[bjk76]

DS (16 months) has recently started crying and crying (really upset, more than protest crying) when I put him in his highchair. His highchair is one which sits at the table - the tray is on the tabletop. It started when he noticed some black fluff stuck to the underside of the table and thought it was a spider. He's fascinated by spiders, but doesn't like to get too close. He was crying with fear and pulling away from the 'spider' and refused to get back into his highchair.

I spent some time with him playing with the fluff and pulling little bits off and showing him it was fluff, not a spider. He now okay with the fluff and goes up to it and plays with it of his own accord, but if I put him in the highchair, he resists and gets very very upset.

I have tried putting him in the highchair away from the table, putting the highchair at a different side of the table, having a break for a couple of days, having him eat on a coffee table (but he wanders off), showing him videos of himself on the iphone (which is a treat) but nothing has really worked so far. He now either eats while wandering around, or sitting on my lap, although he likes to get down every now and then and of course his hands are dirty and I have to try to wipe them while he's arching his back and squirming to get down. I also have trouble eating my meal too.

I've decided to put a stop to the wandering and eating and making him stay on my lap while he's eating. Tonight he wanted to eat a brussels sprout while he was on my lap. He took a bite, then wanted to get down with it still in his hand. I took it off him and told him he had to sit on my lap if he wanted to eat it. After two times of me taking it off him once he got down, he stayed on my lap. So, he seems to understand that.

I'm thinking of ways to bribe him to stay in the highchair. - Maybe with bubbles? - He loves bubbles and we don't have any at home. Do you think he's old enough to understand 'you'll get bubbles if you sit in your highchair'?

Do you have any other ideas for reducing DS's fear of the highchair?

TIA!

[solongsuckers]

Would he sit just on a chair at the table? DD3 has recently started just sitting at the table (she was also 16 months), as she was just whinging all the time in the high chair. She is happy as larry now that she gets to sit at the table. I just need to make sure I sit there with her so she doesn't get down and wander with her food.

[crocodilessnap]

I know this isn't really what your after but I gave up on the highchair a month or 2 ago, the fighting to stay sitting or the fights in general just became too much and so I bought a small table and chairs for DD and she now eats all meals at it. Yes she gets up and walks around but we are slowly getting there with insisting she stay sitting while eating.

Not sure if the bubble idea will work but won't hurt to try, though maybe use the bubbles as a distraction to start with

[Lil Chickens]

Would he sit just on a chair at the table? DD3 has recently started just sitting at the table (she was also 16 months), as she was just whinging all the time in the high chair. She is happy as larry now that she gets to sit at the table. I just need to make sure I sit there with her so she doesn't get down and wander with her food.

We did this but I got a booster insert from Kmart that attaches to the chair and has a five point harness. Still safe and held in but at the table, she loved it.

[solongsuckers]

We did this but I got a booster insert from Kmart that attaches to the chair and has a five point harness. Still safe and held in but at the table, she loved it.

We had one of those for my first daughter. She used to throw herself around at the table so much she tipped the chair over! So I'm a bit funny about those now lol. Ok for a child that sits reasonably still but for my hyper heads I wouldn't trust one again