american_mama
10-20-2006, 05:06 PM
My DD will be two in a few weeks and she is in a major hitting phase. Any ideas on how to get her to stop?
Specifically, she mostly targets children her age and will pull hair, pinch arms or cheeks, and sometimes hit or push. She will do this in the blink of an eye with no provocation. She'll also do it if she is displeased with a child or if a child has something she wants, but at least that's not surprising. But several times, she has run across a room or a playground just to pull a child's hair. As you might imagine, this is making her and I a little unpopular these days.
Yesterday we went to a friend's house. We practiced things beforehand like saying Hi and waving when she wants to greet a child. We talked about and modeled being gentle. We practiced me saying "Hands down" and DD would happily put her hands down by her thighs. For an hour beforehand, DD said with excitement "See Laura, see Laura." What did she do when we got there? Ran across the room and smacked Laura on the head. Of course, the girl's mother and I try to intervene, but DD is so quick; you can say one sentence to an adult and in that span on time while your gaze is upward, she can run and hit a kid.
Any suggestions? Children are starting to whimper and run away when they see my child coming.
Specifically, she mostly targets children her age and will pull hair, pinch arms or cheeks, and sometimes hit or push. She will do this in the blink of an eye with no provocation. She'll also do it if she is displeased with a child or if a child has something she wants, but at least that's not surprising. But several times, she has run across a room or a playground just to pull a child's hair. As you might imagine, this is making her and I a little unpopular these days.
Yesterday we went to a friend's house. We practiced things beforehand like saying Hi and waving when she wants to greet a child. We talked about and modeled being gentle. We practiced me saying "Hands down" and DD would happily put her hands down by her thighs. For an hour beforehand, DD said with excitement "See Laura, see Laura." What did she do when we got there? Ran across the room and smacked Laura on the head. Of course, the girl's mother and I try to intervene, but DD is so quick; you can say one sentence to an adult and in that span on time while your gaze is upward, she can run and hit a kid.
Any suggestions? Children are starting to whimper and run away when they see my child coming.