17-18 month olds and hitting

*blondiem*

Does anyone else have a hitter?? Charlie has just recently started doing this, and he is not responding to my pleas for him to "please be gentle."

How in the world do you discipline your 18 month old? I am at a loss and don't really know how to handle it.  Do I just keep reinforcing the "please be gentle" thing??Any other tips?

 

 

Jen&Len

Tyler just started this too.  We tried to teach him "gentle", but he interpreted gentle as being the motion, not the intensity of the motion.  So now when we say gently, he swipes really hard instead of hitting.  Sorry, no tips

Jen&Len

And why do our tickers show different birthdays for our sons?!

lanie30

I pretended to cry and be hurt. That seemed to work fairly well. I also would just get up, pack up whatever toy we were playing with and walk away, fast.

Or pick her up quick and sit her down elsewhere. Sharp quick reaction/response.

i didn't find "gentle" be that effective because it wasn't an unintentional hit. She MEANT to hit. So I had to mean business in response.

*blondiem*

lanie30:

I pretended to cry and be hurt. That seemed to work fairly well. I also would just get up, pack up whatever toy we were playing with and walk away, fast.

Or pick her up quick and sit her down elsewhere. Sharp quick reaction/response.

i didn't find "gentle" be that effective because it wasn't an unintentional hit. She MEANT to hit. So I had to mean business in response.

Yes, the gentle thing isn't working, because he knows exactly what he is doing. Thanks for the tips, Lanie.  I feel like we are just entering that territory of really needing to reinforce discipline and I have no idea where to even start! 

CFO

DD is a little older, but she has had hitting episodes on and off for 3-4 months.  Maybe once a week she'll hit.  She's usually 1. hungry 2. tired or 3. seeking attention.  I try to keep that in mind.

When she does hit, I first feign injury/hurt/sad.  If that doesn't stave off the behavior, I swiftly move her to her chair for a timeout.  She hates this.  Usually starts crying.  But once she's pouted for a bit, she comes back happier.  You can probably achieve similar action by moving LO to a corner of the room w/o toys and then leaving the area.