All kids go through the food throwing stage because, quite frankly, it's really fun. Hey, I'd do it all the time if I could.

At a year old, they are old enough to understand No! (of course understanding and obeying are two different things :-) This was our approach that worked for us. If he throws food, give a strong NO! and immediately take it away for a minute-ish. Much crying and wailing will occur - ignore him and carry on with life. Give him the food back - if it gets thrown again - repeat as above. I think we gave them 2 or 3 chances then called the meal over and got them down. Much crying and wailing will occur - ignore it. Do not feed until the next scheduled time.

One thing to remember - if he is hungry he will eat and not throw away the precious food. Watch what he's getting before meal time (snacks, bottle, drinks, etc). And watch his progression as he eats - the transition from eating to playing is fast. Once the playing and throwing starts, he's full, meals over, get him down. Anyways, that's what worked for us. Good luck.

You're probably right about that.

I think you're right. I missed that your kid was so young.
It's hard to remember what things are like when I look back at that age, and my daughter's only a year older than yours.

I don't actually lock her in. I just put her in there for a minute or two and stay by the door. I was worried that the punishment came across worse than it actually is.

...I think I would rather be called a "Poopy Head" than have him writing all over my walls! ;-)

I find it so fascinating to wonder what my son will do next, what stage he will enter around the corner. The changes come so fast and unexpected that they really do catch you off guard, but I think that is really why this job is so exciting when you boil it down. It sure keeps you on your toes!

ticktock, the punishment didn't come off as harsh to me. I knew exactly what you meant, but the clarification will probably be helpful for some others who read the thread. Oh, by the way, I am a SAHD in Cincinnati.

My twins (Benjamin & Kaitlin) have been throwing food since they were around 1 year old. They are now 2 years 3 months old and the food throwing has not slowed down. If anything, they are becoming better at hurling their sippy cups. And should the sippy cup "accidentally" hit the cat in the head, well... BINGO, they win the giant Elmo doll and a year's supply of chocolate Teddy Grahams!!! I have this image in the back of my head where we are all sitting at the dinner table, the kids are now 15 years old and suddenly my son slings a handful of mashed potatoes at my head. I'm able to avoid the potato onslaught only to be side swiped by a pork chop via my daughter. Oh what a stage!

Julian
Signal Hill, CA

Actually, I said "...since the time for preparation, time actually eating, and time cleaning up for three meals add up to such a significant amount of time each day (~3-4 hours)..."

So, in simple math terms:

3 x (preparation + eating + cleaning up) = ~3-4 hours

Not:

3 x (cleaning up) = ~3-4 hours

On a different topic, I have been clinically diagnosed with OCD, and I am constantly treated for it, so I hope the comment you made was not meant to be taken lightly.

You can deal with it basically the same way as home - except you leave the restaurant and sit in the car (or go home). Give them the choice of staying as long as they behave or leaving if they don't. This can be done without drama on your part. You and he may or may not get to eat dinner, etc. Sometimes I wouldn't give my kids a choice and I'd just remove them from the place and situation without a word. In fact I did that at church the other day.

With my daughter (4), I also had to supply an attention-getting, drill sargeant yell (in private) to get her to stop her tantrums. Nowadays I only have to ask her, "Do you want me to get mad?" and she stops :) My son (9) was much easier.