So parents may be better off looking for signs of kid hunger to establish the earliest mealtimes rather than making arbitrary choices about when breakfast lunch and dinner occur.
3 year old throwing food on the floor.
I always reassure my clients that it s normal most kids go through a food throwing phase in their early years.
In other words a hungry kid is more likely to move food to their mouths rather than to the floor.
Yesterday it was applesauce this morning it was her cereal followed by her juice that got squirted everywhere.
If my son is throwing food at dinner i ll say food is for eating.
My daughter is almost 3 years old and she insists on throwing her food on the floor.
For younger kids i would use less language.
Food throwing at this age can definitely get out of hand because it tends to be a matter of defiance and or disinterest.
Before i get into tips for stopping the behaviour i want to clarify the difference between intentionally throwing food on the floor and unintentionally knocking things over onto the floor.
It s fun for babies and.
How my kid skipped baby food and went straight to tacos.
It s not because he s acting out it s simply that he doesn t want the food on his tray because he has no intention of eating it.
I m going to teach you a few of the most common but know that there can be some overlap.
However food throwing and playing at mealtime doesn t need to happen.
When an 8 month old starts feeding crackers to the dog and finger painting all over the table with yogurt it s kind of cute when a 2 year old does it it is just plain frustrating maybe borderline annoying.
I m getting tired of explaining why we don t waste food and how naughty it is to throw food and how tired i am of.
We all know that accidents happen.
Turn away ignore or express displeasure at a plate of food thrown on the floor.
They are learning cause and effect yes it s that simple.
Just the other day i lunged towards our highchair to catch a full bowl of uneaten spaghetti from my one year old s hands i was unsuccessful while simultaneously exclaiming nooooooo.
Instead of treating this like bad behavior i offer to take the food from him and he usually happily hands it all to me one piece at a time.
My youngest will throw food he doesn t want to eat on the floor.
I can t let you throw it.
Throwing food is totally normal for children between 8 and 18 months old.
This sends a message that this behavior is not acceptable and helps prevent later disruptive behaviors.
Babies and toddlers are learning the skill of eating.
By the time your child is 18 24 months old you can expect some compliance with rules notes the the american academy of pediatrics.
It takes until at least 3 years old before a child is proficient at eating.
If you re throwing your food you are done with dinner my son is around 2 year olds and responds to this much language.
Two year olds are ready willing and able to throw overhand and are likely to have declared a distinct preference for using one hand over the other when tossing both balls and their food alike.
