DD hit DS in the face!

angelproberts

DD is usually very loving and affectionate towards her brother but today in a very unprovoked event she hit him in the face. I told her she hurt him and made him cry. I also told her to say sorry and I got crickets. She is very strong willed and stubborn (never says sorry). I told her to go to her room and she did cried a little but never came out of the room like she normally does when I tell her to go to her room. I tried to get her to say sorry again but nothing then I told her to lay down and she did with no problem and took a nap. I'm hoping she won't do it again but I don't know what to do if she does. Please Help!!

Daisy22

We put DS1 in time out for hitting his brother then he has to say sorry. If he doesn't he goes back to time out. Some days its a never ending battle but if I don't stay on top of him then he gets worse. Some days are good and some days are not. Just to warn you these dyas I feel like a referre sometimes since DS2 now moves and gets in DS1's way.  

MamatoJackson

She is 17 months - You are expecting way too much from her.  She won't even be able to understand that other people have feelings until, like, 2 1/2.  It's your job to play defense between the two and if she starts hitting, you need to just redirect.

maramarrie

She is so young, it will just take time to learn. DS knows he's not supposed to do those things (and he readily announces that he's sorry), but it doesn't keep him from doing it. Today he was hitting DD on the head with a hot wheels car....then he tattled on himself for poking her in the eye with a piece of wood train track. He gets put in time out and when asked about it he readily tells what he did wrong. He's learning and he understands being "gentle" but when they are this young it's all about constant reminders. I hope your LO starts to understand gentleness sooner rather than later.

 ETA: the openness to apologize didn't start until after he turned 2, and recently it's become his big thing to do. If I bump my arm when walking through a doorway with him, he says "I'm sorry mama," or if I trip on a stool in his bathroom he says, "I'm sorry mama," and if he accidentally bumps you in the head he says, "I'm sorry." But this has just been in the last couple months. It's wonderfully sweet that he does it, but I don't think there's any way you can expect a child under 2 to know when they have to say it or understand what it means.

angelproberts

MamatoJackson:

She is 17 months - You are expecting way too much from her.  She won't even be able to understand that other people have feelings until, like, 2 1/2.  It's your job to play defense between the two and if she starts hitting, you need to just redirect.

I do find that at times I think she knows more than she does. She is just so smart and she catches on so quickly that I sometimes forget that she's not even a year and a half yet. She is very stubborn as well so that has something to do with it.

Yesterday she tried getting into the carrier (carseat) with him as we were getting ready to leave. I told her no you can't sit in his seat and he started crying. She started crying and I told her "you hurt him he's crying, give him a kiss and say sorry" and she gave him a kiss.

Thanks for all of the advice. I just love these boards!