My two boys did the same thing around that time. It is a phase. Kids love to throw it and see it falling, it is amazing for them, they think wow it is here now and in a few seconds its on the floor.

We've noticed two things that sometimes help:

1. Try only giving him one thing at a time.
2. Try putting the food on a plate (suggest a plastic plate, given the problem you're describing) instead of just on the tray or table, or vice-versa.

You could also try picking it up and putting it in a bowl that's out of their reach. Therefore they learn that throwing it away means it doesn't immediately get brought back to them.

Here are some things that we did during that period of 12-16 months; :)

We tried to avoid giving snacks so she would really want to eat when given something.

We ate dinner together (as often as we could) as a family, she would watch with an empty bowl and spoon, and make sounds from her feeding chair.

We would increase interactions with her as the banging got less and gargling googling sounds increased ( sounds robotic but it really wasn't )

With hand and eye movements we would ask " Want a taste?" "yes" "no" etc...This was quite fun and we would give her bits of vegtable that she could chew. Of course sometimes the vegtables were thrown on the floor, so we would do the "no, thats not nice now is it" and go back to eating our food. The throwing thing didn't last long, and dinner times were smooth, we had 10 t0 15 minutes to eat while she was happy drumming, and then whoever finished first would feed her.

This worked for us quite well, soon after we took bigger risks by giving her a pot of yoghurt and a spoon. It was fun watching her.

Until a certain age, babies eat their toys and play with their food. Essentially, food is probably perceived as just another toy to them.

Try to have your baby to get to meal time when he's hungry, and he'll probably eat whatever you put in front of him. This means less snacks between meals, or spacing out meals.

Scott's advice is helpful too. placing one item at a time in front of him will help him choose more easily, and if he decides to throw it on the floor, at least the mess is contained...

Don't get upset because he throws something to the floor, to him, he's just playing with the laws of physic, not with food.

If he throws something away, it is gone, bummer.

Set an example by eating togehter, so he can see what this "eating food" thingy is all about. After a while, he will get the hang of it.

I think trying to stop him is not possible directly, but leading as an example is the best way.

I still think throwing food is amazing...

Have you ever dropped an ice cream cone off the top of a parking garage and...

Uhhh... I mean... not like I did... I mean... uhhh...

Okay, let me plead the 5th and just say this...

Perhaps the COOLEST thing about kids are that when you're with them you can do totally stupid things and get away with it. big evil grin

That being said... in the house is a different situation. I just recommend staying away from carpet and keeping a mop handy. Soon enough you'll be missing it... maybe not. :-)