My 15 month old has just started throwing toys, nothing unusual about that, only problem is that he has taken to throwing them at other children or at our dog. He is quite strong for a one year old and throws anything he can move, children’s chairs, plastic
Tonka trucks, wood blocks etc. I have tried to smack (well finger tap on his hand actually), take toys away, put my son in time out, get down to his level and tell him its not a nice thing to do.
My main concern is that this will elaborate into violent behavior towards other people, any suggestion on how I can stop this sort of behavior before it becomes a major issue or someone gets injured.
Ok I am going to write here what worked for me. Some of you might not agree but when it comes to disipline we never do right lol
Here is something to try. BUT firstly you need to remember these are little adults in the making. They will push and stretch the boundaries to see how far they can get. They are exploring feelings and emotions and reactions from you. When choosing a method of disipling remember that you will need to follow it through EVERY TIME! Same punishment. If after a week or two its still not working, try something else. Your child needs to be able to see what will happen if he does a certain behaviour. If you switch punishments it will become a game and he wont know if your serious or not.
Contrary to popular belief I say the corner is a miracle. I have used this on both my boys since they were 11 months old.
First I would get down to their level and give a firm NO! If you do not stop you will go in the corner. Now remember we dont need to yell. Just a stern look and a steady controlled voice will do the trick. If you start yelling it shows your child 2 things. That yelling is OK and that your loosing control.
If they continued the behaviour I would take them and sit, not stand, them in the corner. They would cry in protest but you ignore this. If they get out, gently go and walk or carry them back.
Once their time is up which will depend on the age ( i will go into this in a minute) you go get them from the corner. Then you explain that what they did was not ok, and make them appoligise.
Now for an example...
Jaidan 2 throws his food.
I get down to his eye level and say "Jaidan do NOT throw your food. If you throw it again, you will go in the corner".
Jaidan being the normal 2 year old patience tester yells "no" while hurling his sandwhich accross the room.
I walk over, take his hand, walk him to the corner and sit him on the floor in the corner.
I say "Now you will sit in the corner for throwing your sandwich" Remember to be clear about why they are in the corner. They need to understand what they did wrong.
He sits there and cries.
Once his 2 minutes are up I say "Jaidan come here"
He walks over and I say to him "It was naughty when you threw the sandwhich. Don't throw your food ok" (his reply is alway "okay mummy im sorry")
I give him a hug to show its ok now and then i make him pick it up.
As for times on the corner there are a few things to consider. Age most importantly. 1 minute for every year is a simple guide. I also personally make my sons stay in there till they stop crying THEN start the time. Result is that they dont cry in protest as they have learnt that it doesn't help and they need to stay in for longer.
Also I started mine very early so they never walked out of the corner. Even now my eldest is almost 3 and he wont leave the corner.
Try to remember to get them to say sorry for misbehaving. It helps them to understand that their behaviour effected you. Saying it upset/hurt/made you sad will help also. At that age they dont comprahend that there is a world beyond theirs and that there are feeling other than what they have.
Also something I found which stopped my sons lashing out in anger was to explain what they were feeling. If they hit or threw something out of anger I would scoop them up and say "its ok, your just angry" then say things like "it made you mad when you couldnt put the block in the hole" and "Its ok to be angry but we dont (insert behaviour)". You need to put it into words for them. They dont understand that they are angry. They just know that they cant do something they want to do and they try and try and it doesn't help so they will explode.
I hope this helps someone.
