How to Develop a Toddler's Throwing Skills: An Alternative Approach
The most effective way to develop throwing skills in babies and toddlers is to build a daily ritual around it. From around one year old, throwing soft cuddly toys into the cot before bedtime gives infants the high number of repetitions needed to develop the overarm throw — one of the foundational object control skills in sport. Most babies can begin learning to throw from around 6-9 months, with recognisable overarm technique emerging from 12-18 months.
As a parent who's aware of the benefits of physical activity, you're likely eager to introduce your child to basic sports skills as early as possible. Throwing is one of the most valuable to start with — it's a building block for baseball, cricket, basketball, rugby, football, tennis, and almost every other ball sport. Developing a good throwing technique early also supports gross motor development, hand-eye coordination, and bilateral coordination across both sides of the body.
When can babies start throwing?
Babies can begin engaging with throwing concepts from around 6 months, when they can reliably grip and release objects. True intentional throwing — releasing an object toward a target — typically emerges between 9 and 12 months. The classic overarm throw, where the arm extends behind the head before driving forward, develops between 12 and 18 months with consistent practice. Whole-body throwing, where the trunk and legs add power to the arm, emerges between 18 and 24 months and continues developing throughout the preschool years.
How do you teach a toddler to throw?
While soft balls may seem like the obvious choice for helping infants learn to throw, cuddly toys can be just as effective — and sometimes better. They're easier to grip, safer indoors, and almost every household already has more than enough of them. Maybe not what granny had in mind when she wrapped that fluffy bear for Christmas, but cuddly toys are ideal for initiating a nighttime ritual that will encourage regular throwing and target practice.
From around one year old, you and your child can build a fun pre-bedtime activity around throwing soft toys into their cot. This may start with you doing the throwing while your child watches and celebrates as the toys land in the target. Eventually they'll want to join in — often beginning by simply placing the toys in the cot. The next challenge is throwing them in from a seated position, which naturally encourages an overarm throw to generate the power and trajectory needed. Start close enough to the cot to ensure success, celebrate every win, and gradually increase the distance as their technique develops.
Making a fun activity a habit during infancy is a great way to ensure your child will be getting lots of repetitions of the movement. You can then help refine their technique over time.
Why does the cuddly toy ritual work so well?
Making a fun activity a habit during infancy is one of the most effective ways to ensure your child gets the high number of repetitions needed to develop motor skills. Sport scientists call this motor learning — the process by which repeated movement builds the neural pathways that turn conscious effort into automatic skill. You can then refine technique gradually, one small cue at a time.
Using the cot as the target develops motor patterns that help your child release the toy at the right moment in the throw. Over a number of months, their coordination improves, the release point becomes more consistent, and the muscular strength in the arms develops, leading to more powerful throws. It's important to encourage throwing with both hands — this builds bilateral coordination, supports symmetrical muscle growth, and helps with crossing the midline, a neurological skill that underpins reading, writing, and athletic performance later in childhood.
How does throwing develop biomechanically in toddlers?
As your child moves through the early milestones and becomes stable on their feet, you can encourage throwing from a standing position. From this point, the throw becomes a whole-body movement involving what sport scientists call the kinetic chain — the sequence of muscle and joint actions that transfer force from the ground, through the legs and trunk, into the arm and out through the hand.
Give your child motivation to throw further and they'll naturally start to use their trunk to add power. With more practice, the coordination between trunk, shoulder, and arm sharpens. In the video below, you can see this coordination developing to the point where the child's right foot is needed as a brake to stop the momentum created by the different parts of the body working together.
The next stage is to adopt a more side-on stance with their left foot forward (for a right-handed thrower). This enables more rotation in the transfer of weight from the back foot to the front foot — the same fundamental position used by every elite javelin thrower, baseball pitcher, and cricket bowler in the world. The seeds of that technique are being planted in your living room right now.
In our combined thirty-plus years working with young children in physical education, throwing technique is one of the clearest tells of early motor development. The toddlers who arrive at school throwing confidently overarm — using their whole body, transferring weight cleanly through their feet — almost always have parents who turned throwing into daily play long before they could walk. The ones still throwing two-handed underarm at four or five usually haven't had that early, repetitive exposure. The window matters.
What are the throwing milestones in the first two years?
Birth - 6 months: Visual tracking of moving objects. Reaching and grasping develops, building the prerequisite skills for release.
6 - 9 months: Reliable grip and release of objects. Drops and tosses begin, often without intention or direction.
9 - 12 months: First intentional throws. Usually two-handed and underarm, often from a seated position. Direction is improving but still inconsistent.
12 - 18 months: Overarm throw emerges. Single-handed throwing becomes more common. Targets become hittable from short distances.
18 - 24 months: Whole-body throwing develops. The trunk, shoulder, and arm begin coordinating. Standing throws appear, with the kinetic chain starting to function.
What does a real parent's throwing journey look like?
"What started as a bedtime ritual has expanded into more and more throwing activities," says Ravi Samjawon, a friend with early access to the Infant to Athlete programme. "My son and I went from sitting opposite each other and him throwing his teddy bear in my general direction, to throwing toys into his cot before bed, to throwing his toys from the top of the stairs into his pram at the bottom. Once you find an activity they enjoy, it's easy to adapt it into different versions of what is ultimately the same thing — throwing a soft toy overarm. I found that drip-feeding one piece of advice at a time is a great way of slowly improving technique."
Are stuffed toys safe for babies in the cot?
This bedtime throwing ritual is suitable from around 12 months — not before. Prior to the age of one, the cot should be free of any soft objects, including stuffed toys. Young infants don't yet have the ability to move their heads if their faces become pressed against a soft object, which presents a serious suffocation hazard. Stuffed toys can also collect dust and debris that can affect a baby's respiratory system. Once your child is safely past their first birthday and confidently rolling, sitting, and moving on their own, the cot becomes a safe target for the throwing ritual.
Tips for developing throwing technique in toddlers
Start early: It's never too early to start. Even infants as young as 6 months can begin learning to release and toss objects. The overarm throw develops from around 12 months.
Use the right equipment: Start with soft, lightweight balls or stuffed toys that are easy to grip and safe indoors. As they get older and more skilled, gradually introduce larger and heavier balls.
Show them how it's done: Imitation is one of the most powerful learning mechanisms in infancy. Show your child how to hold the ball with their fingertips, extend their arm behind their head, and release at the right point.
Encourage practice: Throwing is a skill that requires repetition. Build it into a daily routine — bedtime ritual, throwing into a laundry basket, or simple back-and-forth on the floor.
Encourage both arms: Practising with both hands supports symmetrical muscle growth, improves bilateral coordination, and may reduce the risk of future overuse injury. It won't be easy convincing them to use the less comfortable hand, but it's worth the effort.
Be patient: Learning to throw takes months, not days. Progress at your child's pace, praise effort over outcome, and keep it playful.
By following these principles, you can help your child develop a solid throwing foundation and set them up for success in sport and physical activity. With practice and patience, your little one will be tossing and throwing like a pro before you know it.
Take it further
Throwing is one of several fundamental movement skills covered in depth in the Infant to Athlete course. Across eight animated sessions and 32 chapters, the course walks parents through how to develop motor skills, coordination, and athletic potential in the critical first 18 months. Built on 100+ scientific studies and 30+ years of combined coaching experience.
Gary South and Ravi Samjawon
Gary is the founder of Infant to Athlete and Ravi is a friend, an ex PE teacher and a parent that has been using the Infant to Athlete guidance in developing the motor skills of his child.
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