How do you deal with hitting your child? Tips that will change this behavior

When your little one hits, it may be frustrating, but getting angry won’t solve the problem. Instead, it is important to focus on effective steps to change this behavior.

Child psychotherapist Rachel Melville-Thomas says two-year-olds have better control over their movements, but their impulsive emotions still drive them. This causes them to express anger or frustration by hitting.

For her part, Helen Malyutina, executive director of the “Famz” parenting app, explains that hitting is often a way for children to express their disagreements or repressed feelings. She stressed that the role of parents is to help children deal with situations consciously instead of focusing on who was at fault.

By following a calm and supportive approach, parents can turn moments of anger into opportunities to teach their children communication skills and controlling their emotions.

Rachel advises reducing the distance between you and your child and getting down to his eye level, then gently hold his hands and say to him in a firm voice: “No!” Or “Ah! Ah!”, avoiding using long sentences. Next, try to guess or explain what he wants to do, saying, “Did you want that toy?” Explaining the rule: “No hitting.”

Large facial expressions such as frowning can also help to keep up with their feelings, and express disapproval in a calm and collected manner.

As the child becomes calmer, you can talk about the difficulty of waiting or sharing with others, because “understanding their feelings is an effective way to stop hitting.”

In the case of hitting while carrying the child, he can be placed gently on the floor to make him feel that hitting him is not acceptable.

The specialist continues that repeating this behavior helps them understand that hitting is not the appropriate way to reach their goal.

Most important of all, according to expert advice, parents should avoid responding to hitting or resorting to violence, because this will reinforce violent feelings.

If you feel that the situation has become unbearable, make sure that your child is in a safe place, take a deep breath and move away from him for a few moments, or hand him over to someone else. (Erm News)