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How to Stop Your Toddler From Throwing Food?
Testing limits, experimenting with food, creating artwork with fruit juice are all part and parcel of your kid's growth phase. Every mom gets frustrated to the core, trying to stop their child from playing with food. But your patience is what is going to help you power through this phase. It gets better once you understand why and how you can stop your toddler from throwing food all around them.
Why Do Toddlers Throw Away Their Food?
Toddlers love watching their food all over the place. Most times, they might be just discovering how their gross motor skills work, and sometimes gravity is just fun to observe. During this entire process, when your young one is pushing you over the edge, although unintentionally, you need to understand that from their perspective, it is quite fun to spray and splatter food all over the house.
It can be quite frustrating to watch this entire scene unfold before your eyes while struggling to get your child to eat as mothers and caregivers. In case if you were wondering if this happens only in your home, you don't have to stress. In almost every home and throughout generations, toddlers ages 8-18 months go through this particular phase of dropping food on the floor.
Often, the reason can be as simple as your baby is not hungry or has major difficulty chewing the food. We often fail to recognize that their teeth and tastebuds are not as developed as ours and become snappy.
We have listed down a few more reasons why most toddlers throw food on the floor that might help you, in the long run, to understand them much better.
Way of communication: If you observe closely, you might learn that dropping food (for some) is a method of non-verbal communication. Once children understand they do not have to eat the food flung on the floor, they might start doing the same whenever they do not like a particular food or how it looks. This is also how toddlers learn to distinguish between food that appeals to them, and that does not.
Cause and effect relationship: Your young scientist is learning how there can be consequences to every action. And in a fun manner! For instance, if you have a dog in the house to lick up the food your child throws on the floor, they might begin to understand the major relationship between cause and effect and how it works.
Forced to eat: Most of us want to finish feeding our toddlers to start on our next work as soon as possible, not realizing that they do not like being fed in that particular way. What it does to most kids is create issues about their eating habits and eventually being very picky with their food. It also happens that sometimes toddlers who have been force-fed more than a couple of times begin to throw their food on the floor as a show of protest.
Attention seeking: Note that if you react when your toddler starts to fling the food across the room, your little one will love it. Kids love attention, and if you are not focused on them while feeding, it compels them to make you notice their presence. As an adult, you have to keep yourself in check and not make it into a power struggle but rather be firm and consistent with your response to them. Once they realize that it no longer triggers you, they will, most probably, stop repeating the behavior.
Now that we have an idea of why most toddlers throw food, let us know about ways to prevent them from doing so.
What to Do When Your Child Throws Food?
Coming to the crux of the matter, what can you do as a parent when your child throws food on the floor, ceiling, and all over the room? Are you going to try to reason with a toddler or get all worked up? Knowing that this might become a daily occurrence in the kitchen, how are you planning on tackling the situation?
To make your mornings a little easier, we have compiled certain easy tips to teach your toddler not to throw food:
1. Offer choices
Most toddlers like having a say in what they consume. You can provide them with two or three options (you can rotate between milk, vegetables, and fruits), making them more interested in their food choices.
2. Eat alongside your toddler
When you give concentrated attention to your child, they feel loved. Most children nowadays lack attention from their parents, making it hard for them in the later years. When you sit alongside your toddler eating and talking with them, you instill certain values and avert potential bad behavior that can probably occur.
3. Put less on their plate
We want our kids to be filled with healthy food that builds up their immune system, forgetting that they would not be able to consume so much. There's always milk, fruits, one or two vegetables, formula, juice, and whatnot for them to eat up, leaving no time to exhaust all that energy. Here's where we need to use our senses and realize that more food on the plate means more food for them to play with and use as ammunition.
4. Complying with the rules
When your child is around 20 months old or even before, you can begin to set a clear limit to show that certain behavior like dropping food or flinging them onto the ceiling is frowned upon. A little discipline can help the child to prevent disruptive actions in the future.
5. Divert your child's attention elsewhere
Children, especially toddlers, have a low attention span. Diverting your child's attention by playing a game that captures their full attention or making up a storyline that involves food or anything remotely amusing can encourage their eating habit. Parents need to get creative as they come.
6. It's okay to dislike food
Sometimes toddlers drop food on the floor just because they do not like that particular food. Instead of forcing them to consume something they do not like, you can always offer to take it away from their plate and give them something else to eat. It's as easy as that. When you try to force them into eating something they dislike, they might act out. What we parents can do is to tackle situations like these smoothly with another solution, creatively.
7. Necessary precautions
You have to make all the necessary arrangements when you know that your toddler throwing food on the floor might make a mess of things, even if it is unintentional. Their fine motor skills have not yet been developed fully, resulting in much scattering and splattering of food. In cases like that, you can roll up their sleeves or put a bib around their neck, place newspapers around their sitting area, and maybe even stay away from the walls and curtains so that you can do damage control.
8. Replacing the fallen food
Try replacing the food your toddler throws on their plate while verbally conveying that food belongs on the plate and not on the floor. You can also teach them to say or show that they are done eating when they are full. It helps them not to overeat but, at the same time, go easy on their hunger pangs.
