How to solve the problem of squirming kids at the dinner table

My daughter Ally, who is almost five years old, used to spend most of her time at the dinner table squirming in her chair. She would switch for sitting on her knees to sitting on her bottom to standing on the floor next to her chair to almost standing on her chair….etc. etc.

Then there were the times when she was wiggling around so much she fell right out of her chair onto the floor.

My husband and I considered getting her old booster seat out of the basement if she didn’t learn to just sit still. But she seemed too old for that.

And as usual, when I couldn’t figure out how to solve the situation, I asked my friends and they had the answer. My friends, who are also the mothers of preschoolers, said that they got seat cushions for their daughters’ chairs and that solved the issue.

That’s when I realized the reason behind Ally’s squirming. I thought she was just bored. But actually, I think she just couldn’t get comfortable. When she sat on our wooden kitchen chairs on her bottom, she wasn’t tall enough to eat comfortably. So she would switch to sitting on her knees, but that’s not very comfortable on a hard wooden chair.

The soft chair cushion solved the problem immediately. It put Ally at the right height for the table when she’s sitting on her bottom. She no longer has to change position throughout the meal. She’s officially squirm-free.

Sometimes these kinds of problems have very simple solutions. Just ask your friends.