say, "If I see you throw your food that means you are finished with your meal," and when you see the first bite of food leave her hand say, "I see you throwing your food, you are telling me you are done eating." Then calmly pick up her plate and carry it away. Wash her hands and remove her from the place where she eats. It will take maybe two times and she will get it. You have given her the keys to exercising control over her choices and you have kept things in the cause and effect area where she is most likely to understand.

Hi Amy.

I think you might try buying some special treats for the puppy and only offer them to the puppy when your daughter has finished eating and not thrown her food on the floor. Then you can say, "I was going to let you give the puppy a special treat but you already gave the puppy your food. Maybe next time you can give the puppy a treat." Then when she doesn't give her puppy the food let her give the special treat. It will still let her have some control over her food and she will get to decide if the puppy gets a treat. It's worth a try. Let me know how it goes!

have you tried making her clean up the mess? also not responding when she does it -act like it doesnt matter show no emotion -take her out of her chair do not let her finish eating -put her on the couch or her bed dont let her see you cleaning it up -and let her go without anything to eat -going hungry for a day wont hurt her and might show her you mean business-she is getting attention when she does this all kids like to test us and see how far they can go be a little firmer with her -you might try putting puppy somewhere else while she eats too

Put the dog in it's cage or in another room during feeding time. If she's still throwing food, take it away from her for a few minutes and see if she asks for it back. Tell her she needs to eat and keep it on the table. If she continues, take the food away. Let her have a chance to eat twice, if she continues behavior, take it away for good. If she throws a tantrum....ignore her as long as she's not hurting herself or damaging things. After she has calmed down, ask her if she would like to eat now. Children at this age who throw their food on the floor are not that hungry and they will eat when they are hungry.

I think the first piece of advice (I think from Lisa C.) is the one I agree with most. Being very calm, matter-of-fact, and brief often helps end this type of behavior, which really is quite typical at this developmental age. Young children love to learn about the effect they have on the world in general...they are especially thrilled if they can get a HUGE response, one way or the other, out of a parent, even if it is an "unpleasant" one. This is not a bad thing, just how they are put together. The need for this type of control peaks during the "threes", and by five, most kids will try more to please an adult than just see how they can control. I absolutely disagree with hitting or spanking. Having her learn to associate eating with pain of any type is not, in my opinion, a good idea. One thing I would add to Lisa's advice is this...take a more prevention-oriented approach, so when you give her food, give her a VERY tiny amount...say, one or two bites at a time...as soon as she finishes those, she can get more. For a lot of kids, this is helpful as for some, just the sight of a lot of food on their tray (for some reason) makes them want to throw. If she asks why, tell her you want to make sure that the food is eaten, and that she really wants what you give her. I also really liked the idea of rewarding her not throwing with letting her give the puppy a puppy treat. Good luck! This will pass, especially if you limit the food on her tray and respond very calmly so she does not receive an attention reward. E.

My 14 month old son does the same thing. I just put a few pieces of food on his tray at a time. When he finishes those bites I offer more. I also keep his cup out of his reach and offer it to him throughout the meal. My son also scavenges off the floor when hes done!!!! It drives me crazy, but the floor is clean and it saves me from sweeping LOL!!!

my son does the same thing with out the puppy. at least your daughter has a reason. i just explained to my son last night you don't say oh no when you do something on purpose. he trows his cup and food and then goes ooohhh nnooo. we tell him no time out wipped and he still does it. it is driving me crazy. but he don't throw foods he want alot like a cookie. and it mainly his drink he throws i keep telling him if he don't want it all he has to do is set it down they he bats at it. like it cannot stand up for no reason whats so ever

My kids never threw food, but went through a phase of throwing other unacceptable things. I got down on their level and said, "we only throw balls, nothing else". Then I would say "what do we throw?" (they say balls) What else? (nothing). That phase did not last long luckily. Maybe they got bored with my persistence and it wasn't a challenge any more. Regardless, it's over and was very short lived and it worked for me! Good luck!!

OMG!!! LOL and its not funny... I too have two girls 11 months apart. Born 11/23/97 and 11/3/98 and they not only threw their food farther than I've ever seen, they also were comet dumpers (all over the kitchen). MY hubby (ex) was right there with me cleaning the wrecked kitchen, it was so bad that we started using the shop vac to get it done faster. As far as telling you how to stop it..?? for us it was counting way past ten LOL and praying it would go by quick. Its a waiting game until they grow out of it! If someone does know of a way..please let me know too.
God Bless :+)

Ahhggg! We are having the same problem, but we don't have a dog. Our 22mo son throws his food on the floor when he is done eating. We do the same, remind him to leave food on the tray, leave his plate on the tray, say "all done" and he still does it. We try to catch him being good, keeping it on the tray, too. We could use some tips as well.

I think some of it is a game for her, I think some of it is to get your undivided attention, and some of it is shear stubborness on her part.

When my children tried this it I tried several methods to stop it. Especially the cup/bottle to the floor action. I found this worked out for me, and no it is not cruel, it is simply a way to end the problem.

When the cup went to the floor the first time I told them that was not acceptable behavior and if it happened again then I would take the cup. If it happened again they simply did not get their drink back.

With the food it was simply small portions on the divided dish. If any food went to the floor I told them if anymore food went to the floor I would take away the plate. The next time food went to the floor I took the plate, washed them up and they were done eatting for that meal.

After a couple of days they quit throwing bottles/cups/food to the floor.

Life was a lot simplier after that for me and for the floor.

P. R

Food throwing is one of those things that can drive a mom bananas! I always figured thrown food is a sign that my girls were full. My input: Toddlers really don't need to eat as much as they did when they were babies. Somehow they can live for days on one slice of banana and 1/2 a hotdog or whatever. My doc said as long as they are getting a balanced variety of foods over 2 weeks, not to worry. So...put less food on the tray. Wait till her tray is empty and she asks before adding more. At the moment just before something gets thrown (arm raised, that "glint" in her eyes, whatever), cheerfully say, "all done!" Then take away the tray, clean her up and send her on her way. I don't have a dog, but I sometimes had to put my cat in the basement during meals, so he wouldn't be sniffing around. My kids and pets and food didn't mix. Good luck.

I'm sorry, I am laughing hard here...not at the fact that your having problems, because we too are going through the same thing. Our soon to be 27month old has been doing that since she was able to feed herself. But I notice that it only happens when she sees others feeding the dog their dinner or lunch. Than she too feels that she has to feed the animals. Is the dog in the house when your getting ready to eat dinner, take the dog out. What we have done one day was not let our daughter snack, she had taken a nap and when she woke up she was extremly hungry and I felt guilty at first, but than she ate all her dinner and did not feed anything to the dogs. I also quit giving her sippy cups unless we're out and about. When she has a regular cup she actually had quit throwing her cup. Do you also have problems with the fact that she gets a drink from her cup and spits it onto her tray or even the floor? My daughter has been doing that and I had gotten to the point that if I ignore it than she would stop, but that hasn't happend yet. Thank you for sharing this, because for the longest time I thought just my daughter did this. If you get some really good advice or come up with a way to stop her from throwing her food, can you please let me know? LOL...Good Luck! Also, we have done the didn't matter fact and it still don't work. She still does it, except when she's extremly hungry.