Toddler Hitting
What's the best way to keep a toddler from hitting?
Timeouts don't work. Spanking? Of course not. Saying, "We don't hit. Hitting hurts" has no effect at all. Pushing him away and saying, "I won't pick you up when you hit" seems to make it worse.
Our toddler is generally friendly and good-natured, he just seems to lack impulse control and can be aggressive. We've read every theory we can find and listened to tons of advice but had no luck.
Help! I am getting the tar beat out of me by a two-year-old!
Well, you hit the answer right on the head... he lacks impulse control and is TWO! : ) While this is typical two behavior, I know it is not something you want to promote. You've been doing great making your expectations known- "We don't hit. Hitting hurts."- which is great! Another member already mentioned one of my ideas- walk out of the room while saying you don't like hitting- but also try giving him something that he CAN hit. Have a special pillow or other soft object (not something that looks like a person or animal though- you don't want to inadvertantly send the message that it is ok to hit those) that he is allowed to hit when angry. Sometimes toddlers really do need to be able to get out some of their aggression. Since they lack the verbal skills to be able to tell someone when something is bothering, angering or upsetting them, they need some kind of outlet. You can also try giving some "heavy" work for him to do... pulling the wagon full of groceries, pushing the wall down (this is a game in which the child tries to "push the wall down" by putting their hands on the wall and pushing as hard as they can. It gets out a lot of excess energy and aggression), basically anything he can push or pull that has resistance to it to exert energy. Also, is he tired when he starts to hit? Some toddlers get really frustrated when it is near naptime or bedtime, and are just plain tuckered out. Last thing... make sure to note and mention to your child whenever he is NOT hitting. This is important. You want to "catch your child being good" and reinforce it. "I like how you shared with Tommy, and didn't hit when he took your toy!" or "I like how you talked to mommy and didn't hit me." At first, try to do this all the time.... it will seem like it is every other second, but this is to get the focus off the negative behavior (hitting) and put the focus on the positive (not hitting). The more emphasis you put on the positive, the quicker the results will be. Good luck!
Toddler Tantrum
[affmage source="amazon" results="10"]toddler hitting[/affmage]
[affmage source="cj" results="200"]toddler hitting[/affmage]
[affmage source="clickbank" results="20"]toddler hitting[/affmage]
 |
No items matching your keywords were found.