9. Praising them
If your toddler consumes more food than by your floor or dog, you can call it to be a success. Change does not happen overnight, and for toddlers, it is pretty hard not to poke around and play with food. And so, praising them and applauding their efforts might get you on their good books. They might even take more effort to restrain themselves from the next time onwards.
What to Do If Nothing Works?
If all the above steps to help your baby stop throwing food do not work, have a "discard plate" for your toddler to keep the food they do not want to eat. You can substitute the food with something they like. Even if the child does not eat, at least your house will remain intact. If your toddler is in the mood to play and you have been running behind them trying to get them to eat, it is more likely that food will spray all over the room since your child is in a playful mood and wants nothing to do with eating. Lastly, in each case, remind yourself not to raise your voice harshly as it can negatively impact them the next time they have to eat.
Now that you have a strategy for the next meal with your toddler, you can be relaxed. Most children learn by experimentation and fun. If your home is stress-free and provides a good environment for your toddler to learn and grow, it will help them during their growing up years.
Also Read:
Toddlers Throw or Hit Things
Destructive Behavior in Toddlers
Tips for Handling Demanding Behavior in Toddlers Read more
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Stop Eating! Are These Foods Damaging Your Sex Drive?
There are a lot of things that impact your sex drive and food is one of them. There are certain items that affect the libido negatively and can make getting turned on difficult. Surprised? Read on to know the foods to avoid before having sex.
There are days when you’re more charged up and long to get closer to your partner. Then are those days when you just don’t feel like it. Even foreplay doesn’t seem to do much. Why is this? There are many reasons why you don’t feel turned on and in the mood to make love. It could be because of your mood, your busy schedule and even because of the food you eat.
A Few Foods Not to Eat Before Sex
1. Cheese
You love cheese but your libido doesn’t! In fact, it’s not just cheese but other dairy products that tend to lower your sexual desire. They produce excess mucus in some people and can make one feel clogged up. Give your cravings for dairy a rest, at least until you’ve made love. Remember, food and sex go hand-in-hand!
2. Alcohol
A glass or two of beer or wine can set your mood right for the night. However, if you think that downing the entire bottle will enhance your desire then you’re highly mistaken. Too much alcohol can reduce your sensitivity to touch, which means an orgasm might be elusive. So drink within limits to set the mood; just don’t guzzle everything. That goes for hubby too!
3. Canned Food
The high level of sodium in canned food can cause acidity, not the best condition to get you turned on. As much as you can, avoid these foods before having intercourse. However, if you’re too lazy to cook or have no other option but to rely on canned food, rinse the contents in water to get rid of the excessive salt. Try not to consume the liquid in the can too.
4. Oats
Rich in proteins, oats are a great way to kick-start your day especially if you’re feeling constipated. Researchers state that oatmeal not only keeps you energised but also aids your body in producing the stress-reducing hormone, serotonin, which boosts your sex drive. However, despite these pros, they’re included in the list of what not to eat before sex so limit them to just one bowl at a time. Having too much in one go can have a negative impact on your sex drive.
5. Broccoli
As healthy as it is, broccoli is not very good for your libido. This is because your body produces methane to digest it that results in excess gas and can put your mood off. This doesn’t mean you should stop eating this healthy green that’s rich in vitamins and minerals; just avoid eating it before having sex.
Besides these, other foods to avoid before having sex are energy drinks, beans, tofu, red meat, peppermint and french fries. All these foods contain content that can reduce your sexual desire. So if you’d been wondering why you just don’t feel the urge to get into the act even when you’re in a great mood, you’re probably making the wrong food choices. Ditch them before making love and save them for another time. Read more
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Help Your Toddler Cope With Strong Emotions and Impulses
Wouldn’t you love it if your child would not lash out in anger every time he wanted to express his needs? Well, impulsive behavior in children can be tackled easily enough when you know how. Learn how to help your toddler be more in control of his emotions and actions.
Babies are born with virtually no control over their emotions and impulses, which is why they’re not able to communicate their needs and desires. As they grow up, it becomes important to give proper direction to their behaviour for their proper growth and ability to live cordially in society.
Helping Children with Impulse Control: Must-knows for Parents
When toddlers reach the age of 12 months, they start exhibiting strong emotions and asserting their independence. At this point of time, parents need to step up in teaching toddlers self-control, and teaching them to constructively manage their anger. They’ll apply what they’ve learnt in later life and will find interacting with other people much easier.
Tips for Toddlers to Manage Emotions and Impulses
1. Give toddlers the opportunity to choose
Toddlers like to have a sense of independence, and giving them an opportunity to choose lets them know you trust them. It also helps them develop decision-making skills and teaches them how to control their emotions. Encourage your child to voice her opinion on storybooks, music and games. Let her choose what she wants to play or read.
2. Practice using words to express emotions
A child with impulsive behaviour will assert his emotions through physical displays because he can’t find the correct words. Help your toddler understand how he can express his urges and impulses using words. Most importantly, always set an example. With children, it’s always monkey see, monkey do!
