How to Stop My Child From Hitting - Learn 4 Simple Steps!

Is your child hitting you? That's pretty alarming, let me tell you... Just kidding fellow parent! A child hitting isn't an alarming problem if you plan on acting upon the situation of course, and if you ask yourself "how to stop my child from hitting" I guess you want to do something about it. The reason why it's less a problem than you think is that your child doesn't hit you to physically hurt you. No. Be aware of this first. The real reason why your child hits you (or other children besides) is because he's frustrated, angry and doesn't know, at one point, how to react differently to express what he feels. Yes, it's a way of expression, the only one he has. Here you're supposed to say "Of course not, he can speak too! I didn't teach him to hit!". Well... let say that if you spank, it equals = hitting is ok. If you don't, it's a good point! But your child impulsively reacts this way, just like us when we want to break a plate out of anger but don't. Well... try not to! Ok, let's be serious.

Now that you know this, let's see what you can do. It's simple. Here's the logic: "To stop my child from hitting, as he obviously doesn't see it's wrong, let's make him understand the effects of hitting." Well that doesn't mean hitting back of course. You guessed that, right? So here are the 4 steps to stop your child from hitting you:

• Key rule: stay calm and keep your voice down!
• Show that hitting hurts. When your child hits you, make a sad and shocked face! Say that it hurts, show where he hits. He has to feel compassion for you at that moment, understand he made you sad. He might feel guilty but that's the point, right?
• Ask him why he hit you. The reason will be frustration or anger.
• Tell him that as a parent you also feel angry and frustrated sometimes. Say it's normal but that you express your feelings with words. Show him how. Yes, give him an example of this alternative to his behavior. With words, and with words only, you can understand what he wants and maybe find a solution. It's his better option.

This reaction is unacceptable so if he keeps hitting, repeat what you already said and punish. 15 minutes in his room is fine. Explain the punishment. When it's over, hug him, say you love him but that it's his behavior that you don't like.

So now, when your child hits you, just think "To stop my child from hitting, I'm gonna explain things and give him an alternative to his behavior: communication!

About me: I'm Laura Kaine, mother of June (10) and Jack (4). I'm an editor and from my experience with my kids and what I achieved with them, I now help many parents. With other parents we created a website called http://www.YourParentingHelp.com where we review parenting methods. We give a free "Guide to Better Parenting" to our visitors, you'll love it!