One of Chase's favorite things to do is to throw his plate off the table when he is done eating. And not just drop an empty plate on the floor, either. Most meals, he takes 2 or 3 bites and then turns the plate upside down, shakes it to make sure every last piece of food is out, and then tosses it. He's broken one plate and I've cleaned up more meals than I can count off the floor.
He does have good days. It's not all the time, but it is definitely enough to drive me almost all the way to the looney bin. And it has made me very cautious about what I put in front of him. Big chunks of sandwich? Ok. Rice? Nope. Red jello? How about yellow instead? Yogurt? Um...no.
And he knows exactly what he is doing. He waits for the moment that I look away. I usually sit with one hand on his plate while I eat with the other hand. The other night, he waited until I took my hand off his plate in order to cut Ian's potato-- and then he struck. Like lightning. He is incredibly fast. And sometimes, he has the audacity to take my hand off of his plate, then get upset with me when I won't.
I've tried those bowls with the suction bottoms. They work for a little while, but then he pulls so hard that eventually they give, and then we have added mess because the food is propelled UP as well as off the plate. I've given him a few pieces of food at a time, sans plate, and if he is not interested, the pieces are swept to the floor. We work on positive reinforcement. Even Ian cheers like we're winning the House Cup when "Chasey is eating soooo good!". And always, when anything is thrown, I get him out of his chair and make him clean it- and he does. Happily. La la la. Like it is a fun thing to do. Oh- and we've been exercising the parental right to end dinner time for him if he throws anything. Doesn't phase him. He's not a big fan of eating to begin with.
He is driving me freaking bananas.
So what do I do? On one hand, I feel that it is important for him to have a plate in front of him and to teach him to eat off of it. On the other hand, life is a hella lot easier when I don't have to prepare 3 meals and 2 snacks every day and then clean them up off the floor immediately after serving them.
Halp.
6 comments:
I wish I had advice for you. Ruby's a thrower, too - dishes, food, drinks. She's getting much better lately ... but not through anything we did.
If you do find a good solution, let me know, too, okay?
No help to offer on this one, because if it makes you feel any better, we are right there with you. We are right there with you.
I've started using paper plates with John--food still served on a plate, but no breakage--or sound when it hits the floor (which I suspect adds to the fun of it).
Isn't it funny how the little things are the ones that can totally send you over the edge :)
we have this too. no real advice.
right now, I give Abby just a bite or two at a time, on her high chair tray. occasionally I use suction bowls but she does pull them off. if she has too much food on there, she flings it, so it's rationing.
my only other advice is that dogs are good at cleaning up.
We had this problem with Nick throwing sippy cups. His aim got to be pretty good and he hit a couple of people pretty well. I had another friend who's chromosomally enhanced son was her oldest with the throwing. We wondered if it was somehow linked to the 21st chromosome. He's more or less outgrown the throwing do to multiple repeats of don't throw, etc. But every so often it pops up.
Wow, I think we should start a club for plate throwers. Maybe "Plate Throwers Anonymous".
Most of the time I only give Lindsay one or two pieces at a time. She'll either dump everything off the plate or take the entire plate and throw it on the floor.
Then, there are occasions when she refuses to eat her one or two pieces so I give up and put the whole plate in front of her. Then I find her eating like a dignified young lady, one piece at a time.
When you get the answer, let me know.
Kayla used to do that with her plate and sippy cup. What they did at school and what we did at home was MAKE HER CLEAN IT UP! Of course, it was hand over hand and took waaaaay longer than cleaning it up myself, but when she realized that she'd have to clean up if she threw her stuff, it wasn't as much fun.
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