3. Recognise your tot’s feelings and put words to them
An effective way of anger management for toddlers is to put words to the way children react. For instance, if your child hits another kid for taking a toy, you could say ‘I know you’re angry at giving your toy to your friend, but hitting will not help get it back’. A child with no impulse control needs to be handled with a lot of patience and calmness, since he usually lashes out due to lack of knowledge of expression.
4. Teach children to wait
Patience is a virtue that goes a long way in helping your toddler make and keep friends. It helps with self-control and impulse control in toddlers. However, you should remember that kids are restless, and should be kept occupied with something while waiting.
5. Practice self- control yourself
Patience and self-control are acquired virtues. Children are going through a lot of changes, and not being able to express themselves can be quite frustrating. Imagine yourself surrounded by people who don’t understand your language, and having to communicate your needs to them! That’s how toddlers feel whenever they have a strong emotion. Teaching self-control requires parents to exhibit a fair bit of it themselves!
Anger management can be challenging to deal with but it produces positive results. It’s also rewarding watching your tot grow up to be a peaceful and patient child. Read more
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A Perfect Mother
something we all strive to be , all the time
Women tend to be more sensitive compared to men. Once we become mothers we start thinking even more. Its is very good to be active, alert and introspect oneself . It helps in improvisation. But we often fall in a mental trap of becoming a perfect mother for our kids. We do so many things to prove that we are the best. In the entire process, we either go overboard in doing things or start feeling guilty. Guilty of not doing things the way we define them as perfect/best. Have you ever thought , what is the outcome of all this ?We doubt our self. Am I a good mother ? Am I doing enough ? Does my child think I am the best?What if i tell you that 'A perfect mother' is nothing but a myth. She does not exist in real life.Being a mom is not easy , it was never for anyone.So stop taking pressure. We all make mistakes and we learn from them. You love your child and no one on this earth needs a proof of that. Every-time you feel things are not moving as per your definition of perfect, relax. Keep in mind that each child is different. They all behave different and need different treatment. I remember one of my friend once comment after meeting my daughter . She said that my daughter is very disciplined and she wished she could have taught her baby the same. This is so wrong and you need to stop doing this to yourself. I agree, It is our moral duty to guide and teach our kids. And we do so many things to give them the best. I have myself taken advice from others, read books, watched parenting videos. But after doing all that , I realized that I am taking too much pressure. No matter how hard you try, there would always be a scope to become better. So what you need to focus on is, we all make mistakes and it is normal. Stressing out or taking unnecessary pressure will not do any good to you or your child. In-fact it will make things worse. If you are not happy, how do you expect your child or your family to be. So what you need to do is stop overthinking & love yourself. Stop judging yourself and stop under crediting yourself. Because a child does not need a perfect mother, they need a happy one.from a #mother’s-dairy Read more
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When and How to Potty and Pee Train Your Child
Potty training is something every mother worries about. I am a mother of two kids and they were potty trained by the time they were 1 year old. You must be wondering how?
So let's begin.
Potty Training
1. When is the right time?
Whenever you as a mother feel you and your child are ready you can start with it. According to my experience, one can start with it when the child has good head support and when their spine is strong enough.
2. How I did it? A step-by-step process.
Every time I realised my child was going to poop in his diaper, I would hold him against my stomach in a squatting position. Gradually he got used to pooping in that position, and later he would ask me to hold him in that position as he would get very uncomfortable while pooping in his diaper.
Now when he started sitting, I would take him to the potty, and whenever he was about to poop I would make him sit on the pot.
It will be a tedious task in the beginning, but gradually when the child will be 8-10 months he will completely stop pooping in his diaper.
3. Take your time.
So I decided to potty train my kids really early, there are mothers who decide to do it later in life and definitely, it's completely a mother's choice but the only thing I want to add here is whenever you decide to go down that road, make sure you follow it through. Don't get interrupted, don't break the routine in the middle because that confuses the child.
Pee Training
Pee training is a bit tricky, but again I started with my kids really early. I timed his pee schedule and took him to the loo in a squatting position and make a hissing sound.
Every child has his pee schedule. My younger son had a schedule of 10 minutes after his feed. Then he used to take his nap. He didn't pee during his nap. And as soon as he woke up, he would pee five minutes later, then ten minutes later again.
So by keeping an eye on the watch, I would take him to the washroom where he would pee.
After a few months when he was around 7-8 months old, he started giving signals that he was about to pee by touching himself first. Second, when he was busy in some play he would suddenly stop and look at me for 5-10 seconds and I would know that he was about to pee and every time he would give those signals, I would take him to the washroom.
And thankfully, now at 12 months of age whenever he wants to pee he says 'mumma susu'.
I hope my experience helped you and I would really love to hear your feedback.
Thanks!
Disclaimer: The views, opinions and positions (including content in any form) expressed within this post are those of the author alone. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The responsibility for intellectual property rights of this content rests with the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with him/her.
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