Throwing Things syndrome

Oh, I can tell you this is a normal stage for toddlers. Frustrating! I have dealt with it with my two year old by giving her a warning not to throw the toy. If she throws it again, I immediately take it away from her and lay it on the staircase (wish she is blocked from climbing). This allows her to see the toys that she's lost and when she asks for one of them I tell her no and remind her why the toy was taken away. This has worked really well for some things (can't figure out what to do about her chasing the helpless dog through the house though. she thinks that is great fun! Pooch, on the other hand, does not agree.:( )

Totally, totally normal behavior for toddlers. Lol, have you ever seen little ones throwing food from their highchairs? It sure is frustrating, that much I can attest to. I had to wrack my brain to find some behavior-mod technique that worked when my nephew was a toddler and living under my guardianship.When he was around 2, I started using the "toy jail" concept. Sometimes it resulted in tantrums, but eventually little J finally caught on. I also had to supervise him like a hawk when he was seated in his highchair. That kiddo could throw spaghetti...or whatever else was put in front of him...like nobody's business!This, too, shall pass!! Keep hangin' in there!

Sorry, meant to type (WHICH she is blocked from climbing) in my parenthesis above. This little munchkin also tried the food throwing trick, but I fixed that by immediately taking her out of her high chair, having her pick up the food off the floor, and then go back to the high chair for a second try. If she continued to throw food, then I immediately removed her from her high chair and mealtime was over for her. I don't have to do this often because she learned that she will miss eating if she makes a mess. She is quite the full fledged two year old so I have had to get very creative with combating her behaviors. Whew!

Thank you guys. OK, I feel better now knowing that it is totally normal. I am going to try to take away the toy that he is throwing. I have tried this before, and then he starts throwing something else. It is like throwing mania - I must throw something, if not this, then that..aaargh..I will keep taking things away, hopefully he will get it. He was throwing food in the very beginning when he came home, but after a couple of times of firmly telling him no, and making him pick his food, he got it. But throwing toys is being a whole other level..LOL!

I agree it is totally normal! I am just wondering if maybe since he got the tubes and started therapy he is discovering the crashing noise of things hitting the ground or something about the physical action of it that is intriguing him? Something that you might be able to find another outlet for? Or as with all toddler phases, 'this too shall pass.' :)

During my adoption training I learned that "time out" is not a good idea for adopted children. They have been rejected and felt unwanted before. The whole point of bonding with an adopted child is to make sure that she or he feels accepted and loved. Instead of "time out", I would suggest "time in". When he does something you don't approve of, hold him, talk to him, and try to maintain eye contact. Above all, don't use "time out". He will feel rejected all over again.

I've done the toy jail thing too. Seems to work the best. When it came to food...I would make her hang around in the dining room (instead of playing) until I had cleaned all the food up. She soon learned that the less food she threw the sooner she could play!