15+ Easy Toddler Throwing Activities to get that urge out of their system!
Do you have a Toddler who is forever throwing things? Looking for ways to stop them? Throwing itself is not actually a bad thing. In fact, it’s a skill they will be expected to master as they get older. But what do you do when they keep throwing things that aren’t meant to be thrown? How about introducing them to these fun Toddler Throwing Activities!
Instead of just telling them ‘no’ all the time, you can redirect them towards one of these safe toddler throwing activities every time you catch them throwing something they’re not meant to.
These easy toddler activities provide a great outlet for your little one as they go through this throwing phase. As well as hand-eye coordination, some of these throwing activities also teach colors and counting.
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I have created these Toddler Throwing Activities to be easy and quick for you to set up, as I know you often don’t have much time in the moment when you’re redirecting your little one!
They are also budget-friendly, with many activities using items you can find around your home already!
Indoor Toddler Throwing Activities
It’s not always weather to be outside for throwing activities and throwing a heavy ball inside the house might not be top of your list of good ideas! So, here’s a list of ‘relatively’ safe throwing ideas for those days when you’re stuck inside and your toddler wants to throw things all day long!
There’s actually a lot of fine motor skills practice they’ll be doing with these activities, as well as the gross motor! Whoever thought throwing could help with their writing in the future!
1. Plastic Ball Toss
My daughter loved practicing her throwing with this color match challenge!
I just cut out some colored card into big circles in red, blue, yellow, and green and stuck them to four separate boxes. Then I filled up my laundry basket with colored plastic balls ready to be thrown. I used a ruler to mark where I wanted my daughter to stand to throw from.
For variations to this, you could space the boxes out further apart or stand them one behind the other. You could also change it up by suggesting they stand on a small step, or cushion to throw. And of course, you can alter the throwing distance as their aim gets more accurate.
2. Teddy Toss
Similar to the activity above, this one also involves throwing items into boxes. However, this one uses stuffed toys and teaches numeracy.
I love this one, since most toddlers have a stuffed toy collection and they are a great soft throwing option.
Here I have stuck numbers onto the boxes to encourage counting and accuracy in throwing.
Alternatively, you could teach shapes with this activity by sticking shapes onto the boxes and different shape stickers onto the stuffed toys.
3. Skittles!
We love playing Skittles! And what a great way to use up some energy as you throw your ball along the carpet to knock the skittles over!
This fun activity also teaches our little people hand-eye coordination and turn taking.
4. Paper Airplanes
Who doesn’t love playing with a paper airplane?
That’s a standard childhood memory right there!
But paper airplanes are also great for teaching precision and force as they will learn to throw them more gently than they would a ball.
This is also a nice little craft activity as they can decorate their airplane as they wish, with pens, stickers, tissue paper, etc. and then see what affect certain types of decoration have on the flight of the plane.
5. Bean Bag Color Toss
Beanbags are another great thing for throwing.
If you use lots of beanbags in an array of colors you can make it into a color learning and/or counting game for your little one too!
You could shout out a color and get them to throw all the beanbags of that color into a box as fast as they can. Then shout out the next color and so on. This sort of activity also helps teach listening skills.
You could practice counting each beanbag as it is thrown and then again as they are tidied up into a box or bag.
When your toddler is ready to learn to catch, you can throw beanbags back and forth to one another.
Alternatively, practice throwing a beanbag as far as you can down your hallway, or throwing the beanbags up the stairs, or over the top of a chair to keep it interesting.
6. Pom Pom Throwing
Pom pom throwing is a great fine motor skills activity.
Picking up little pom poms and throwing them onto a wall or door is also just a lot of fun! I used different sizes of pom poms for this one to keep it interesting.
* If your little one still puts things in their mouth, this might not be a great option as the pom poms could be a choking hazard.
To create this one, I used contact paper (sticky back plastic) and stuck on some outlines of different colors with cardboard. Then I just popped them on our cupboard door with some blue tac!
7. Paper Toss
Got some old paper that needs recycled?
Get your little one to scrunch it into balls (good fine motor practice, which builds their finger strength) and then throw the balls of paper into a recycling bin!
If you haven’t got an indoor recycling bin, wrap a cardboard box in green paper and draw on the recycle symbol. Then you’re good to go!
To quote Rocky, on Paw Patrol, ‘Don’t lose it! Reuse it!’
8. Darts Practice!
Playing with a kid’s dart board is great for fine motor skills and a little bit more precision throwing!
I love this Kid’s Darts Board, from Amazon, as one side is velcro and uses balls to hit the targets, and the other side is magnetic with magnetic darts. This is so cool as it allows it to grow with your kid.
9. Laundry Helper!
A super simple one for a spur of the moment throwing game!
Encourage your little one to help you with the laundry as you get them to match up socks and then roll them into balls to throw into the laundry basket!
10. Throwing Tidier!
You know all those times that the sofa cushions get taken off the sofa for games? The Floor is Lava, Den Building, Stepping Stones…etc…
Why not make a game of tidying them up again?
Encourage your toddler to throw the sofa cushions back onto the sofa every time they find them on the floor!
This is great if they want something a bit bigger and heavier to throw.
Outdoor Throwing Activities
Of course the most obvious one is throwing a ball backwards and forwards with you. They’ll practice their throwing in a safe way and gradually learn to catch over time.
If you find they are struggling with a smaller ball, try a bigger size.
However, I have also come up with a bunch more outdoor throwing activity ideas for you!
11. Pine Cone Toss
A fun activity for Fall is Pine Cone Tossing!
Make a game of throwing pine cones into a bucket, box, or flower pot in the garden!
It’s easy, cheap, great for a small space, and fairly harmless if they hit something else by mistake!
12. Frisbee Target Practice!
Frisbees are a great thing to throw if you’ve got the space or live near a park.
Encourage them to aim for a goal. If you don’t have a football goal, you can make a goal with a big cardboard box or set jumpers down to mark the goal.
Make it pretty big to start as frisbees are hard to throw accurately! Trust me…I’ve tried!
13. Water Balloons in Summer
Well they’re just super fun, aren’t they?
This is one of the rare occasions that we actually encourage our little ones to throw things at other people!
If they’re playing independently, you could use a low hoop to score through, or a bucket to throw them into, or choose a target like a tree or climbing frame to aim at.
14. Snowballs in Winter!
During the Winter season, snow provides the perfect opportunity for throwing!
Just make sure no stones get into the snowballs and teach your tot not to throw at faces and you should be fine.
We encouraged ours to aim at a snowman, a shed wall, or a tree, instead of a person when they were younger as neither liked being hit by the snowballs!
15. Welly Boot Toss!
A well-loved sports day event when I was growing up, the welly boot throw is classic!
Simply take turns to throw a welly boot as far as you can. You can use beanbags or other markers to record how far you’ve thrown it, and keep trying to beat your personal best!
This can be a great one for using up lots of energy, not just from throwing but also running back and forth to collect the welly boot!
16. Throwing Pebbles into the Sea
If you live near the sea, throwing pebbles into the sea can create a lovely childhood memory for your toddlers. It’s also great way to start talking about where and when it’s safe to throw heavy things!
Just make sure your toddler has a semi-decent throw before you try it! When my son first tried this he managed to somehow throw it behind him by mistake and had us cowering on the beach every time he threw!