What to do about throwing food?

docmay25 · August 2013

I didn't have this problem with my older children, so I need some advice because nothing seems to be working. Since he was 12 months (about 6 months now) my ds throws his food on the floor or just crumbles it all up. We have tried telling him "no" every time he does it. We have also tried ignoring it because it seemed like he was trying to get our attention. We thought it was a phase that would pass. It hasn't passed and is very frustrating. I never know what to offer for meals because it seems like he does this even for food he likes. It is a game, I know. I have read when toddlers do this to end mealtime. But he sometimes does this for the first or second thing offered and then would hardly have anything to eat. Do you end mealtime if they do this even if they haven't had anything to eat? Or do you have another technique that has worked?

Mrs MoJoRisin · August 2013

I immediately take the food away and take him out of the high chair.

sunnyday016 · August 2013

DS is exactly like this. Lately I've pushed his booster chair right up to the table, rather than using the tray and that has helped a bit. I remind him that we do not throw food before I put him in his seat, and then if he throws I take him right down. Remind him again not to throw food. Give him a few minutes to cry about it, then ask if he would like to try again, and again remind him not to throw. It's exhausting, and I usually can't tell if what I'm doing is working, but little by little I think it may be getting better.

blu-eyedwife · August 2013

For us, food throwing was more about him not wanting the food than anything else. Like he would say "no" (or "no egg" when he got more verbal) and if we persisted, the food would get thrown. We worked with him on handing the food over to us when he didn't want it and that really helped.

That being said, playing with food in our house means you're not hungry and mealtime ends for you. Even if it's at the very beginning of a meal. Skipping/missing a meal here or there is not going to cause your child to starve to death.

bumpuser9353653 · August 2013

LO (14 months) does this as well. We found that sometimes she is overwhelmed by the amount of food we put on her tray. If we offer just one item in smaller quantities at a time, she tends to do less throwing. So instead of a veggies and protein being put on her tray at the same time, we put the carrots down first, then when those are just about done, we'll put a little protein down.

We've also been trying to teach her to put things she doesn't want or is "done" with in her cup holder or a small cup nearby. She responds pretty well to that most days. But if she is persistent with throwing, we assume she is just not hungry and we take her out of the chair.

traveltheworld · August 2013

We look him in the eye, tell him "we do not throw food on the floor, you now have to wait" and take him immediately out of the high chair and put him on the ground for a few minutes while we carry on eating and talking. We act calm and there is no additional attention paid to him. Usually he'll cry for a minute or two, realize that no one is paying attention to him, then comes back to the high chair. Then we put him back in. Sometimes he would go off and play, but I think he really wants to eat with us (or have us pay attention to him), so he always comes back after a little while. We purposely have to slow down eating so that we are still there waiting for him.

caybeh · August 2013

Yeah, we are having this issue too and "no, no, we don't throw food" doesn't seem to work for our little guy. DS seems to do it at the end of the meal. I started teaching him to say all done, and to put the food he doesn't want on the table instead of throwing it. He still throws food sometimes, but I grab his hands right away, and I remind him we don't throw food, and then ask him what he is supposed to say. With some coaching, he says it and then I let him down. He's catching on, and the food throwing is slowing down.

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