Throwing toys and lovingly setting boundaries

In our house, the children regularly threw toys. No matter how many times I told them not to, because they might break or someone might get hurt, it didn't sink in, and it didn't work for our children.

Children feel the need to throw. It's a skill they need to learn, just like running, jumping, and climbing. I just didn't want to get angry every time. Instead, I did the following:

I referred to an option that was allowed!

Since then, we've had very few throwing incidents that result in tantrums or broken items. I now have a phrase that automatically rolls out of my mouth whenever one of the children throws a toy.

"I see you're throwing your toys. That's not allowed, because you might break them. Here, grab your toy bags. You can throw them."

And this works time and time again. I'm setting a clear, but loving boundary here.

Sensory play bags
That's how the idea for sensory play bags came about. These are small bags filled with a natural filling, similar to a beanbag. They're heavy and don't roll or bounce. That's why I find them safer to throw around the house. They're filled with different materials and fabrics, so each bag feels different.

Because children have a natural urge to throw, I regularly offer them a throwing activity. Below, I share 5 easy throwing activities that you can set up in just 1 minute.

5 easy throwing activities

1. Build a tower of cups and knock them over.

2. From a distance, throw the play bags into circles. We make circles with our Grimm's rainbow, but this could also be a hoop, basket, or stacking stone.

3. Targeted throwing at colored paper. This way, we practice the colors and improve our targeted throwing skills. I place 2 to 5 different colors on the floor and tell you which color we're going to target. Start easy and gradually expand.

4. Throw as far as possible. We do this in our hallway, which is long and narrow, and there's very little hanging on the walls. Then we see who can throw the furthest. Also grab a measuring tape so we can measure together how far the game bags have traveled.

5. Throwing from a height. Have your child climb up to a height like a bench, table, stepladder, or balance board (you decide what's acceptable and what's not) and from there, they have to hit a target. This can be anything. When the bags are gone, they have to climb back down and collect the bags.

If your child does throw toys, set a loving boundary and point out what they're allowed to throw. If that doesn't work, take the toy your child is throwing and put it away. Come up with a throwing game together using toys your child is allowed to throw.