Breakfast tantrums- any advice?

[amberj]

For the last couple of weeks, DS has been chucking big tanties at breakfast time. He wakes up just fine and he comes into our bed for 10-15 minutes while we wake up and then we all get up and get his brekkie straight away.

But as soon as we go to put him in his highchair, he just throws a fit, crying and arching so that you can't hold him. He flings his breakfast away, and gets onto the floor and throws himself around in typical tanty style and just cries and cries. Eventually, through distraction or some other method, we manage to call him down enough to get a mouthful of food into him, wherever he is, and then is is fine and super eager to eat the rest of his food.

He is giving similar performances at lunch and dinner, but far, far less dramatic. His high-chair is currently a no-go zone for him, he just won't sit in it. I'm not making a big deal of it, but trying to sit him at the table on my lap or on a big persons chair.

Anyhow, I'm just really mystified as to why he is throwing the breakfast tanties and thought I would see if anyone had any ideas. Our current thinking is that he is just really hungry and doesn't know how to deal with it, but then there have been some mornings where he's woken up an hour too early and we've given him a bottle to get him back to sleep, and he's the same on those mornings when he really shouldn't be totally starving.

And what is the best way to deal with these tanties? I usually try to hold/ comfort him and distract because I think its one of those "big feeling" tanties, but I'm pretty new to the whole tanty world....

Thanks!!

[[M]umma[M]ia]

try one of them booster seats that attach to your regular kitchen chair.

[ShootingStar]

I think at this age, i was told, that they start to like to want to feel like a big person.. in that, they want their dinner plate to look like yours (not cut up and all fansy, but everything the same) and perhaps even to sit in a chair like you. Have you throught about upgrading him to a booster that goes on your normal dining chairs? Maybe if you take that approach with him, he might be more interested?

Good luck.

[skeetaboat]

Sometimes changing things up a bit helps avoid tanty's. We did away with the high chair really early, at about 18 months or so, maybe that's an option? The only down side is if you ever want to bring him along to a restaurant... which we pretty much found impossible after 2 anyway.

[amberj]

Thanks girls. His chairs is already a booster kind of chair that straps onto one of our regular chairs. Maybe tomorrow morning I will try just skipping the chair and sitting him on his little couch or something.

[[M]umma[M]ia]

Yeah just go with the flow hun. Dont let it stress you out coz it will just stress him out. The best thing u could do is not to make a huge deal out of it. Its probably just a phase and hopefully it will pass.

Mayb try letting him sit on it, but dont do it up (watching him ofcouse) or let him play with it during the day (the booster seat).
If he still isnt warming to it, move on, and let him sit somewhere else. Kids are funny little buggers lol

[kirsty_lee]

I had a similar thing with Ava. And then she wouldn't eat her breakfast. What I do now is when she wakes up I give her a sippy cup of milk and then just let her do whatever. Watch some cartoons or read or play and then after about 1/2 - 45 mins give her breakkie. Now there aren't any tantrums and she eats all her brekky. Think she's like me and just can't eat the minute she wakes up

[amberj]

Might be worth a try. This morning the tanty started even before I tried to give him his brekkie. Crazy child!!!

[~Trish~]

I had a similar thing with Ava. And then she wouldn't eat her breakfast. What I do now is when she wakes up I give her a sippy cup of milk and then just let her do whatever. Watch some cartoons or read or play and then after about 1/2 - 45 mins give her breakkie. Now there aren't any tantrums and she eats all her brekky. Think she's like me and just can't eat the minute she wakes up

I do the same with DS2. I can't eat as soon as I get up, I need a cuppa first. My boys are the same, so I give them a cup of milo first. DS2 goes off and plays for a while and then is happy to eat his breakfast. He eats his brekky at his kids table and chairs set and is very happy. Maybe this is something worth trying instead of sitting him at the big table?

Good luck

[Arcadia]

We're having high chair issues too! I think I might get a little table and chairs instead (thanks trish)