Spitting Water

[Flower of Bliss]

Lately my 3 year old DD has been spitting out mouths full of water when she drinks - onto herself, the floor, or her plate. I'm at a loss for what to do. She's always had free access to a sippy cup full of water. She drinks plenty of water all day. I see this as a good thing.

It started as an issue in the car. She will spit mouthful after mouthful of water all over herself. We'll get somewhere and I go to take her out of her seat and her shirt and pants are sopping wet. For awhile I tried to listen for it and take away the water as soon as she started. I was very hesitant to take away water in the car. It's still quite warm here. We often go somewhere where she is very active and too busy to drink, and then she'll drink a whole cup of water in the car on the drive home (or to the next outing). Lately she's progressed to spitting water both on the floor in our house and on her plate during meals.

I have really lost my temper about this a few times I'm so at a loss here. I can't refuse to give her water. The natural consequence of wet clothes, wet food, or cleaning up the floor don't phase her. I need a consistent consequence both to handle the limit testing and to keep myself feeling more calm. I hate how I've reacted to this.

[Cersha]

I don't have any advice, just BTDT. My two year old thinks it's hilarous to spit water on the floor. AGGH!

[AileenM]

OMGosh, I JUST dealt with this! My 2.5 YO thinks it's hilarious! I caught her 3 times today spitting water on the floor. We have laminate floors, so it breaks one of my rules (No damage to Mommy's stuff) and I lost it a couple of times. What I've decided is that she is not allowed to have free access to her water until she can drink it without spitting. I'll be giving it to her at mealtimes, and she's free to have it outside, but other than that it will be on a shelf where she will have to ask for it. It's going to stink to have to get it down every 5 minutes, but it's all I can think of to do. You're right, the natural consequence of cleaning it up doesn't help at all.

[Hedwig_Fly]

I have no advice either but we are right there with you. Except that we have the added fun of our 3 year old just plain spitting on the floor - no cup to take away. UGH! I think we are headed to a family overhaul - I think we have slacked off way too much on having enough structure and true parenting and it has got to stop for my longterm sanity and the sake of our kids. I hope you get some good ideas - I could really use some too. Good luck.

[jewelsJZ]

My ds did this at a younger age with milk. Ugh.
With water, though, I'm wondering, as long as it is warm weather where you live, what's the problem with her getting it all over her clothes? It's just water, she won't be cold, it will dry.
The floors I can understand, it's a safety issue, someone could slip. In that case, I'd take the cup away and involve her in getting a towel or whatever you use to clean it up, even if it doesn't phase her, and tell her she can have the cup back "later" if she is asking for it. You decide what "later" is. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
The dinner plate, that would be so annoying, but really what is the harm? Will she still eat her food if it gets water on it? As long as she's eating, I'd try to ignore it and see if she eventually gets bored with it.
Spitting water, there must be some sensory thing that she gets from that. Is there something else you could give her to satisfy that sensory craving?

[OGirlieMama]

I went through this with one of my girls. It was a phase that lasted a few weeks and ended without much intervention. When she did it, I'd take the cup away and tell her when she's thirsty, she can have it right away. Mostly I just wanted to get the water out of her hands.

[maddycakes]

DD (2yo) is also doing this right now from time to time. If she does it during a meal or on the carpet while playing, she gets one warning and if she does it again, we take the cup away matter of factly and say "no more drink right now", and that is that. It's not popular with her, but it works. As a compromise, we tell her that she can bring a cup of water either to the sink or in her bath and spit it out to her heart's content. That has really seemed to work because now the novelty has worn off.

[kcparker]

DS spits on the floor once in awhile if he's frustrated/tired/thwarted in an ambition. If that's the case, we ask him to use his words instead of spitting and try to get him moved onto the next thing without making a big deal of it. He has also spit water at random times for fun (often in the bathroom when brushing his teeth, but he's got terrible aim and the water usually doesn't make it into the sink). We have told him at the dinner table that it's not polite to spit/spill/swirl one's fork in one's water, and we move the cup out of reach if he persists, giving it back if he wants more to drink. Other times, if he makes a mess on the floor, he has to go get a cloth and clean up. Sometimes I think he actually likes to "polish the floor" and is spitting to give himself something to polish with because he'll keep doing it and wiping it up immediately and say, "I'm cleaning!" Umm, yeah, sort of, I guess...I'd rather that you used the Murphy's than your spit, but maybe we can send you out to work as a shoeshine boy in a few more years.

I think at 2 1/2 or 3, they are old enough to understand that some activities are more appropriate for certain locations than others - the dinner table, the car, the carpeted areas of the house, the poor, beleaguered hardwood floors are not appropriate areas for spitting water. In good weather, I offer to let DS go outside to play with water, and in bad weather, I ask if he'd like to go in the bathtub. Next time it happens when you are driving, you could always stop the car, get DD out of the car while she spits water, and let her know that spitting water in the car is not appropriate, and you will both get back in when she is done spitting and is changed into dry clothes.