I am witholding food from DS.

AnnapolisLari

Mama finally snapped. I am tired of every meal being like feeding time at the zoo.

I gave him a little bowl of dry cereal to eat, and said, "If you dump it, Mama will take it away." He did, so I did.

Then he came into the kitchen asking for cereal, and I put him in a chair, gave him the cereal with some milk, and said the same thing. He dumped it, so I pulled him out of the chair and sent him off to watch toons. He cried, but doesn't seem unduly upset.

He can have food when he eats it, and doesn't immediately dump it. I am SICK TO DEATH of cleaning up. He's 2 1/4. Time to start eating like a human.

aprilmomtobe

ugh - I hear ya. DS is almost 3 and still does that sometimes.  after a timeout, I usually tell him that he must still be tired if he's acting that way, and I can put him back to bed if he wants.  that usually scares him! 

If only we had cages like the zoo . . .

Kimberly74

You might get flames, but I'm with you on this, assuming he is dumping it on purpose and it's not just spillage from self-feeding.  He is definitely old enough to understand what you are saying and to know better. 

LittleMamaB

I would have done the same thing. I can't imagine how frustrating that must be. I don't even like cleaning up the inevitable mess from just eating. I would definitely not like to clean up an "on purpose" mess.

Zenya

I did that I think.  And turned off the TV and stopped him from playing with any toys until he picked it up.  I did that over and over until he stopped throwing things (or learned to pick them up when he did).

I tried to remain calm (not easy) but firm.  

AnnapolisLari

Kimberly74:

You might get flames, but I'm with you on this, assuming he is dumping it on purpose and it's not just spillage from self-feeding.  He is definitely old enough to understand what you are saying and to know better. 

Oh, hell no. It's picking up the bowl or plate and turning it upside down. Then fingerpainting with the contents. I would never do it for food that just spills off his plate or spoon.

springmom

Well, you're nicer than I am! ?If mine tosses a plate/bowl, they lose it and still have to sit there while we/I eat. ?It is nice having a dog for clean up, though :-)

esposa38

I started doing that a couple weeks ago.  It's been working very well so far.  Stick w/ it!  It's super frustrating.

kylara111

When they start throwing food or playing with it vs. eating, they aren't hungry.  The food is taken away and they're dismissed from the table.  That goes for both of them. 

AnnapolisLari

He just sat down next to me and let me spoon feed him an entire bowl of oatmeal. He was plenty hungry, and once he figured out that I wasn't going to let him trash the place, I guess he decided to behave.

Consistency, mama. :-)