I CAN"T TAKE the food on the floor anymore!

[sosurreal09]

DD is only 20 m/o but come on every meal half of it ends up on the floor and I am so sick of cleaning it up all the time. We can't go to restaurants and all my friends/relatives complain. HOW do you get them to stop throwing food all over the place? She is a messy eater in general and is sort of half-time fork using and always makes a mess understandably but when she just dumps it all out and plays with it I go insane b/c all I do is clean! We had a dog when she was younger but he passed away and he used to eat the stuff off the floor and it wasn't such an issue.

She is taking any and all her snacks now and dumping them out everywhere and laughing....Currently I have pretzels and raisins all over my floor and corn from dinner traveled it's way into the living room onto my rug...UGH

[philomom]

Old shower curtain... washed daily.

This doesn't help when you are out, sorry.

[HollyBearsMom]

Get another dog!! As you know, food on the floor doesn't last long with a dog around.

When our son was at that stage and we went out to eat I only gave him the smallest amounts of one food at a time and he could get more once that was gone. Then I tipped the busboy in addition to waiter since most likely he/she would be cleaning up and major messes we couldnt.

Actually used to do that at home too- 4 kernels of corn, 1 bite of chicken, 1 pretzel, etc 

[PoetryLover]

We taught my son the sign for "All Done" because we found that he would start throwing his food when he was done eating and bored. Once he was able to communicate to us via the sign that he was done, he almost completely stopped throwing food on the floor. He's 16 months now. I'm glad we were able to resolve this because I couldn't stand having a dirty, sticky floor all the time or else to have to clean it constantly.

Good luck.

[sosurreal09]

She verbally says all done! I think she just thinks it's fun. She tries to rub it all over her body too....

I WISH we could get another dog but the apartments we live in now won't allow it...

[hakeber]

Oh my god I can SO relate! I put an old bed sheet under her at meal times, and shake it out off the balcony when we are done and when we go out I portion control BIG time.  Singular bites and we used the mesh feeder way longer than we probably should have when out and about.

Tonight, I made myself a yummy dinner of hummus and falafel and naan bread and she I were snacking away eating bread and hummus and her brother asked me to come into the computer room to help him look up something about his classwork, and when I got back (literally about 56 seconds) she had handfuls of hummus and was massaging them into her hair and as I stood jaw agape she picked up her foot and started rubbing another handful between her toes in utter bliss.

There was hummus EVERYWHERE, all over the new sofa, all over the throw pillows (luckily the pillows are machine washable and the sofa is pleather.)  She was so danged pleased with herself I couldn't stay upset for too long.

I daren't give her food in bowls because it always, always without fail, winds up over her head.  She just has a thing about textures and wanting to experience her food in holistic ways.

I do not think she tries to chuck her food on the floor, I think she is trying to get it on herself and it just winds up on the floor.

So...when I can I try to limit the amounts on her tray (5 peas as a time.  One piece of penne at a time.  One quarter of a piece of toast. ) and when she does get a few bites at a time, like a small yogurt cup, I just get her nekkid to a diaper, put a drop cloth down and let her experience the food.  For things like stray pretzels, cheerios, crumbs and raisins etc....I use my dust buster too.  Luckily we have no insects here in Bogota...In Costa Rica you knew DS had dropped something because you could follow the line of ants to the offending food item...ICK!

In public, I stick to limited mess finger foods (crackers and juice cups), small portions, and I tip big. :)  We do not eat at friends and family unless outside.  Luckily soo it will be picnic season in the States, right?

A Dust Buster might be a good thing to invest in.

Based on my experience with DS they do outgrow it by about age 3 or 4.

[One_Girl]

If she is verbally saying "all done" then I think you should get her out then.  If she seems hungry later then feed her then.  If you are reluctant to take the food because you are very sure she is still eating then you might consider taking the plate or bowl when she starts to throw the first food and tell her to eat it, then model eating the food and give it back.  Smaller portions and staying right with her while she eats may also help because you can redirect her quickly and read her hunger signs easily so you aren't cutting her off when you know she wants more.   

