Hi Judy! I love Discipline Without Distress. My son just turned one a couple weeks ago, so just recently are we needing to use some of the discipline tools mentioned in your book.
One recent issue is that he very often tries to stand up in his highchair during meals. He has one of those wood step-stool highchairs (similar to the TrippTrapp), he is not tightly strapped in so he can pretty easily come to a full-standing position. I am trying hard to let him be as free as possible and avoid restricting his natural energy. I understand he is just getting excited and his body just sort of stands up in that case. However, this is simply a safety issue so he needs to remain sitting while eating. I also am not the kind of parent who insists on a child staying through the whole meal. If he wants to be excused and go play, that is fine with me.
What we've been doing is: first and second time putting him back sitting and saying clearly "no standing while you eat". Second or third time we take him out of the chair and put him standing on the ground next to the table. Usually he gets upset, I assume because he feels excluded, although occasionally he will then eat standing up next to the table, which is also fine by me.
Short of getting a new kind of highchair where he can be strapped in better, is there anything we can do? Sometimes taking him out and putting him on the ground feels like punishment, although obviously it's not ~it's just for his safety.
Thank you!
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