My son has a tendency to hit me and my husband (especially me) in the face when he doesn't get his way or is being carried away from a situation. Luckily he doesn't seem to do it to other kids. We've tried explaining to him that it's not appropriate, although we feel like we're yelling over his wails, and also time outs. It may just be a symptom of the terrible twos, but it's a real concern for us because he seems to go automatically for the face. Any suggestions on what's been successful for you?
I should think the only thing to do is to be VERY CONSISTENT with sitting in time out EVERY time he hits either of you.
Forgo the yelling..you are only teaching him to tune you out when you yell. Can you anticipate the strikes, catch his hand, and still put him in time out .
Stick with the time outs...every single time he hits.
And yes, it is typical of 2-3 to do this.
Best wishes and God bless.
Grandmother Lowell
My son does the same thing, and when he can't reach my face he stands next to me and hits my leg. Time outs haven't worked with my kids. I prefer consistantly telling them "no (fill in the blank)" and explaining to them why something is wrong. If I'm in a good mood and he's not headed for a temper tantrum, I make light of it and distract him. But if we're close to a temper tantrum, I am stern with him and perhaps put him down for a bit, though he doesn't stay seated.
A lot of times, I think these things are about getting attention. I see you have another child, so this quite possible could be his motivation. He knows hitting gets you to pay attention to him.
Good luck.
Hi Mer - I would suggest that you stick with the time outs for every time that he hits. Just say - No hitting, time out - and bring him to where you normally do time outs. No speaking, no response to his wails. A friend of mine has this problem, and her pediatrician suggested that she ignore it, put the child down, and walk away. I'm not sure that works, but you could try. I've got a 2 year old that hits other kids and consistent (and frequent!) time outs have helped. Good luck.
I can completely relate. My 3 1/2 year old struggles with hitting in the same fashion and has for a good year or more. At this point, he understands it's wrong, but struggles with the impulse control. He is a super 'spirited' child, so it's often a struggle. However, nothing we have done has manged to eliminate this behavior completely. When he does hit, we firmly tell him 'no hitting,' 'we don't hit' or 'hitting's not okay' then typically put him in a time out to cool down. Between 2- 2 1/2 he wouldn't stay in a time out... but he can handle it now. We talk about it after, make sure there are apologies and hugs... He knows better, but again it's so reactionary for him sometimes. I've got him working on 'deep breathing' now and I do it with him to get him to calm his body down. It does seem to be helping actually, he knows if he gets angry or frustrated, he can choose to walk away and take a break (on his terms), a few deep breaths and calm down. We also stress using his words. Again, now that he is a bit older, he's learned to pretty well identify his feelings. So in your case, after the storm has passed, see if your little boy can articulate how he was feeling (sad, mad, etc. and why)... Good luck, hang in there, be consistent & persistent :)
Don't take this the wrong way but you cannot explain things to a 2 year old when disciplining you should use the amount of words as they are old so for a two year old "No hitting" and in my home hitting is an automatic time out since your son is 2.5 years old he would get 2.5 minutes put him right down set a timer and walk away no matter how much he screams do not give in until the timer goes off as children get older then you should require them to stop resisting, yelling, carrying on about a timeout before starting the timer. I highly recommend the book 1-2-3 Magic.
I did the same thing-- stern voice, time out, etc. Then one day, I burst out crying, the way my son days if he is hit or hurt. His eyes grew big and immediately realized what I meant by "No hitting. It hurts." Worked for us!
Don't explain! Put him down immediately and go down to his level while holding his arms firmly. Use a stern, firm tone of voice. Say something SIMPLE. "No hitting!" Then proceed to a time out. Carry him like a sack of potatoes, under your arm, to avoid the face hitting.
Tone of voice is extremely important. Let him hear your displeasure in your tone and volume.
