My 14.5 month old won't stop throwing EVERYTHING - help!

[millymandy]

My son has been throwing everything for about three weeks and it shows no signs of abating. he loves chucking his food around and his beaker...and he knows that it's bad because he looks at us while he's doing it before he looks to see where it's landed. He loves throwing around all his toys, on and off the sofa - anything. Even wooden trains or cars get thrown.

Apart from it driving me mad, I feel a bit worried. Is it a normal phase?

can I do anything to stop it?

yes, normal he's exploring trajectory

you ought not to stop it, but you can provide opportunities, see the sheet I linked to, also you can get things like bean bags, how about a pot of play buttons, they make a satisfying clatter if he likes percussive throwing; guide him in what can and can't be thrown, so No to wooden trains, yes to buttons or foam balls for eg.

he is not being bad, not at all

Totally normal. DS is the same age and has been doing this for weeks now (with food, even longer!) Soft balls and large plastic lego are ideal for letting them get it out of their system. At that age their throwing range isn't that big and as they get older you can teach them not to throw heavy objects or throw things at people etc. But for now it's just good, healthy experimentation so encourage it where possible. It is annoying when they dump heavy toys off the sofa with a clatter, so maybe teach him appropriate use by getting down and playing with him and showing him that tractors are hor pushing not throwing. If he's in a particularly throwy mood then replace the large toys with softer ones or balls, foam things etc. and again get down and play with him, throwing things to each other.

Thanks that's really good advice