When will it ever stop?

I am SO tired of picking food and sippy cups up off the floor. When will it ever stop?

My sons are 18 months old..they know it is not right because of the looks that they give me when they are either doing it or about to do it.

I am stern when I tell them not to...but the more stern I am...the more they think it is funny.

I do not give the sippy cups back once they hit the floor and OH how I wish I could tell them that if they drop the food on the floor just once more time...that they are done... but I hate to do that...I don't know just how much they understand and I don't want them to miss a meal.

Any advice? I'm so sick of it. :wacko:

 

Ohhh btdt x3!!!! I have asked my mom and dh plenty of times why I have to feed them! Lol! Anyways , if they eat and then start throwing, end the meal. Period. They'll eat again, u can't starve them in a day. Believe me it took me forever to accept that with my Boys, it was easier with my dd. if they immediately start throwing remove the plate and sit and eat your own food, ask them periodically if they're ready to eat and try again. If they don't eat, they don't eat...again u can't starve them and they'll for sure gobble up their next snack or meal...or if more stubborn like my boys, maybe 2 meals:-/. My dd caught on quicker probably bc I was more consistent with it and she's 18 months as well....they're smart, they know

 

I was going to post this same thing! I am exhausted with scrubbing the floor...and occasionally the wall. My boys are 18months and doing pretty good with silverware...but they they fling food or throw their cups. They also rake and dump the food to the side of their tray and dump their plates. It is exhausting. I get angry. I just got the Shark floor steamer for Christmas...and have used it four times already. It is amazing for stuck on food...but I would like it to stop rather than having to constantly mop my floors.
I have one boy that had been very picky...so I hesitate to take away his food, because when he is eating, I hate to interrupt him.

So if it is dinner time, the food gets thrown...do you warn them, then take it away and they get nothing else until breakfast (aside from their bedtime bottle)? Do you offer the dinner food again a bit later?

 

girls if you figure it out PLEASE let me know! Mine are the same way, I just cleaned 3/4 of their lunch up off the floor.

 

Thanks for the replies...the responses where pretty much what I was expecting....give a warning and take it away...

We always try to be clear...concise and consistant with our discipline...I guess you could say we take the Supernanny approach we get down to their level...if they are doing something that they should not be doing...like running their toys into our new appliances...we tell them that if they do it again...it will be taken away or whatever the case maybe...and are always sure to actually follow through with what we say. One warning...and then a consequence. No messing around.

BUT there is something about taking the food away that is a HUGE guilt thing for me....they seem so little...if they were 5 doing it I wouldn't have a problem saying...you drop it one more time..your done until your next meal...but they seem so little to do that to...maybe it's just my weird thinking..I agree with the one post that they won't starve in a day...yep that is very true...I guess I'm just having a hard time dealing with guilt and need somehow to get over it.... :cry:

 

Oh I understand the guilt! New Years day I bought donuts for breakfast and the boys were goofing off and spitting (or doing something equally annoying) and after telling them to stop we had to take their donuts away. JT (my sweet tooth guy) watched my DH throw them in the trash, walk over to the sink (with Jack clinging to his leg screaming NO!), all while his eyes were welling up and he looked at me with a pout and I said "I'm sorry buddy, next time you'll listen" and he just burst in tears and ran to my DH. I'm sitting there with my daughter and I'm crying bc I want to give it back to them but know I can't!!

The guilt won't go away...you just have to remember your teaching them something. I promise it won't take long

 

My twins are 21 months. I used to scraped ton of food off te floor before. I wondered how much tey actually ate. But now its like 20% of the time they do thow food when they are mad and impatient. They do know its bad and very unacceptable in our family.

What we have been doing are keep telling them "no throwing food. Food is expensive.,," and when they throw more than 3, we takr them off their high chair and make them pick up evrything. It takes longgg time for them to finish the job. If they walk away, we take them back to the food. We are always very serious about this purnishment. After 3 times like that, they pretty much stop 80%. It have been a tough battle though. But now we are very happy not so much food is wasted.

Also i realized that they love using dishes bowls and silverwares. If i just give them food on their trays, they dont eat much and throw more. Its like a game to them. Gl!

 

I second everyone else's replies but I will add one other thing which is easier said than done... We have a broken record phrase we say at our house.. "that's so sad" and we show very little reaction.. Only empathy for their sad choice and the meal is over... The more we react and the sterner we are the more they do it.. Oh... And here is the other thing that helped us nip this problem.. They have to pick up/wipe up any mess they make.. My dd decided she wouldn't pick up anything off the floor one day and her fav toy went above the fridge and I told her to feel free to get her toy back when she picked up her toast off the floor... Well she held out for an hour and then she finally decided she couldn't stand it and she picked it up... Life went on as normal until she decided to pick it up... Since then we haven't had a lot of food or cup throwing...

 

I can't speak for throwing the food, but I might be able to help with the throwing of sippy cups! My girls were throwing their cups on the floor over and over, making a mess. Then I started using little trays for their food with a cup holder in it, and told them that's where their cups go. We use these trays for every meal. I gave TONS of positive reinforcement when they put their cup in the right spot, clapping, smiling, celebrating. Now whenever I see them about to put their cup elsewhere, I say "Where does your cup go?" and they put it in the cup holder and clap for themselves.

 

My boys are worse about throwing cups than food. They occasionally will drop food onto the floor (not really throw it), but it's usually something they don't like so they don't want it on their tray. Or sometimes they will do it when they are done eating and want to get down. We also don't give them the whole meal at once but have a plate at the table and put a few bites at a time on the tray. That way if they decide they don't like beans that day, they're really only dropping a few beans on the floor.

The cups are another story. We try to tell them to either put the cup on the tray (there is a cupholder) or give it to mommy/daddy when they are done. They know they are doing something they aren't supposed to do. And they may go several days of putting the cup in the cup holder, we praise them like crazy, then they'll just start throwing them down again and we go through several days or weeks of that. When one does it, the other seems to do it too.