My 16 month old daughter is always throwing food on the floor whenever she's in her high chair. I know that's normal and I don't get mad when she does it. I'm just sick of cleaning it up.
My question is this: can I teach/train her out of this behavior or is she just too young to do any different? I have been thinking about responding when she throws something on the floor by saying "You must be all done. No more banana!" (or whatever it is she threw) and immediately take her out of her chair. Will this help at all? Or do I just need to be patient for another year?
Thanks in advance!
I agree with Jan. It worked well with our kids. How else is she going to learn table manners if you don't teach her, and without consequences, she's not likely to want to give up the fun. GL! Go ahead and go for it. She won't like it, but she'll want to eat, so it should be a pretty short-lived issue.
Take the food away..period. If she is playing she isn't eating. Make sure it is clear why she is getting it taken away, "we do not throw food, I guess you are done" and get her down. This will help, it will take time but she will catch on she is to eat when she is in her highchair and play when she is not eating...
I say now is the perfect time to teach her how to eat and have manners so you can go out to eat or someone else's house without her trashing their house.
Yes it is a phase, but I would just nicely tell my kids, "I guess all done!" and put them down. My son after only two weeks figured it out quickly, he was my eater, hee hee.
My daughter was throwing her food a lot around 16 months so we just took her out of her high chair and said she was done, and she rarely does it anymore... She is 18 months now, so I am assuming it is just a phase?
Sounds like you already know what you need to do. Just go for it. :)
Partly it's a phase, partly she needs to be taught table manners. I just removed mine from the food like you said--it worked over time. Don't be harsh cause she's just too little to totally understand, but when she sees the food go she'll get the picture. I always try to keep a really upbeat tone of voice and use very simple phrases like "All Done!" Don't try to explain anything in detail cause she won't care and won't understand. In the meantime, look for a easy-to-clean plastic mat to put under her chair. I used one for several years (several kids)and it saved me a lot of headache!
