Hitting & pulling hair

My little boy has been doing lots of this the past couple days. I’ve tried saying no in a firm voice and he just goes “no” back to me and does it again. Im at a bit of a loss to be honest

Our little boy does this too (instead of hitting its head butting 🙄). He doesn’t react to be told ‘no’ so I now tell him ‘no’ and put him in his cot for a couple of minutes and then distract him with something else. Hoping this phase doesn’t last long!

I follow this lady on FB for parenting tips. Apparently it's best to ignore bad behaviour.. as they are just doing it for a reaction, so if they don't get that reaction then it's not working for them.. Although it's hard to ignore my LO when he hits. My knee jerk reaction is to say no and hold his arm firmly, but he looks at me like I'm the crazy one lol. So note to myself,, I must try and ignore.. see if it works!

My boy has started hitting my partner and step daughter, he thinks it’s a game when he’s told no. I think he does it more with them as they play fight quite rough together so I think he’s just not established a boundary there. He’s only hit me a couple of times but when he does I have over exaggerated being sad and said ouch and he instantly gives me a big hug and makes sure I’m ok. I feel like it’s important for him to know that he can hurt people with his body. I understand the benefits of ignoring them but I feel that they’re not learning by doing that and if they hit another child you can’t really use that technique.

Yeah that's true. I think my issue is I'm not being consistent, one time I try to ignore, another I say no, and another we use the upset method you mention. Bloody minefield this parenting lark.

@Jess every child is different and will react differently to techniques so It’s normally for you try them out. But yes, consistency is key. You’ll find a way that works for you both. I was embarrassed the first time my boy hit me as I was around someone I had just met and I was in shock so I didn’t even know how to react. I still need to tackle my boy being heavy handed with his sister, he threw a heavy toy at her head the other day 😅 When she’s cries, he cries and comes to me for comfort but he will go and give her a hug once I’ve explained it to him.

Supposedly the best techniques are to tell them what you want them to do, rather than what not do (so saying something like "stroke hair gently" rather than "don't pull hair") and redirection, so giving them other things that are safe to hit/pull which works particularly well if they're doing it for sensory reasons. I'll be honest, we haven't had much success with either method but I'm trying to keep going and be consistent with it!

Mine has started doing this too, and if I tell him no he just finds it hilarious 😭 I try and redirect him but if he carries on I just move him away from me

My son bites and has starting hitting but he stopped biting me bc I kept tells him the same thing over and over several times. Hitting and biting is not nice, it hurts mommie. Now he stops himself and gives me a hug and kiss. Really it’s just repetition until they just get it but I can take a hundred times lol. I tell him it’s ok to be angry and mad but he can’t bite and hit. He still bites my husband when he’s upset so I told him what I did. It’s just a matter of him doing it