Hitting is never a good sign and some parents may be surprised to learn that such behavior often strikes when a child is still young - sometimes as young as two-years-old. While dealing with a young child that hits isn’t pleasant, there are plenty of ways to correct and modify this behavior so that your child learns the proper ways to communicate and socialize with others.

A common reaction to a young child that hits is to get angry with him/her. Pursuing this path only leads to confusion for your child. What parents should understand is that at that age, toddlers are simply using their physical outbursts as a means of communication. Each year as children get older they learn new things and are confronted with the fact that they have wants and needs, which need to be expressed to you as the parent. Another thing to keep in mind is that your child doesn’t have the mastery of language to allow them to tell you exactly what they want or need. See things from your child’s perspective and you’ll quickly see why they sometimes feel the need to hit or kick you or others. This is simply the only way they know of to communicate or socialize.

Once you’ve understood things from your child’s point of view, now it’s time to take the necessary steps to sway them away from expressing themselves violently. Young children are very perceptive to how other people react. It is important to make them understand the different emotions that hitting can cause and what the consequences are. Unless you tell your child how their hitting affects you, they won’t stop the behavior. The next time your child hits you, over exaggerate a bit with your emotions (but don’t overdo it, you could end up scaring him/her). Say, “Ouch, that hurts!” or “That really hurts mommy’s/daddy’s feelings when you hit.” If you do this each time the behavior happens, your child will begin to see the relationship between their hitting and how it affects others. Stay firm yet gentle when teaching your child how to socialize. Doing other wise, such as getting angry, spanking, or talking loudly to them will only confuse your child and send mixed messages.

Another step to take with a child that hits is to monitor his/her behavior and see if there are certain situations where you notice your child has the tendency to hit. Maybe it happens when your child is around other children or when he/she is fussy and wants something. Learning to read body language will help you stop the hitting before it can take place, as well as develop other alternatives to teach your child how to communicate without getting physical. This is a great time to teach your child new words so that they can somehow learn to verbalize what they want so that they won’t have to hit in the first place. Your child won’t be able to use complete sentences but if you develop easy “signal” words for them to use, then they will come to rely on these instead of their hands.

Related Articles
	Help Your Kids Snack Smart Unfortunately, kids in general are known to gravitate towards every snack that isn’t considered healthy. Most kids will gladly pass right by the fruits, veggies and other nutritious foods and immediately reach out for chips, candy, pastries and other sweet treats. If you want to keep your kids   ...Read more		Tips for Teaching Kids to Go Green Growing up we were all taught about the importance of not littering, how to recycle, and why it is important to not waste water or electricity. However, the Green Movement has become more involved and now just the basics aren’t enough to keep our planet in good shape. Help your family step up   ...Read more