My little guy is almost 14 months old. In almost all aspects of my life, he is pure joy. I could do without the sleepless nights we are still having, and the screaming, but for the most part, I love him just like he is. Except for one little nasty habit he has started. Hitting.
Really? I don’t remember either of my other two doing this at this age. Maybe time heals all wounds and I have just forgotten? But, in all seriousness, I felt kind of sad about it, and have been wondering what to do. After all, he is a little too young for time out. And, he seems to find it rather humorous.
In our house, we have a strict no hitting policy. My older kids know this. So, hitting to get what you want doesn’t happen very often. If it does happen, there are no warnings, you go straight to time-out. It is our very own no tolerance policy. And, so far, it has worked well to be this strict about it. Brother takes your toy away? You hit to retaliate? Do you get a free pass? Not in my house. So, my point is, I don’t really think he is learning it from the older kids.
So where? I’m not sure, except for the fact that it is probably just his frustration coming out. At 14 months old, his vocabulary is pretty much non-existent, and we still aren’t walking yet. Two things that can be very frustrating. Not to mention the fact that he is the youngest of three and there is always competition for the coolest toy in the house at any given moment.
I ran across an article yesterday that mentioned this very thing. It is titled, 5 Reasons Toddlers Won’t Follow Our Directions. Sometimes knowing why a child is doing something is all you need to feel better. Her suggestion is to put the baby down, and speak in a calm voice to your child explaining that we don’t hit, and we are putting them down for that reason. I did that exact thing this morning with my little guy. I hope after a few times of doing this, it will make a difference.