Throwing food and eating

MauiBride2008 · July 2012

DS is constantly throwing all his food on the floor that is being offered to him (all food, utensils and sippy's). He rarely will eat everything that is offered to him, no matter how much or little I put on his tray at a time.

Whenever he does this I will say "no, food does not belong on the floor, it belongs on our plate" and will usually end the meal when he starts deliberately throwing the food. DH keeps just offering Goldfish or something else for him to eat after he has thrown his actual dinner (the food we are eating too) on the floor. I don't want to get him into the habit thinking if he throws what he is offered, he will get something else or we will make him a special dinner and that it's ok. I feel like I give him a variety of healthy choices. Some days will get the occasional mac & cheese and chicken nuggets, but for the most part he is offered a well balanced menu for each sitting.

I realize he is only 15 months and this is completely normal, but does your LO still do this and how do you handle these situations? Have you seen improvement on this issue based on how you handle this situation? Mealtimes have become so stressful

nettie27 · July 2012

Absolutely! We are going through this right now as well. She'll eat pretty well and it isn't until she is full or bored with the food will she throw the rest on the floor or on top of her head. My oldest went through this too. They just like to play and when they are full, they are full. I try to remember that their stomachs are way smaller than ours so they do not need that much to fill them up.

LadyXaverian · July 2012

She doesn't throw food until she is finished and wants to get down. I've been trying to teach her to say "All done" or even just "Done", but no luck so far.

kpips20 · July 2012

I posted about this a week ago, you're definitely not alone! DD throws at least 50% of her meal on the floor, mostly b/c she thinks it's funny (I blame her older brother b/c he laughs every time she does it). And my rule is what I make is the meal and that's it. If she really eats nothing I'll offer her some fruit but that's it. Honestly the way I feel about it is, if she's hungry enough she'll eat. Last night she ate maybe 3 bites of every meal and some milk before bed and was clearly really hungry when she woke up - she inhaled all 3 meals and snacks today. Just keep telling him that food doesn't belong on the floor and he'll eventually get it.

lylahlove · July 2012

We're finally ending this stage (knock on wood) - last night at dinner, no food went on the floor and I was a happy mama. The food on the floor stage did last a while though and not once did we acknowledge it - we ignored it every time and I think he finally just got bored with it.

Just a friendly suggestion, but I would definitely 86 offering the snacks when the real food goes on the floor - they're smart little creatures and I'm sure he's picked up on this trick

MauiBride2008 · July 2012

lylahlove:
Just a friendly suggestion, but I would definitely 86 offering the snacks when the real food goes on the floor - they're smart little creatures and I'm sure he's picked up on this trick

I 100% agree with this and I keep telling DH this! He doesn't get that he won't go hungry, he will eat when he is hungry and he freaks out that he will be going to bed hungry or something. It's so aggravating.

Thanks ladies for all your suggestions and tips! Glad I'm not the only one going through this annoying stage

Twirple · July 2012

We are kind of out of this stage now. We tried to say "No, we don't throw food on the floor, we eat food." but it didn't seem to help at all. It was just giving him attention. Ignoring the behavior completely seemed to help the most, or he just grew out of it. He will still throw the occasional snack on the floor, but I think its because he likes to feed the dog.

SNOakes · July 2012

DH and I were just talking about this last night, meal time is so stressful and I end up shoving cold food down my throat because I can't eat while trying to keep him happy and eating (if I get to eat at all). Glad to hear we aren't the only ones dealing with this, and glad to hear suggestions because we are at a loss of what to do. Telling him that food doesn't belong on the floor is not working for us.

el25 · August 2012

This is every meal and it is really annoying. I say NO in a stern voice, and that accomplished absolutely nothing. He could care less what I am saying. Afer every meal, my kitchen is completely covered and has to be completely disinfected.

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