Mealtime with kids? - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

nicky2005 · 01-23-2006, 09:27 AM

Hi,

My DS is 15mths old and i try to feed him before we eat. I want him to start eating with us but dont know how to make him sit in his high chair till we finish our meal. The other night we were at a friends place for dinner and DS after 10mins wanted to get down his high chair. He started throwing a tantrum and i had to let him down. We tried to eat a nice dinner but DS wanted all the attention and i think the dinner got ruined. I was embarrased coz DS was being impossible. Mostly of the time when we go out for dinner by ourselves he is pretty good and sits in his high chair till its time to go. I dont know why he behaved that way, maybe coz he had not taken a good nap all day. Any suggestions will be a great help so that this does not happen again!

Thanks

Kiera1595 · 01-23-2006, 12:13 PM

At 15 months of age I think you need to choose your battles. Most kids that age want to run around and play and they are still pretty young to be expected to sit still for a long time. And I think that anyone who knows kids (I'm talking about your friends) would understand completely.

I bet he was in a rotten mood due to a poor nap.

You might want to try a booster seat. Make him feel like a big boy at the table. I told me son at that age when he moved to a booster...sit here until you're done with dinner. When he was ready to get down I'd ask if he was done eating. If no, then he had to sit back down, if yes, that's it, no more dinner for the night. He learned very fast to stay at the table until he was done.

Once they get older they are able to sit for longer periods at the table. Don't worry. And if you really want him to stay in that high chair for longer periods of time while you finish eating, get him an activity. Toys, crayons, clay, etc. But remember that he is still very young.

Altson · 01-23-2006, 12:36 PM

Kiera is absolutely right!!!

I go by this rule of thumb before I go to dinner anywhere, restaurant, friends, etc. - am I willing to be interrupted and have one of us take a kid outside if needed? If the answer is "no", then the kids don't go, or I or my DH don't go. After 4 kids, I can reasonably say that until a child is 3 years of age, you cannot expect them to behave and make it through a meal with adults for longer than 30 minutes. Sure, they should be taken and taught how to behave and what is expected of them during these social events, but don't expect perfection.