Transcript Episode 14 - Revealed: 3 Reasons Why Your Vegan Baby Resists their High Chair

Karla Moreno-Bryce: Hey there and Happy New Year! If you're listening to this after January 2023, well the happy New year may not apply but hopefully your year in navigating feeding your vegan family is off to a good start.

I recently visited family over the Holidays and it was so nice to just be. Be present with them. Be there in my childhood home. To simply be without thinking or planning ahead way in advance like a normally do. Because if there's anything you should know about me it's that I like to plan ahead so I can be prepared.

But over the Holidays, for the first time, I didn't do that. And it felt so freeing. So much so that it led to stepping back from social media as well. And that was a game changer for me.

I love sharing my vegan feeding journey with you on social media but it made me realize that I love sharing  my journey and nutrition tips and insights even more on this platform. It reminded me why I began this podcast in the first place: to expand more on what I can share with you in feeding your vegan kids.

I can only share so much on social media but here, to be able to talk in a more open space where I'm not censored in any way, that's what I love. And so, this year, I'd like to focus on creating more content for this podcast versus social media. Now, I'm not completely leaving social media. I'll still be around sharing bits of pieces of my life and other nutrition relate content but the bulk of the content I create moving forward will be for the podcast or blog posts. 

I just wanted to share a bit of how I’m changing what I share so that you can be informed. 

Alright, today’s episode is a bit different than what I normally do and a bit shorter. I wanted to try this out to see how it is received with the intention of helping you more throughout your vegan feeding journey. 

I received a question from a vegan parent and rather than simply replying back to this vegan parent, I wanted to share the answer with you here on the podcast because it may be helpful for you too.

Alright, the question from this vegan parent was: “How do you respectfully put a baby in a high chair when they're fighting/kicking because they don't like to be strapped in?”

I can only imagine how stressful and anxiety provoking this experience may feel for both the parent and baby when meals are approaching. It’s certainly not a fun moment to witness our little ones fight, scream, and/or kick every time we’re helping them to their high chair. 

I’m sure this vegan parent has tried several things already to help their baby feel more comfortable in their high chair but needed an immediate solution. 

So, in today's episode, I'll be sharing with you three tips on how you can navigate this issue, if you happen to be experiencing some trouble with sitting in a high chair too, so you can approach meal times more peacefully. 

Alright, the first thing to look at is to be aware of meal/feeding schedules. Sometimes when our baby isn’t hungry, they will communicate to us in different ways that they don’t want to be seated for a meal or that they’re not ready. This can be by crying or kicking, telling us that they aren’t ready for the next meal. They see sitting in their high chair as an interruption to what they were previously engaged in, usually some sort of play or focused on an activity. 

When thinking about meal schedules, it’s important to consider the timing as well as a potential reason for why your baby may resist sitting down. If your baby is still nursing or bottle feeding, allow thirty to sixty minutes in between feedings and a meal so that baby can come hungry to the meal. This allows time for your baby to feel motivated to try food but also be more cooperative in seating down for a meal. 

Children only last a few minutes for a meal, typically one minute for every year of their age. So, if your baby allows you to sit them on their high chair but become fussy after two minutes, that’s an indication that they’ve had enough. They are finished with that meal. It doesn’t always mean that they dislike their high chair. It’s just their way of communicating that they are done with the task of eating. After all, it’s hard work for a baby to learn how to eat. I remember the very first few times we sat my second baby to her high chair, she got extremely fussy after just a few minutes. She didn’t last more than four minutes. And it didn’t mean that she didn’t like the food, she’s still learning what food is and how to handle it, but her behavior and temperament was just a way of telling me that she was done. I went a bit on a tangent here but I wanted to bring this up because being aware of your baby’s feeding schedules and establishing some kind of routine can help them come motivated to a meal and less likely to resist their high chair. So, something to keep in mind when feeding your vegan baby. 

Alright, moving right along to the second reason why your baby may resist sitting in their high chair can come down to simply feeling uncomfortable. When babies or any other child for that matter are not comfortable in their high chair or seat, the last thing they want to do is eat.

