It is quite natural for toddlers between 1 ½ and 3 years to throw things. It is their way of practicing and enjoying their newly developed fine-motor skills. The skills involve holding a thing and then sending it to a distance by a combination of hand action and opening their fingers simultaneously. At the same time, it also involves hand-eye coordination. It is an educational experience also. The kids discover that when a thing goes up it falls down and it can also make noise and break too. Throwing thus becomes an experience of great fun for the kids, although it is harassing for the parents. Hence, they wonder how to stop the kids from throwing.
Psychologists such as Roni Leiderman of the family center at Nova Southeastern University are of the opinion that parents should ignore the throwing unless it is dangerous. At this age, children will continue to throw things even if the parents try to stop them. The only way is to reduce the number of objects and control the direction at which they throw these things.
First of all, teach the kids the type of objects they can throw and encourage them to throw only those things that are allowed. They should be made to understand that throwing is fine as long as it is done harmlessly. Restrain them from throwing things such as a book, and give them a ball instead. Give them plenty of choices, such as soft balls and rings, and in this way they will soon distinguish between things that can be thrown and cannot be thrown. Also, train them to throw a ball into a basket, or at a particular target. Such activities are great fun for kids between age two and three.
Kids often throw things to attract attention. This could be in the form of throwing a shoe on the floor or a puppet at another kid. Parents should ignore these actions at the first two or three instances to let the kids know that they can’t draw attention by throwing. They will make it a habit if they realize that attention can be drawn by such actions.
However, if the kids repeatedly resort to throwing with an intention of hurting then parents need to interfere immediately and consistently. Express your disapproval or unhappiness firmly at every time they do such a thing, and give them a short timeout if necessary. In this way they will learn by repetition.
Small kids have short memories and so make sure that the timeout punishment is limited to 30 or 40 seconds, lest they forget the reason for their punishment. Also, teach them to express their angry feeling in words. Physical punishment such as beating or hitting is undesirable because it may not produce the desired result.
Posted on May 26th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Baby, Behavior, Play, Toddler
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