Jul 15 , 2023

Montessori parenting: ideas for the child who likes to throw!

Throwing is a strong demand among young toddlers.

Toddlers are miniature scientists. They experiment, analyse the outcomes, and then repeat.

Young children lack the power to manipulate you. Even if their "experiments" can be annoying/upsetting, they don't perform them on purpose to bother you.

The highchair scenario is so common in toddlers that there is even a toy that can be attached to the high chair and thrown back at them.

Throwing is a lot of fun for a toddler. They notice the food splattering on the floor. When they reach the floor, some make noise, some bounce, and some change. The child tries several things, such as dropping the meal or throwing it really hard.

Not only does your child enjoy throwing food, cups, cutlery, and toys from his highchair, but he also enjoys throwing any type of toy or object when he is playing with it. And I'm sure he enjoys a variety of balls!

Throwing necessitates tremendous effort.
Maria Montessori discovered that youngsters have a great need to exert their power soon after they learn to walk. They like to accomplish difficult and heavy tasks. Throwing is one of those high-effort sports. Other common instances include carrying heavy goods (such as water bottles), assisting with shopping, pushing big boxes, emptying the washing machine, and so on.

Throwing is also included in the "trajectory schema."

A schema is defined as a "pattern of play." It is a habitual behaviour. Your child investigates some of the elements of his environment by repeating some acts. He investigates lines and direction in an example of the trajectory schema.

This schema is characterised by throwing, jumping, and running. Posting objects is another feature of that schema. Children with that schema are curious about how they move their bodies.

So, when your youngster throws himself from his highchair, he is not being mischievous. But it's reasonable if you don't want him to throw things at others, break things, or waste food.

You can put some limits and teach your youngster different methods to meet their basic needs.

Here's what I'd do in the highchair scenario:
"I see you are throwing the food on the floor, you are having fun," I would say while showing and collecting the food on the floor. "The food is for eating, do you still want to eat?" I would say, showing the food still on the dish. Invite your child to continue eating. If he continues to want to eat and begins to eat more, I will reinforce the "appropriate" action by saying, "We eat the food and keep it on the table." As soon as he starts throwing again, I'll say something like, "I see you still want to throw, shall we leave the highchair and throw some balls around in the garden?"

The secret is to plan ahead of time. You should have some options for your youngster.

You must be willing to end the lunch. Your child's desire to throw may be so intense that he will eat fewer meals (and possibly drink more milk or eat more snacks for a few days).

Of course, your child may toss food for various reasons, but for the purposes of this blog post, I will only discuss maximum effort and the trajectory schema.

The greatest method to deal with those bothersome requirements is to redirect your child's attention to appropriate activities.

But you must act quickly. This is crucial. The redirection must be immediate in order to be successful.

The more acceptable throwing chances you provide, the less your youngster will need to toss other things.

So here are some ideas for a child who likes to throw:

- Baskets of balls of different sizes available to throw at any time (have soft ones for inside the house).
- Light-up balls (as the child will have to tap them hard on the floor to make them light up).
- Games with bean bags and a target.-Make holes in a huge cardboard box for your toddler to put small plastic balls through.

• Play catch or football in the backyard.
• You can demonstrate how to bounce a tennis ball against a wall outside.
• Climb onto the playground equipment and throw some soft balls from the top.
• Coloured balls, bean bags, or anything small and light enough not to injure should be placed in comparable coloured receptacles.
• Count the things as they are thrown by your youngster.
• If you're okay with it, toss a soft ball up the stairs.
• Have a toy track ball.

• Build a ramp with cardboard tubes and let your child rolls balls in it.
• Teach your child how to roll a ball between you and demonstrate the difference between tossing and rolling.
• Allow kids to throw stones and sticks in water if you have access to water features.
• Allow your dog to play fetch with a ball or a stick (under your constant supervision, of course).

Provide numerous opportunities to exert "maximum effort" concurrently:

• Empty the washing machine's laundry basket.
• Move your sister who is sitting in an empty laundry basket or box.
• Place the wet clothing in the dryer.
• Assist in carrying and emptying the shopping.
• Provide them with a large bottle of water to transport.
• Provide a trolley or wheelbarrow (loaded with heavy toys) to push.
• Allow your youngster to shift all of your food cans from one cupboard to the other.
• Show your youngster how to water plants (when full, the watering can be heavy).
• Allow your child to carry large objects (for example, allow him to bring the loaf of bread to the table).
• Provide them with a tiny stool that they can use to go from one location to another as needed.
• Give them a rucksack that they can fill and carry on their own.
• Playing catch with a massive ball.
• Allow them to carry the water jug to the table and pour their drink.
• Allow them to empty the trash can into the recycling bin.
• Give them the opportunity to advance.
• Allow them to stroll for long periods of time with no particular aim in mind.
• Create an obstacle course inside your home.
• Give them buckets to fill and dump if you have a sandpit or access to gravel/stone or dirt in the garden. A dump truck is also great for this.
• I hope these suggestions are helpful.