Am I supposed to be teaching them not to throw food on the floor?

Ruby_Tuesday

...Because I have not even attempted it.  It seems like a battle I will fight in vein unless I'm willing to pull them out of the chair the moment they do it and I'm not willing to do that.  It's hard logistically with the three of them and I wouldn't want them to skip a meal.  I assume they will grow out of throwing food eventually...?

Anywho we took them to a rehearsal dinner (at the request of the host) and I was embarassed by the huge mess we made. 

Haven1

I definitely didn't start with "if you throw food you instantly get out of the chair" consequences, but I did teach them not to throw food. I can't stand to see them waste my money and effort. We started about one with "no no no" when they'd dangle food over the edge. Then it became a game where I'd have a stern mommy face with no no no as they'd dangle it over the edge, and as soon as they'd bring the food back up on the tray, I'd light up with a smile and say " thank you!" Once they were old enough to know better, they got a serious NO! Poor sensitive DS2 cried one night because he got yelled at. Now at 18 months, they understand that if they don't want something, they put it in one of the cup holders on their tray. Only now is dinner immediately done if they throw food. I don't want hunger to be a punishment unless I'm 100% sure they understand. Mine rarely throw food anymore, but when they do, I know it's because they're done and I just wasn't over there fast enough. Good luck to you. I had great like with two, but with all things, I imagine three would be a bigger challenge. They'll figure it out eventually, I promise.

caden

I hate taking my kids out to eat b/c of this. I get embarassed by it too. A friend of mine taught her 15/16mo old not to throw food by taking him out of his high chair every single time he did it. She even walked him to his crib every time he did it. It only took 4 days and he almost never does it now (he's 2 now). So I tried that over christmas break when DH was home. It was such a huge PITA but we did it for a week. It cut down the amount of throwing, but they definitely didn't stop. And when my DH went back to work I wasn't about to walk babies up and down the stairs the whole meal. So it was a giant fail. Now they throw it as much as they did before christmas. My doula who comes over a lot says they'll "get" that it's wrong when they're a bit older, like 18mo+.

ETA: LIke Haven, I do the "stern mommy" face when they're about to throw it and act super happy when they eat it right. Also, if I know my kids are still hungry but throw everything they get their hands on, I'll just feed it to them, or move on to another food and come back to that one.

amanda31H

I pretty much did what Haven did. 

But, for example, today at lunch they had only a few bites of their grilled cheese sandwich before I left the room for a second (to grab their water) and came back to ALL OF IT on the floor. 

Lunch was done.  They'd had 2 handfuls of grapes each while I was making their grilled cheese, and had snacked all morning.  They definitely knew not to throw it on the floor, but did it anyway.  I'm not concerned about them starving because they had something in their stomach, but I'm also not making a second sandwich.  When they wake up from nap I'll give them a more substantial snack.

This was the first time I've done "meal is over" before...but at 20 months I was comfortable doing it this time.

chickaboo1974

I am having these issues too- only my three beagles are all too happy for the food to be thrown.  J just laughs and laughs at the dogs fighting over whatever he has pitched over. 

I took them out to a pizza place with my mom, sister, and 3 yr old nephew.  They made a huge mess- I felt so bad.  I picked up the large pieces but there was still stuff on the floor.  I tipped the staff way more than I normally do because I felt so bad.

jenkm

I only skimmed PPs so sorry if I'm being repetitive!

Early on I just spoon fed or handed them one piece of food at a time so it wasn't possible for them to toss a bunch of food.

I have ALWAYS corrected them for throwing food by telling them NO, we do not throw.  That's the case for everything - toys, books, etc.

As they get a little older, you can either end the meal when they throw (or after a first warning) or get into time outs.

I don't think they grow out of it, at least not all of them.  I'd get into the habit of correcting them and telling them it's not acceptable b/c it doesn't get any easier!

GL

erinruns

I think the earlier you work on manners, the better off you are.  If you aren't telling them not to throw the food, they won't know they aren't supposed to do it.  You can simply start off by not giving them much food on their plate to minimize what they can throw.  I agree that at this age, ending the meal if they throw is too large of a consequence, but there are other ways to get your message across.