If you can imagine yourself going to a restaurant and the chair they have available for you is hard, tall for your height where your feet are dangling, a reclining backrest that makes it hard for you to reach your food. How would that feel? You may speak with someone at the restaurant to request a different chair or you may never come back for that matter but babies or older children can’t communicate with us in the same way. They kick, scream, cry and try to show us in every way possible that they feel uncomfortable in their high chair and don’t want to be seated. 

A comfortable high chair or seat for a baby should have their feet supported, their hips, ankles and knees at a ninety degree angle, not leaning in any direction, and be able to comfortably reach their food. Not all high chairs are successful at meeting these requirements. Some high chairs on the market have a high backrest that restricts a child from moving their neck or shoulders comfortably. Others don’t have a foot rest and distracts a child from focusing on their meal due to playing with their feet. 

I remember working with a client a few years ago and she mentioned one time that her daughter had a tough time eating during meals. This client mentioned that her daughter would take one or two bites and then began to cry. And she would cry begging to get out. We discussed the timing of meals as they were still bottle feeding, so the crying may have been due to not being hungry. But after assessing her high chair, I noticed that it didn’t have a footrest. So, we came up with different ways to create a footrest with things she could find at home. By adjusting meal times and setting up the high chair to be more comfortable, this simple tweaking can do a lot for a child. 

So, if your baby or even toddler is resisting their high chair, try to observe how they’re sitting and identify if their position or posture is the reason why they don’t want to sit on it. Remember, if they feel uncomfortable in any way, the last thing they want to do is eat. Eating requires focus and attention and if they’re unable to do so because they’re distracted with their position, then they’re more likely to resist their high chair. 

The high chair I have for both my daughters is the Trip Trapp from Stokke. It is an investment but it’s designed for a child to sit comfortably from the time they begin solids all the way to adulthood. And for me, making that investment is worth it because it means better experience with meals for both my daughters and myself. 

Alright, now the third and final potential reason why your vegan child may resist their high chair may be due to the actual meal—whether that’s the portion size, the actual foods, or something else that baby may not be pleased with. 

I always like to remind parents that children want to be successful at eating. Even if it doesn't seem that way, your vegan child wants to succeed at meal times in their own way. And to do so, their meal requires it to be appropriate for them and to be allowed to eat in the way they choose. This means having their food cut appropriately to their chewing skills and including appropriate portion sizes. Sometimes we offer large portions to our kids because we feel that's the amount they need to meet their nutritional need. But sometimes it can be too overwhelming for your child and if they see a large portion on their tray or table, they may not want to sit down on their high chair. 

It’s always a good approach to start meals with small portions and you can always give your vegan child more of the food they request throughout meal times so that it’s not so overwhelming to them. 

Something that I've also been practicing with my daughter's is helping them through transitions. Sometimes, depending on a child’s personality, transitions can be hard for them and may be another reason why they may resist sitting down. 

So a few minutes before a meal, I'll announce that in a few minutes we will be eating dinner. This helps my daughters, especially Camila who is four in a half at the time of this recording,  know what to expect so that the transition from whatever task they're doing to sitting down for a meal isn't so sudden. And then I walk them through what I'm going to do so that nothing is a surprise. 

So when the few minutes are up and it's ready for dinner I'll come over to my daughter and say "Alright, it's time for dinner. I'm going to pick you up and sit you down in your high chair. Now I'm going to buckle you in and then put on your bib". This sort of broadcasting helps kids feel more at ease and can handle transitions better. 

Now, if a child is screaming and kicking that they don't want to sit, that tells me something is bothering them. Something is making this experience very unpleasant for them and they're communicating that through their behavior. So, it's first identifying what that is to be able to help them through that. 

Each baby is different and these tips may or may not apply to your vegan baby. Try to identify the reason why your vegan baby may be resisting their high chair. Is it due to hunger levels? Feeling uncomfortable in their seat? Wanting someone to be near them and eat together? Are the portions too overwhelming for them? Certain experiences may make babies associate their high chair in a negative way. And this in turn can lead to them resisting to sit in their high chair.  

If you’re starting solids or have recently started solids with your vegan baby following the Baby Led Weaning approach, grab my free guide with the link in the show notes. It walks you through my top five things to implement including food sizes, how to ensure foods are safe, and portion sizes. 

Alright my friend, I hope that today’s episode helps you and your vegan baby have a better experience when approaching meal times. I’ll talk to you in the next episode. Bye for now.