Throwing - Thibodaux,LA

My son went through a throwing period at about age 2. What I did was take him outside and handed him his ball. It was one of those small squishy balls. Anyway, I told him "we throw balls, not toys" etc. From then everytime I would see him throw anything I would remind him "We throw balls outside, not toys or anything else" etc very firmly. He picked up on that pretty quick because I was consistent and was on top of him about it. He started to love baseball because he gets to throw the ball as far as he wants. Gets it out of his system =-)

hi-
If you want to "eliminate" a behavior you need to replace it with something else or give times when it is okay. When he is throwing think about why – is he throwing to get your attention? To get out of doing something? This is important for you to understand. You can get a laundry basket and balls - allow him to throw them in there and praise him when he does. Teach him what is okay to throw and what is not okay to throw

if he throws items that are not appropriate (e.g. crayons, sippy). I make the kids pick it up and put it back where it belongs - I say "no throwing. pick it up." if they refuse say "your choice is to pick it up or go to time out" (use a low, stern, matter of fact voice) count to 3 and if he doesn't pick it up give a time out. if on the way to time out he says he'll pick it up, still give him a time out (because he did not make his choice when you asked him). After time out – make him pick it up. If he picks up what he threw then you can praise him for his good choice.

Good luck!

PS he is not too young to be drinking from an open cup. between 12-18 months a child should be drinking from an open cup with spills and between age of 2-2.5 years should drink from a small open cup with one hand

mines the same way i just figure hes going to be my ball player:) I allow him to throw his blankie but anything hard I firmly tell him no once and swat if he does it again. I allow balls to be thrown but I have no hard balls in the house.
He throws things over the child gate and when he wants them I don't go get them for him. Thats how I broke him of alot of throwing.

I broke him of throwing food because hes deathly afraid of vacumn cleaner and I left it plugged in and as soon as food hit floor vacumn went on everytime. took 2 days to break him. I am an old school parent and believe in swats I know alot of moms in here disagree with it but if they can do better with my child I will pack his bags and send him that way they will send him back. any way you might get some better suggestions than what I gave but this is what worked for me.

Don't pick it up. If he throws it, it's gone. Tell him if he throws his drink - he has to go back to a bottle like a little baby... (that might help!)

Good luck-
C.

Hi S.,

I have a suggestion that's worth giving a try. Why don't you designate a special place he can throw things...like his room or in the backyard or park. Tell him that you will take him to his special place and he can throw as much as he wants but that's the only place he can throw things.

I know a 2 1/2 year old is going through a stage where he is trying to express himself as an individual...not as your baby anymore. But he is old enough to learn appropriate behavior. Make a big deal out of it when and after you take him to his special place. Don't play the retrieval game with him. Simply pick up what he has thrown and put them out of his reach. He'll soon learn that he'll have different outcomes from his behavior and choose the more pleasant result.

This behavior has to be nipped in the bud now...toddlers learn how far they can push the limits with their parents and will continue pushing until you set your foot down. Change your limit and be consistant. Consistency is the key...don't let him wear you down and definately don't show your frustration infront of him. You can let it all out later when you are alone.

Parenting is a tough job...I'm no expert. I do have two children (29 & 17) and was a foster mother for many years. I've seen a lot of bad behaviors and my husband and I had to be trained in handling them with our foster children. Presenting a united front before your child is paramount. Discuss this issue in private with your husband so you both react the same way in front of your son...if you don't, he'll start playing the divide and conquer game between you and your husband.

I hope this has been helpful. Good luck.

Blessings,
W.

My little boy went through that. In my expirience we just disciplined him as we normally did. It was a stage that he went through. It lasted about 6 months but the time outs helped. Everytime he would throw something we would put him in time out for 5 minutes.

I think 2 1/2 is too young to have a regular cup, especially if they are throwing. I think that if he throws something, he doesn't get it back - period.

I see you are from Thibodaux, my hubby is from Houma ;)

Good luck!

Time outs every time helped get our son to stop. On occasions where it didn't help, he lost the toy/toys for a while. As far as food goes, he would get a time out and told if he throws his food/milk he will loose it and if you don't want to loose it keep it on your plate/table. He has gone without most of his dinner several nights and has stopped because he knows the consequences. There's been nights where he'll push his food away and say he's not hungry. We set the plate on the counter and give him another chance a few minutes later. He ususally ends up taking his plate and eating enough of it. I can hear everyone now, how could you not feed your child. He is a very healthy kid and in 3 1/2 years has always been in the 75-97% for weight and height.