How To Stop the Baby from Throwing Food? It’s easy to avoid this messy, inconvenient, and frustrating dilemma. All you need is a colander, dish towel, or wad of paper towel tubes.
If your baby is an older infant who can sit up on their own, make sure they don’t have any loose items in their pockets before putting them down for a nap or mealtime. This will ensure that they won’t be able to reach food items and throw them at you.
If you’re trying to stop a younger infant from throwing food, provide them with an appropriate place to put down their forks, knives, and spoons.
A baby should be able to learn the difference between a fork and a knife or spoon and not just a pile of cutlery.
How To Stop The Baby From Throwing Food?
When I had a baby, I found that they liked to throw their food onto the floor. This was a messy, inconvenient, and frustrating dilemma. It was hard to avoid this by having them feed themselves.
Why Do Babies and Toddlers Throw Away Their Food?
Some children like to play with their food, and this type of toddler throwing food is common. There are many other reasons for your baby or toddler to throw away their food.
If a small baby is sitting in a highchair and sees you eating across the room, they may be trying to get your attention by throwing away their food.
Your child may be so used to being spoon-fed that they instinctively want to fling it away when they have something in their mouth that they don’t like. This is a normal stage, and most children will grow out of it during the next few years.
When is Your baby Throwing food?
If your child is throwing food and you are unsure whether they are ready to stop, keep in mind that children usually become ready to stop between the ages of 6 to 12 months. You can identify whether or not the throwing has stopped and whether your baby is still pulling up their legs when sitting down.
If this is the case, there’s a good chance she is no longer tossing her food out at the toddler stage. If you think she is too young, wait a little longer until you notice them not pulling up their legs when seated.
Stop The Baby From Throwing Food:
1. Only serve small amounts of food:
If you are a busy parent, eating meals in a hurry is understandable. However, if your baby is constantly dropping their food, you should try only to give them small portions so they don’t have to bother with it as much.
2. Don’t let your baby see you eating:
If you want your child to follow suit by keeping their food in their mouth, avoid providing visual cues when trying to eat something. It does not help if you drop food simultaneously and expect them to keep it in their mouths.
3. Keep all of your child’s food in one location:
If your child throws their food, it’s because they anticipate that you will come around to give them a new portion when they are done with it.
If this is the case, move all the baby plates, bowls and food to one location so that you don’t have to walk back and forth from the kitchen.
4. Remove anything that can be used as a weapon:
If you place your baby in a highchair, keep all the extra items out of their reach or put them up in one place where they are not visible.
When serving food from a highchair, ensure their hands and arms are well-supported so they do not pull up their legs.
5. Don’t leave food on the floor:
When your child loses their appetite, they may want to throw away their food. This may be fine if they do it in the highchair.
However, if they start to drop food on the floor and make a mess, you can stop this by putting their plate or bowl on a tray that you put up in your child’s room while they sleep.
6. Use a colander, dish towel, or wad of paper towel tubes:
If you are dealing with a younger infant grasping objects and throwing food, it’s time to get creative about stopping them from doing so.
If you put them down in a playpen, put a colander on top of the mattress where they can’t reach it. This will allow their food to drop safely through.
7. Always remain calm:
If you see your baby drop a spoon or fork on the floor, calmly pick it up and give them a new one. If you have to, tell yourself it’s okay for them to try. Don’t get too upset, as this will encourage them to throw away their food.
8. Make sure that you have an appropriate place for the cutlery:
When you serve your baby, ensure they do not just have a pile of cutlery. If your child likes to grab for the cutlery, make sure that there is a fork and knife in each hand so they can also use them.
9. Let them have their safe toys in the room:
If you see your infant throwing food, do not take these objects away from them or refuse to let them play with these items because they are getting tired of eating. This will only encourage them to get upset and throw away their food.
10. Prepare food in small amounts:
If you serve your older child a large portion of food, they may want to throw it away after tasting it. It may be best to prepare the meals in smaller amounts so they do not have too much to throw away.
What to do if nothing works?
Most babies grow out of throwing food by the toddler stage when they’re around 6 months old. If you think your child is ready to stop, but nothing has worked for a long time, and you just want them to stop throwing food, be prepared that they may not be able to.
However, there is a chance that they will go through the throwing stage and later get over it by the time they are 1 year old.
You can try ignoring the behaviour. If your child throws food out of boredom, they will eventually stop this when they lose interest.
Conclusion
There are many reasons why babies and toddlers throw away their food. If your baby is 6 to 12 months old, there’s a good chance that you can teach them to stop.
If you’ve tried for a few months and nothing has worked, it may be time to look at other options, like ignoring the behaviour or letting them eat by themselves.
When it comes to children, nothing is ever easy, which applies when they resist eating solid food. However, there are ways you can get around this, such as allowing them to eat solid food in the presence of a parent. You can also give them something they like to hold on to, such as an apple or banana.
If you want your toddler to stop throwing food and get control over their eating habits, be patient with them and use these helpful tips for stopping a baby from throwing food.
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