Bad table manners

[judecorp]

Punk has been possessed by demons. Demons of the table manners variety.

She has never been a particularly clean eater (she is a small child), but I have always expected decent table manners and to be honest, table behavior is a hot button for me. I can't stand bad table behavior. It crawls up my spine like an electrical current and sits there vibrating at the base of my skull. I hate it.

She has been playing with her fork and plate, insisting on eating with her fingers, mashing food into the sides of her mouth with her fingers, wiping her mouth/face with her sleeve, putting crumbs and food into her drink, trying to hold her drink cup with two fingers (one on each hand) so that it dumps everywhere and then watches it wherever it has spilled, not moving the cup or anything. It is infuriating. I want to just stuff her back into a high chair with a sippy cup, because she's acting like a baby.

It is driving. me. insane. She acted better at the table at two years old. So annoying.

Comments

[bafleyanne.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I'd take the food/cup away from her temporarily when she acts like that, and say something like "You can have this back when you're willing to eat/drink like a big girl." She should be old enough to understand that and you don't have to put up with her behaving badly on purpose.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh, I do! I take the drink, I end the meal, you name it. She's just right at it again the next meal.

[ladygreyy.livejournal.com]

She acts like a baby, treat her like one! Get the high chair out and stuff her in it like you want to.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I have offered the threat. We'll see what happens.

[kaleidoscopeeye.livejournal.com]

Zach and Izzy do well at home, but sometimes when in a restaurant, they act up at at the table. I have asked the waitress for a high chair and made them sit in it on those occasions. It is completely humiliating for them and they HATE that, so it has only had to happen once for each child :) Do you still have your high chair? If so, I would use it. Tell her if she wants to act like a baby, that is how you are treating her. If she wants to act like a big kid, she will also get treated appropriately.

[stapynam.livejournal.com]

When Jeb is a jerk at the table, he goes to his room. His options at dinner time are 1. eat with the family like a civilized person, or 2. go to his room. It mostly works. We'll see what happens when the baby comes, though ;)

eating

[lori campbell (from livejournal.com)]

stapynam that is exactly what my daughter does to my grandson, Caleb. He is 4 and after a couple of trips to his room, he learned quickly that it is no fun and he's hungry in one hour. My daughter cried the first time she did it but I assured her she wouldn't have to do it long for it to work. Thank goodness I was right!

[twinmomma416.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Not only did it happen at 3. It's been worse at 4. And I swear J is out to take over the world with her sassy attitude and defiance.

Someone (Jenny maybe?) said that developmental shifts happen about every 6 months or so. I'm praying that's what's up with J. Maybe that's what's up with Punk.

[yip95.livejournal.com]

if it's important to you, then pick a consequence, follow through on it, but don't lose your cool. she's likely doing it because it gets a rise out of you, ya know? Be super-calm, give her a warning, if you want, and then follow through on the consequence if she keeps it up.

We had to *start* time-outs a few months ago, and they work so much better if we don't get into it with him (he likes to argue why it's *okay* to do whatever it is he's doing, and whatever...) and just put him in time out. Seems obvious, but I forget sometimes, anyway!