How to keep your toddler out of the pet food dish

Member

By Bfastattiffanys
User-Submitted Article

Article Rating: (5 Ratings)

keep your toddler out of the pet food dish

It used to be an ongoing struggle to keep my son out of the pet food dish. It was stressful on my pets and created a huge mess. Not only that, the pet food has a strong odor and he would need a bath after ransacking the food bowl.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Step 1

The first thing you can try is explaining to your child that they are not allowed to touch the food bowls. Even if they are young they will still be able to understand your expression and understand what you are saying. My son understands that he is not allowed to touch the bowls now that we have explained it several times. It takes persistence with this step.
Step 2

Try using time-out to teach them what they should and shouldn't do. If they consistently return to the food bowl explain that they will have to go into time-out if the do it again. Follow through and put them in time-out. Keep in mind you should only put them in time-out for one minute equal to their age. It may take a few times but eventually they will understand that not listening means there is a consequence.
Step 3

Put the food bowl in a place where the animals can get to it, but your child cannot. Avoid temptation altogether. Kids are drawn to the things they aren't allowed to touch out of curiosity.
Step 4

If all else fails and you don't have a place for the pet food that is out of the way give them a bowl of their own to carry around and play with. Make sure your child does not still put things in their mouth. I actually used cereal a cereal he doesn't eat and put it in a separate pet food bowl and allowed him to play with the food. After trying this method he was no longer interested in the old pet food he used to be obsessed with, instead he loved moving the "new pet food" in and out of the bowl.