I'm ready to hit my child.

[candybomiller]

This is NOT a bitching post!

Matt is 4 1/2. Do I have overly high expectations that he's not going to be rough / hit the dog and cats? I've tried time outs, I've talked to him about how the animals can't tell us with words when we are playing too rough, I've tried empathy, etc, etc, etc!! I'm getting to the point that the next time he hits the cat, I'm ready to hit him so he'll see how it feels! I'm pulling my hair out and don't know what else to do.

Help.

[Radosti]

Hmmm... don't know if this will help. But when my nephew was the same age, he got really rough with the dog. One time he swung at the dog and I caught his arm mid-air, held it there and got in his face. With a threatening voice, I simply said, "YOU DO NOT HIT THE DOG!!!" He cried, but he got scared and stopped hitting the dog.

[Jenn98]

I have not BTDT, so take this for what it's worth, but what if you tried banishing him from wherever the dog is? I know DD can get rough with the cats (a different story than a dog, I know) but when I can't get her to "play nice" I just tell her she can't play with the cats and we go to another room. This might not work with a dog since my cats could really care less about be shut in another room, but maybe your son could go play somwhere else for awhile - kinda like a time-out? Maybe someone else will have a better idea!

[bubbaray]

Yeah, we did a version of this. My DD was younger when it started (around 12 or so months) and it was "riding" the dog and bouncing on his hips, not hitting -- but same end result, not respectful to the dog. HUGE issue in our house. We deal with it by using immediate time outs for any inappropriate behavior on DD's part with respect to the dog. No warning. Time out, stern voices from us. Praise for the dog (b/c he's wonderful and just "takes" it -- and we want to keep him being a "wonderful children's dog", KWIM?).

Good luck!

Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

http://bd.lilypie.com/SasRm7.png

[Fairy]

My 2-yo DS is not at this stage. However, our cat is going thru alot right now with having lost his "brother" last month (we had to put him to sleep; heart condition), and he has health problems of his own. He's on meds that make him hungry all the time, and the mewling and constant need for attention is really driving me insane. Lately I've really hit the end of my rope with the cat and have been forcibly pushing him off the table or off of me -- not throwing or manhandling, but not being sweet and gentle -- and I'm very worried that DS is gonna learn that it's ok to be forceful with the cat. I have no real advice for you but to just try to stick with it and hang in there. If you've got a "really angry" voice, I'd use it.