how do you handle toddlers throwing things?

[CherryBombMama]

because today books, spoons, dolls, a marker and legos all flew across the room. ds1 wasnt aiming for anything in particular, just kind of ran into the room, hurled an object and ran out.

i know the "we throw balls" and get up to get a ball and let him throw that but after a few months of doing that with no change, i need something else ...

suggestions?

[Learning_Mum]

First time I tell him what he can do (Cars are for driving, balls are for throwing. Drive your car)
Second time he gets a warning (If you throw that again I will take it away)
Third time I just take it and put it away until the next day. If you can't play nicely with something you don't get to play with it.

[karika]

I try not to pay any attention to an undesirable thing like that. If dd2 throws something, I just ignore it and get up and leave the room or do something else. It is the behaviors we pay attention to that are repeated IMO. For instance, if dd2 hits me, I just put her down without saying anything (or I may say, 'touch mama nicely' once and see if she will) and go do some housework. My parenting partner says, "we don't hit" and makes a scrunched up face at her that looks funny. Who gets hit more? yep- he does. If the child throws something that shouldn't be thrown at all, like a porcelain figurine. I pick it up and put it up high then go about my business without talking about it. When the child is around 3, I start explaining things and doing at the same time. ie- she throws a figurine, I say, "Throwing things can break them. Figurines are for looking at, they are decorations and pretty." but IMO before the age of 3, they will not understand most things explained.

[peainthepod]

Mine is a thrower and it drives.me.insane.

Our house has an open stairway that we keep gated off. DS loves to throw his toys down the stairs. When he does, they go away for the day. I don't retrieve them except to move them off the stairs where they're a hazard. If he throws things at people, the object is immediately taken away and he gets a sad or stern explanation that we don't throw things at people because it HURTS.

The other thing that sometimes works is to give him something he CAN throw and tell him where he can throw it. If we can't go outside to throw one of his big inflatable balls around, I give him a smaller (very soft) ball or something else round and tell him he can throw it at the floor, or a wall, or the door, or whatever. That generally keeps him satisfied for a while until the throwing urge is gone.

I really think it must be a developmental thing, this throwing objects and seeing what happens. I can't WAIT for the phase to be over but I try to tell myself that it's helping him learn...something.

[SpottedFoxx]

Time outs aren't just for children (or parents for that matter).

When my son throws a toy (or uses it improperly), it goes into time out for 5 minutes (he's 5). If he does it again (and he is warned), it's in time out the rest of the day. It's very rare that a toy gets a full day time out.