How Do You Stop a 14 Month from Throwing Things!

IMHO, he needs to learn not to throw ANYTHING in the house. So this give him something else to throw and a target, does not fly in my book. Also, taking away the object he's throwing and then giving it back in a minute or so would become a very fun game for him very quickly.

IMHO, you should take whatever he's throwing away; tell him very firmly that throwing is not allowed in the house and walk away. I would not give him back the object he threw until waaaayyyyy later in the day or possibly the next day.

When he throws it, don't give it back. Stop playing "fetch" with your kid. Right now you have a feedback loop. He throws, you return the item, he throws again, you return the item. What fun for him! Stop giving the item back and the feedback loop is broken.

They all have some kind of "thing". His is throwing stuff. You can tell him, no, firmly and change your tone sternly. Tell him, it's gone. Don't give him stuff on his high chair to stay, just for a drink or a toy for as long as he doesn't throw it. But the min it flys, is the min it's gone. Screaming or fussing does not get it back. It will not be fun, but there are many aspects of parenting that are not! This is where your rules and consistency will be your friend in the long run.

My kids tried this, and learned quickly that it was NO FUN. If you can, grab the hand and the thing that he's about to throw, and tell him NO! firmly, with a frown on your face. If he still throws it, slap his hand and tell him "No!, You DO NOT throw things", then take whatever he threw away.

If he keeps throwing things, or starts to pitch a fit about it, put him is a safe spot, like his crib or a play pen, and let him sit for one minute per year of age.

The biggest thing is that you HAVE to be consistent, every time he does this. He'll figure out fairly quickly that throwing isn't fun anymore, and stop.

First of all, Christy Lee is correct-- whenever he throws an unsafe item, you take it away. I would remove it and name it's purpose. "Bottles are for drinking.... here, you can throw this" and give him something safe that he CAN throw, like a cloth ball. If you don't have a cloth ball, roll up a pair of socks= cloth ball instantly. Give this to him. Every single time, remove the item, replace it with the cloth ball. Also, give him another target to throw AT, like a box or basket. You can model this for him, "Ball goes in the basket. Can you put the ball in the basket."

Here's the other thing- now that you have a soft toy and a safe target, you remove the ball every time he throws it at a person. "Oh, balls are for the basket. All done for now." Let him be without the ball for a few minutes, then try it again, modeling "ball goes in the basket" and then giving him a turn. If he throws the soft ball AT you again, remove it again. The idea here is to teach him what is appropriate to throw and where.

It is important that we keep the language as simple as possible. I always try to use words for what they CAN do, to keep their mind positively directed. When we say "Don't throw", they don't understand these negative statements and continue to fixate on *throwing* because that is the word we are using. Avoid complicated explanations. The less words, the more positively directed, the better.

If this happens in the car, just remove all the toys from the area he's in. This is too dangerous in the car, just "throwing means toys go bye-bye". They need to learn that in the car, there are no second chances.

When he's in a throwing mood then you don't let him have anything he can throw. Put him in the play yard, isolated. If he's in a carriage, then take all of his things away. You get down to eye level with him, take the object/s he's thrown and say very firmly and clearly, "We do not throw things" and then you make sure he sees you putting it away.

It doesn't matter if he cries after that. Let him cry. After the point where he's no longer crying and has gone back to sweet little baby, he gets to join back in the fun until he starts throwing again. Repeat the discipline. He'll get the idea that when he does something objectionable, then something objectionable will happen to him. Do NOT GIVE the object back to him. Put it away. He'll find it later, but you don't want to associate it with throwing and discipline because he'll turn it into a game to see how many times you'll respond the same way or get tired of disciplining him.

He certainly does feel it's a game, and he's loving it! You'll have to tell him, in a friendly but firm tone, "We throw balls outside. We do not throw bottles inside." When he throws the bottle, immediately remove it. Remove him from wherever he is as well. Don't give him undue attention. Don't scream (except with pain?) and don't yell. Just make the throwing game as boring to him as you can make it! Eventually he'll get the message. When he's older, he can try playing baseball and working on those throwing skills.

I have a friend who's a Montessori teacher -- she runs the toddler room at the preschool my son used to attend. And when little ones get a bit wild like that, she has this very consistent, but very wonderful reaction.

She says (and she makes her tone very soft and gentle, but also sort of joyfully surprised sounding), "Oh! It looks like you have lots of energy. Let's go over to the jumping corner!"

And then she takes them by the hand and leads them to this corner in her classroom (a square, painted red) where they can jump up and down to their hearts' content.

The idea is, toddlers (babies, in terms of their brain development) don't have the capacity to contain their energy. Energy and excitement completely overwhelm whatever minimal capacity for self-control they've got. So their "job," at this age, it to figure out how to redirect that energy.

So, that's what I recommend. A jumping corner. Don't criticize the throwing, or even acknowledge it, just lead him in the direction of a productive (or at least harmless) place to put that energy.

It is good to tell him 'what to do' and limit 'what not to do.'

For example "Please sit on the chair" instead of "Please do NOT stand on the chair."

"Please place the block on the rug" instead of "Please do not throw the block."

When he hits, touch him gentle and say "be gentle."

Throwing things and dropping them is very common and normal at his age. I think they like to see cause and effect at this age.

it's what they do.
take things away and say 'no!'
don't expect him to get it right away.
khairete
S.

Ours didn't throw things at people, he tended to throw them onto the floor. The first time, whether deliberate, or accidental, we would say "oops, looks like it fell to the floor" and hand it back. If he either threw or dropped it again, we would say "oops, looks like sippy is having a hard time staying on the table, I'll put it near me."

As for the hitting, we would say, "hitting hurts" then put him down in a safe place so we were out of reach.

Best,
F. B.

He is not too young to hear the rules inside the house.

Get on his level look him in the eyes and calmly say.
We do not throw inside.

We do not scream inside.

We do not in inside. Repeat as needed.

Try to only give one instruction or it will overwhelm him at this age.
Consistency with clear expectations will have the best results. He us knew to this place and will take time to know what is acceptable and what his options are.

Then give the acceptable alternative.
You can put your toys in this box. You can put your toys in this toy grocery

We use inside voices. I like when you use your inside voice.now that we outside, you may scream, talk loud, run, jump on the pllayground. Throw this ball....
You get the idea.

Take the things he throws away and say STRONGLY, NO, we do not throw things. Repeat, repeat, repeat. If it's his bottle and is still full, take it anyway and do not feed him for at least another hour. (He will not starve). If it's other things, toys etc., do not give them back for a day.