18 month old throws EVERYTHING. How should I handle it?!?!

[Kiki92]

DS (18 months) has recently developed a habit of throwing things, (food, toys, literally anything heavy or light). I know that this is normal. I know it's a developmental thing... But God, it's frustrating.

He's a big boy for his age (he wears age 3-4 clothes), so when he throws something it's done with one hell of a force and today he hurt his cousin in the process, (this isn't an isolated incident). I try to say 'No' in a firm voice and I remove the item after such an incident, but he just finds it funny. Sometimes he even looks at me before he throws.

I've tried reacting to it, not reacting to it, trying to distract him when I get the feeling he's about to hurl something.

What should I do? Please share some similar stories.

My Grandson was like this, he threw everything. He especially liked throwing my slippers over the fence to next door!
I would tell him a firm no and remove him from the situation but what I found helped was lots of opportunities where he could throw. Bean bags into buckets in the living room, balls and hoops to throw into outside. We also found a bath toy basketball set where you fixed the net to the tiles and threw a small ball into it. We made paper snow balls in winter and threw them at targets.

It didn't cure it but it got less and less until he stopped at about 2 1/2

Distraction, and opportunities to throw safely as soontobe says

It's a 'schema' and it will disappear. Much like the endless slamming of doors in our house.

Plus even if your DS understands it might hurt people, impulse control at this age is pretty much impossible

Swap the non throwing object for throwing toys when anything gets thrown. I also put toys in a time out box that were thrown inappropriately (was looking after 2 toddlers constantly throwing at each other).

I bought bean bags and small rubber rings and redirected toddler to the throwing toys every time "no we don't throw those we throw bean bags over here look". They still threw but it meant I didn't have to get cross and 90% of the throwing was soft stuff.

The good thing is he'll be good at cricket when he's older. Mine was a thrower too.