An experiment

I am close to my wits' end with Adam's throwing things when he is angry. I know this is a normal stage, but I also know that it can't be tolerated. I know he needs to learn other ways to express anger. I want him to know that any feeling he has is ok -- its the actions associated with the feelings that can be problematical. It is ok to be angry, but it is not ok to throw a car at the dog because you are angry.

I know some of this will come in time as his language abilities grow, but, in the meantime, the throwing simply needs to stop. I came up with an idea that I am desperately hoping will work. On Friday, I told Adam that as of Monday, we live in a "no throwing house". If he throws something, he gets warned once not to throw. The second time he throws it, it goes into the new "no throwing" box, well out of his reach. Once it goes in, I set a timer for two minutes and he cannot have it back until the timer goes off. His bottle went into the no throwing box 6 times in half an hour last night.

Keep your fingers crossed!