If you’ve got a child at 18 months or just over then you’ll be well aware of the often disconcerting habit of hurling things from their cots. It can be terrifying the first few times parents hear a strange clattering from their child’s room but it can quickly become slightly frustrating. What you might not realise is that hurling things in generally is important to your child’s development and their understanding of the world around them.
It’s hard to imagine because most of us won’t remember anywhere near that far into our pasts, but we have to learn everything. When we’re born we lack the fine motor control to pick up objects and we lack the coordination to throw them. At around 18months babies have developed enough to be able to carry out both of these activities. Part of exploring their environment will be throwing things around. It’s a natural and normal thing for them to do and providing you don’t have anything which can shatter or break in or around your baby’s room then it shouldn’t be an issue.
Things like gravity will seem obvious to us but to a baby who’s totally new to everything, they’ll have very little understanding of it. Throwing things will show how this force works and also how being hurled through the air and then landing will affect the object. Some will smash, others may break while heavy things will make a loud noise and soft things will make a quiet one.
If you’re getting a little tired of the constant clatter of toys or whatever flying out of your baby’s cot then try replacing anything noisy or heavy with soft toys. Your baby will be able to throw those all they like and it won’t make nearly as much, if any, noise.
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