15mo throwing toys

[GrapesAndCheese]

DS has always been very energetic and active and doesn't play for a long time with one toy before getting distracted, though he is still little so I'm not too worried about that.

But he's started throwing his toys (usually behind him over his head ifyswim) and I don't know what to do about it. I've tried a firm no, I've tried an 'ow that hurt me' when it has hit me but most of the time I ignore and don't give him any reaction. Always lots of praise for when he plays well and I play with him a lot.

I've found that when I say 'no throwing' etc it actually encourages him to do it more. Is this just a phase? Tbh he has been pretty house bound the last few weeks due to overlapping illness so he might just have a bit of pent up energy that needs releasing.

Any tips would be gratefully received! Thank you.

My son sorta started doing this but I tried to be as nonchalant as possible. I'd say "please don't throw that." If he did it again. I'd say "if you throw that I will put that away. Then if he threw it, I'd take it and say "I'm putting this away because you're throwing it." And is put it away somewhere where he can't see it or grab it. Pretty much did that every time he began to throw. And he quickly got the point and stopped. I didn't yell and I definitely didn't say it more than once. If he threw it, it got put away. Plain and simple. Same with food. He out of no where began to throw food to the floor so I'd say the same thinng and if he continued, I'd say. "I'm taking this away because I'm not going to allow you to throw and ware food, now you get a piece at a time." And id literally place one pasta piece on his tray at a time and by then he'd usually did it, but if he threw it, then I'd take him out his high chair and say "you can try to eat again in 5 minutes when you're not throwing" and take him to throw a ball or something to get that out of his system. If in 5 min he tried to eat and throw food, sorry that's it, no lunch. Wait till snack time now. They're smart and these are the time when you need to be very very clear about your expectations. Worked for me.

when my dd was in a throwing thing phase I only gave her soft toys as they didn't cause as much damage. Just remove the problem when he throws the soft toys keep telling him no and remove the toy he has thrown, let him see you put it away, don't give him any plastic/ wooden etc toys in the mean time.

Agree that establishing clear cause and effect (you throw things, they go away) is the best long term plan really, you just have to be consistent especially if they complain and want it back.
I do also think that a good piece of advice I was given (or read) is that if they are behaving in a way you don't like, try to channel that into something appropriate where they can still do the thing they want, so if they are throwing give them a soft ball, biting give them a teething toy, hiring give them a cushion to hit. They can't always control their impulses so it's good to show them positive ways to let these out and leads to less frustration on their part.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I've been ignoring it this morning and he's definitely doing it less. And taking the toy away when he does throw it which definitely confused him but then he carried on playing nicely with something else so it's looking positive.
He's definitely going through a phase of anger though. Lots of head banging and crying and sometimes hitting. He's usually a really happy boy so hoping it's just a developmental phase.