[LynnS6]

Ah, the joys of a toddler discovering cause and effect! Of course she finds it fun -- she dumps out the food, mom has a big reaction, and she gets to create a big mess!

Remember that this is completely normal behavior. While that doesn't necessarily help in the moment, it might help you take a more matter-of-fact approach when friends and relatives (who probably don't have a toddler, right?) complain. There's a reason that being a parent to a toddler is a full time job! We didn't do much eating out when our kids were this age. The combination of mobile child + short attention span was not a great one.

A couple of suggestions -- limit the amount she has at one time as others have suggested. It won't stop the behavior, but it will limit what you have to clean up.

Limit how much she's allowed to throw. The FIRST time something hits the floor, ask "are you all done"? If she is, let her down ASAP. If she's not, then the SECOND time something hits the floor, you say "OK, your food is going on the floor, looks like you're done. Here help me clean this up." Have her help a bit (you will do 99.9% of the work, it's more the process than the result). Be very matter of fact about it. Basically, hungry kids don't throw food. So, if she's throwing food, she's probably done.

The other thing that her behavior is telling you that she's looking for sensory input. Toddlers really need to explore textures. They have to do this with their hands. Remember that she's still  learning through touch. If you're living in an apartment, she may not get the chance to go sit in a mud puddle and play and explore the textures. But she needs similar kinds of experiences. You can set up sensory tubs (yes, it will get messy) with rice or sand. When too much starts to go over the side, she's done. You can let her play with water and bubbles in the sink. You can take her to the park and let her play in the sand box/grass. The more she's able to do this, the shorter this phase will be.

[chfriend]

At our house, we say "Gravity, works every time!" each time a baby dumps things on the ground. Humor really helps you get through these times. :)

[ssh]

We gave really small portions and made sure our DD had messy play time each day. In the sink with water and plastics, mud outside or finger paint in the high chair. As long as she had plenty of messy play she was much neater with food. I'd also say food is for eating, mud/paint/etc. is for being messy.

[sosurreal09]

When she says she is done I do take her out. I have never reacted to it b/c I just figured she would grow out of it. It is just so dang hard! I try to encourage her to be messy with other things like our homemade food-grade play dough and paints. She is the kind of kid that goes outside seeking mud and rubs it everywhere which I am fine with.

I think it's just hard b/c I have been getting a lot of family pressure about it "I have NEVER seen a baby/child do that" or you know that I need to punish her. I have never punished her and I don't plan to start anytime soon.

So there are no tips on trying to encourage her to stop? If she sits on our laps she rubs food all over us to and shakes her head no and says "uhuh uhuh" like she knows not to do it but does it anyways....I never know how to react to that I usually just say "if your going to make a mess do it in your chair" and put her in her seat.

[mamazee]

I give very small portions when they're going through that stage to minimize the mess. They're litle scientists at that age and can't help experiment with gravity and different textures, but you can minimize it if you only give a spoonful at a time. Give another spoonful when the first is gone.

[tessie]

Originally Posted by sosurreal09 

I think it's just hard b/c I have been getting a lot of family pressure about it "I have NEVER seen a baby/child do that" or you know that I need to punish her. I have never punished her and I don't plan to start anytime soon.

So there are no tips on trying to encourage her to stop? If she sits on our laps she rubs food all over us to and shakes her head no and says "uhuh uhuh" like she knows not to do it but does it anyways....I never know how to react to that I usually just say "if your going to make a mess do it in your chair" and put her in her seat.

Have your family not met any other kids? All kids play with their food at some point.

I think what you're doing is fine. If she rubs food on you then you're right to move her to her seat. Actually, I would just have all meals and snacks at the table until she's over the throwing/smooshing phase. Reinforce good behaviour: I know praise is a bit of a dirty word around here at times but I think it's fine to compliment them on how well they tried to eat their food nicely. And as PPs said, small portions and remove it when she starts playing.

[2xy]

I can't recall this being a big problem when my kids were little. I do recall DS2 dropping stuff out of his high chair and saying "uh-oh" for a while....but it was pretty short lived.

