Hitting & Hair Pulling

I’ve tried everything my son still hits me

I would suggest being firm with him. You could say a firm No. Put him down and ask him to apologise . If you have done this repeatedly and he doesn’t stop, you can tap his hands or bum.

Honestly I don’t know the answer by baby is only 4 months but take a look at this post and the women’s IG page… I think her approach for parenting is amazing https://www.instagram.com/p/DExmwjjRq_W/?igsh=NGszb2Y3OHlhNW42 "Use soft hands like this" "Let's use our walking feet!" "I noticed how you waited before talking." "I heard you helped a friend at school today." "Let's practice some coping tools for when you are mad." If you truly want to change behaviour - your child needs help learning HOW to behave.

@Sharna Thanks. We encourage him to hug instead and he enjoys the praise that he gets when he hugs us. His hitting and hair pulling behavior seems more exploratory so he may just be getting bored while being held. I’m not sure how to redirect that energy though.

My son grabs my face and glasses and lucky he got used to it but I have to say no really strict otherwise he find it’s funny the other day he hit me I said no strict and he cried so have you tried changing the tone of your voice

I could be lucky but I didn’t work until I had to speak strict to him

My son was a hitter/hair puller ect from 16 months old, and he's only just grown out of it at 22 months old. It's hard but it's a stage. They aren't malicious or wanting to hurt you. They are feeling emotions and don't know how to react. They can't speak so they hit. I personally wouldn't tap them on the hand and say no. You're kinda teaching them not to be violent by being violent. Reinforce "kind hands" ALOT. Sometimes they react because you say "no" so keep doing it. "Kind hands to mummy please" and show them kind hands, eg stroking. If you're holding him and he's repeatedly hitting you, put him down. "Mummy has to put you down because she's not safe around you, mummy needs to be safe. When you hit mummy, she isn't safe". It's tough but keep using kind hands and showing them, and they'll eventually grasp the concept x

Be firm when you tell him no. Tell him you won’t allow him to hurt you and continue to put him down, he’ll eventually make the connection. But definitely don’t tap his hands or anything similar cuz you’re right it will just model the exact behavior you’re trying to correct. You can always offer him to hit something else. Give him an alternative or another outlet. Hitting isn’t bad if he’s hitting something that doesn’t have feelings. Offer him a pillow to hit, or give him a different outlet like throwing a ball or stuffed toy.