One Year Old Hitting...

My 15 month old does the same thing. Hits my husband and I, smacks the dog, throws things in anger, he even smacks us right across the face. At this age all you can do is be consistent in telling her No! firmly and remove her from the situation. She's not old enough to understand time out. I know it's frustrating, but in time she will understand.

Hey there, :)
Some advice as far as her throwing items would be to put the toy in a time out. You can say, "Time out _____(doll, ball, etc..)." She wouldn't get to play with that toy maybe for the rest of the day. You can say, "Mr/Miss_______ (the toy) knows better than to fly through the air like that." After a while the toys will start to build up in the time out bin and it will sooner or later get down to possibly her favorite toys getting put into time outs and she will not like that. If one day doesn't work you can make it longer. And if she asks for it just say, "I'm sorry _____ is still in a time out for flying through the air. Hopefully when the time out is over they won't have to go back in the time out basket by flying through the air again."

As far as the hitting goes...
Removing the kid from the situation. You can gently pick your kid up and move them a couple feet from the person they hit and very firmly say, "No." And continue to repeat it as many times as it takes.

As far as time outs go...
I have a friend who had a very challenging little girl and when she wouldn't stay in her time out they put her in an extra carseat that they had and click their daughter in if she wouldn't stay. It worked wonders for them. She would set the timer (dollar store is inexpensive) and being that she is 1 1/2 only set the timer for 1 min. 30 sec. As soon as there is one hit, boom, straight to the chair. Even if she cries the whole time of the time out (possibly frustrated) let her up and say, "We don't hit or we sit in the chair until the clock goes beep."

I love parenting and am very passionate about it and I really hope that one of these ideas might work for you.

There is a book out there called, "Creative Correction" by Lisa Welchel. There is a whole section on toddlers. I absolutely love this book!

Hope you find a break through. :)

W.

My daughter did the same thing. And when I put her in time out.. I had to make sure she was in an area where she could not reach out at arms reach and grab something.. because she would throw that too. If you have a constant consequence for her when this happens, eventually she will realize that she is not getting your attention by doing this and stop. I have even put my daughter in "time out" when we are in public too. It can be a bit embarassing, but she knows that she has to be on her best behavior everywhere we go now.. not just at home.

it is very dificult to put a 1 and a half year old in time out, it is time comsuming for the parents.but what I have found is to sit in time out with the child and hold her on your lap with her hands held so she can not hit you. explain before time out why she has to have it and say no more during the time out, then before letting her go let her know that hitting is not nice and hurts.. see if this will work for you.. I used it with my ADHD son and it worked for me.. good luck.
M.

Hi. My name is A. and I have a son who is 18 months old who is hitting a lot too. I am currently taking a children's discipline class and I asked my teacher what I should do. She said that he might be too young for time out and definitely not to hit him back. She said it is best to guide him in another direction. So when he hits me I tell him that we don't hit mommy because it hurts me, but let's be gentle. And then I show him how to be gentle by taking his hand and rubbing my arm, head, leg wherever he hits me, dad, dog, etc everytime. This goes for pulling hair too. Also, acknowledge her feelings. If she hits you because your changing her diaper try saying, "I know you don't like getting your diaper changed, but you will be fresh and clean soon", something like that. I hope this helps. Good Luck.

...I am a firm believer in "supernanny". (also AskDrSears.com) No tollerance with any form of "violence" from hitting to pushing to screaming. This means no warning, straight to time out. For me, I get on his level (on my knees) and calmly tell him(I have two boys 1 and 2 1/2) why he is in a time out (or naughty chair, etc). they get 1 minute per year. I tell them AFTER his time out (on my knees) why it isn't ok. Honestly, it took a while, about 4 months I'd say? Maybe less to get my oldest to stop hurting the youngest. They still have their issues but by far NOT as bad as before. If this doesnt help you, whatever you choose you need to be dilligent, and consistent. I find all or nothing is what works best for my son. He was 19 months old when my youngest came along, and within 2 months, I had to start teaching him not to hit, push and kick his brother. All the best

Hi A.. Listen, I think this is a phase all children go through. But let me give you some advice another mother on here gave me. Whenever she hits someone take her little hands and look her in the eyes. Tell her, "Its NOT nice to hit. That is bad to do." Be pantient because this is a phase (my son. Jakub still does this not as bad anymore though). I see we are both stay at home moms and our sons names are the same (spelled differently though:great minds think alike huh? :) ).
I'll tell you I tried this new approach. I softly told him that it was not acceptable and told him NO in a very firm voice. I showed him the right way to pet the cat. I pretended to cry once when he hit me. I put my hands over my eyes and softly cried. He pulled my hands away and looked into my eyes. Then he kissed me and has never hit me again.
Now, whenever I pretend to cry he does too. lol. Good luck with this ok? And remember to just be pantient! Best Wishes, T.

A.,
My son who is 19 months has gone / going through the same thing. What I have found worked with him on the hitting issue was, If he was hitting me I would put him down and walk away. I didn't give him any attention on the matter. Which for him is a big deal. I took about a week. But he stopped hitting. My doctor has told us to distract him from the behavior. Hmmmm doesn't work with him. But maybe you'll have better luck with that. As for the throwing things issue. I'm trying to figure out a way to conquer that right now. Hope this helps.

My 14 month old has started hitting as well ( started at about 13 months), but I honestly dont think he understands what he is doing. We just keep telling him gently but firmly that its not nice to hit, and take him away from the situation. He will hit his sister ( 9 years) over and over because she will take it.. Ive used to try the pretend crying thing when he hit me and that seemed to make him stop, but also made him sad :( but now he isnt quite sure what to think when I pretned cry, sometimes he laughs! :) I agree with the others, its just a phase, it too shall pass... I honestly dont think time out is going to work for a 1 year old as they are too young to understand the concept... My little one is actually not hitting as much as he used to, so maybe what we are doing is working. :)
Good luck!
A. H

Well kids do hit. But if you consistenty put her in time out, and without shouting, raise your voice and give a strong NO! Do this every single time that she hits. Getting her attention, and using an assertive tone will help her to understand that hitting is not okay. When she gets up from time out, then start her on a completely different project. Starting over on a new project will allow her to know that she can get a new chance to be a good girl. Reinforce the good behavior, by praising her, and discipline the bad behavior with taking things away for a period of time. Good luck!

Hi A.,
I have 2 15-month old boys and they do the same thing. They hit each other, the dog, me, etc. when they get frustrated. At their age they are still not talking, so I know that when they get frustrated (all the time), it is really hard for them because they can't explain themselves. Honestly, I don't have an answer... I just think that it is a stage and that what you are doing (telling her it's not nice) WILL pay off - she may not show that she understands now, but if you keep being consistant, the message will get through and she will get it. She may try to push your limits of course, but she'll understand. Also, when my guys throw a tantrum for something they cannot have, I sit in the middle of the room with my head down and play with one of their toys - it seems to work - they get distracted, forget, and play with me.

Dear A.,

The best thing that you can do is to stop her by just holding onto her wrist and hand, then say no, and take her to another place and get her interest. She will soon forget and if you don't make a big deal out of it, she will soon drop the behavior, but you have to do just as I said for it to be effective for an 18 month old.

I just read an article in the news paper explaining how babies brains use information. It turns out that they forget just the way that adults do, but they forget more at a young age.

C. N.

Not sure what to tell you about the hitting...but I just wanted to say Hi though. I am from San Diego (Pacific Beach actually). My husband was in the Navy and he just got out a few weeks ago after serving for 9 years. We just moved to Anaheim in December and I miss my family and friends too. =)

J.