I guess I always assumed that if they're playing in it rather than eating it, they aren't hungry. I would clean them up and turn them loose to play. My BIL and his wife are forever chasing their kid around, trying to get him to take a bite of this or that. I don't get it. The kid will eat when he's hungry.

[crunchy_mommy]

We are still dealing with this as well with my 28mo. He also has sensory issues so not only does he throw uneaten food/water, he also spits out partially-chewed food all over the place (even if I give him a 'spit bowl' or whatever). Throw in a few accidental spills and our floors are just a huge mess. We have tried not reacting, we've tried redirecting, we give him the smallest amounts of food possible... He doesn't do it just when he's all done or just when he has too much on his plate or anything. It's almost an automatic thing -- he takes a sip of water, pours the rest on the floor. Takes a bite or two of food, throws a bit on the floor. I mean, it has gotten better, when he was under 2 it was much worse... but I feel like we are the only people with a 2yo who does this! So no real advice, just commiseration... and boy do I miss our dog too...

OH and I'm in the middle of reading Playful Parenting so my new idea is to make a mess right along with him. I tried it the other day, he spilled his water, so I spilled some water, he did it again, I did it again... I have no idea if that will work (he didn't spill water last night but maybe it was just a good day for him?) but it's at least something else to try... I'm going to try it again next time he throws food...

[ssh]

Originally Posted by sosurreal09 

When she says she is done I do take her out. I have never reacted to it b/c I just figured she would grow out of it. It is just so dang hard! I try to encourage her to be messy with other things like our homemade food-grade play dough and paints. She is the kind of kid that goes outside seeking mud and rubs it everywhere which I am fine with.

I think it's just hard b/c I have been getting a lot of family pressure about it "I have NEVER seen a baby/child do that" or you know that I need to punish her. I have never punished her and I don't plan to start anytime soon.

So there are no tips on trying to encourage her to stop? If she sits on our laps she rubs food all over us to and shakes her head no and says "uhuh uhuh" like she knows not to do it but does it anyways....I never know how to react to that I usually just say "if your going to make a mess do it in your chair" and put her in her seat.

I would say "food is for eating, paint is for smearing" and give very small portions. At that age our DD played with something messy once or twice a day, at least. You can make a plate for your child and give her 2 or 3 pieces of food off of it at a time and put her in her own seat before she gets food on you. If a child is hungry at all they are less likely to throw a piece of food if there is only one to three pieces of food in front of them. When she eats the food, you give her a couple of more pieces. If she throws food you ask if she's done eating. If she's not done, give her one more piece of food. Your family has seen kids be messy.  Some people seem to get amnesia about all the normal annoying things their kids did when they were very small. Let your family know that you feel talking about people, right in front of the person, is rude. Also tell them that your parenting methods are not up for discussion.
 

Edited by ssh - 6/1/11 at 8:28pm

[sosurreal09]

Why is praise a dirty word around here? I tell DD she's doing a good job when she is. I never knew that was a bad thing.

[D_McG]

Originally Posted by 2xy 

I can't recall this being a big problem when my kids were little. I do recall DS2 dropping stuff out of his high chair and saying "uh-oh" for a while....but it was pretty short lived.

I guess I always assumed that if they're playing in it rather than eating it, they aren't hungry. I would clean them up and turn them loose to play. 

we're the same.  you play, you're done.  I never let them play with food.  drives me nutso.

[mamazee]

Originally Posted by sosurreal09 

Why is praise a dirty word around here? I tell DD she's doing a good job when she is. I never knew that was a bad thing.

There have been a lot of threads around here about that and I don't want to get too involved, but I'll give you a couple of articles to read to show you that perspective.

http://www.alfiekohn.org/parenting/gj.htm
http://www.naomialdort.com/articles3.html

[sosurreal09]

Well I think that's ridiculous...I don't tell my DD how to feel. When she listens to a boundary or guidance ex: Don't go in the street Danger! and turns around and "listens" she is the first to say YAY! and clap for herself...I reinforce it with a "good job!" or a hug...that must be so damaging for her...

Anyways I guess I will have to live with the food on the floor and be more diligent about eating at the table. TY for the input