The Eyeglasses-Grabbing Toddler: Unruly Behavior In Kids

Children are cute and adorable… until they start throwing tantrums. And once they do start throwing tantrums, you might notice that throwing things is a part of this act. If you’re a parent, you have probably experienced an unpleasant behavioral pattern where your toddlers grab what’s closest to their reach and throw it away just to get your attention. If you’re someone who wears spectacles, you’ll see that the first thing they grab on to is your glasses and fling them right across the room.

Of all the things that a child can break, our spectacles are the ones we really wish they didn’t. There is fun in discovering that your precious spectacles have been crushed to pieces. For those of us who rely on spectacles know how hard it is to get through the day without them. For many, being without glasses is almost equivalent to being blind. But it’s likely that your kid too has figured out already that only when they break your precious glasses that they get your full attention. Even young children have a high emotional capacity to know where to strike precisely to cause maximum damage. In this, they can be real rascals at times. It can happen at the speed of light and shatter into pieces before you realize it. The main precaution would be to avoid it altogether.

But this isn’t about “what” they’re grabbing, as much as it is about the fact that they’re making a habit out of grabbing and throwing things. While tantrums are normal, and all of us are guilty of it at some point, it is crucial to help your child understand that it’s not the most pleasant thing to do, and maybe throwing stuff around the house has to stop. So let’s look at how we can deal with this problem:

Understand Why Your Child Is Doing This

Children, just like adults, do things for a reason. Your child is probably behaving this way to get your attention but there can be several other reasons for throwing tantrums as well. As your baby gets older, their fine motor skills begin to develop. They soon realize that they can actually hold on to things, such as their favorite toy, with a firmer grip and throw it away too. So maybe this is your child experimenting with their fine motor skills.

Sometimes, it can be a call for help. It could be that your baby is trying to communicate something and is frustrated because you don’t acknowledge them. Or maybe, they’re doing this because they’ve watched you throw things around the house as well! It is important to get down to the root of the problem before you try to manage it.

Another reason could be that your children are feeling ignored or being left out. Children get a lot of love and attention and soon they can’t accept the lack of it. But parents can also get busy at times making it difficult for them to spend as much time with their children as they would like to. But children being children wouldn’t care to understand it. All they see is that their parents who used to dote on them, suddenly have started to pay less attention. This rings the alarm in their mind that they need to do something to engage their parents. So grabbing important things and breaking them, or causing other forms of damage is an idea that can readily come to their mind.

What You Can Do To Stop It

The first step in addressing this issue would be to find the root of the problem. Take the help of child specialists if required. Often parents wouldn’t have the time or patience to play the detective trying to figure out the root cause. The specialist would be able to detect the cause faster and more accurately. Once you’ve understood why your child is behaving this way, you can try out these things to prevent or stop your child from throwing things around the house:

1. Set Strict Boundaries

If you understand that your child is throwing things because of all that excitement associated with their newly developed (and discovered) fine motor skills, then maybe set boundaries concerning what can be thrown. For example, show the child that it is okay to throw a stuffed toy across the room when nothing or no one is in the way. On the other hand, a heavy or fragile object cannot be flung.

Be reasonable but stay firm and strict in this negotiation. Until the time they stop throwing important items, keep engaging them in dialogues and make them understand the trouble they are causing. Only through regular and repetition will your child slowly mend their unruly behavior. The classic carrot-and-the-stick technique can be applied in moderation in this scenario. You reward their good behavior while punishing the bad ones. Over time the demarcation between the right and the wrong behavior becomes clear for them and they start adhering to your set boundaries.

2. Every Action Has A Reaction

Maybe it’s time for your child’s first physics class! The next time the little one throws something, take it away. Let them understand that their actions have a consequence. If this is a case of your toddler misbehaving, then it is essential to follow this method. They may cry or throw an even bigger tantrum, but at least they’ll know that if they’re throwing their favorite toy your way, they’re not getting it back, so they should probably stop throwing it in the first place.

3. Teach Them Another Way

Maybe this is your child’s way of showing anger or frustration. If so, then make them understand that there are other healthier and acceptable ways to deal with these emotions. They need to know that it is okay to feel a certain way. However, to deal with all these intense emotions, they can try something else like taking long breaths, playing with some clay or play dough, or even just having some alone time.

It is important to be patient with your child when you notice such behavioral patterns. It takes time to understand and teach them, so don’t lose your patience and resort to extreme measures. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments below!

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