I recently dealt with a similar issue with my 4yr old. As I recall, there wasn't one clear reason why he was throwing things (ie stress, frustration, attention-seeking). We tried a couple different methods of stopping the 'throwing'. The first was completely ignoring whenever he'd throw something...giving no attention to the unfavorable behavior. The only problem is that didn't work too well when projectiles were aimed at the t.v. or other people in public and I'd have to intervene. I was concerned that approach was teaching my son "Hey, if you do something really obnoxious I will give you attention." I like to 'nip it in the bud'. I seem to always go back to having my son identify with emotions. If I see he seems upset when he threw something, I'd get in his line of vision (eye contact as much as possible) and ask "How do you feel?". Usually I'd get a response and work off that "Okay you feel ___. Why? Is it because ___? I know ____ can be hard to do sometimes, but when you threw _______ that could have hurt _____. How would you feel if _____ threw _____ at you?" After that discussion and depending on the severity of the incident, I'd usually take away the thrown object or remove my child from the area (ie sand being thrown at the park). If I had to delay the punishment till later for some reason (like taking away a favorite toy once we got home) then I'd do it asap. I'd have him bring me the item and talk to him about what happened that day at the park, store or where ever the incident took place. Once again, I get back into how he felt and more importantly how any other person effected could have felt. As he is only 4, I might just hold the item for the remainder of the day or for the following day. At worse case, it's retained until he shows me that he can do a certain action properly (this is usually done with potty training issues). I've ALWAYS been consistent with follow-through and it's worked well for me so far.

I made my son pick up anything he threw and put it away. If he refused or he threw it again...it simply went away. If it was a household item, he lost a daily treat or leisure activity.

I think Donna Williams (Australia's version of Temple Grandin) wrote about dropping things in her book Nobody Nowhere. In her books Nobody Nowhere and Somebody Somewhere, she wrote about her traits and why she felt she needed to do what she did. I found it quite helpful in my efforts to understand my son.

Maybe you could have a designated "throw zone" where he can go and throw to his little heart's content?

Buy wiffle balls and play alot of catch maybe? He will be a major league pitcher one day!!

Feels good to him??? Have you tried those pressure body pillow things? I wanted to get one for my son too. How about getting him a basket he can throw things into?? My son throws when he is teasing or upset..excited.