ADVICE RATING |
  3.91 (May work) from 13 votes (431 Visits) |
|
|
How to curb a hitting child |
 |
by surfingmama  (November 2006) (rank 500+) |
|
A child can hit out at you or anyone else for a variety of reasons. Tantrums. Frustrated at not getting what they want. Anger toward siblings. Or simply hitting out of habit because you, as a parent, didn’t do anything to stop it in the first place. If your
child is still young, it’s not too late to stop this bad hitting habit and prevent it from blowing up into something dreadful later.
1. Figure out a message to your child that hitting is never acceptable. The best message is to grab hold of her hand and use an authoritative voice to warn her.
2. Or make them sit on a “thinking chair”. When I was a kid, my dad made me stand in the corner for a few minutes to think about my bad behavior. Having a “thinking chair” and making your child sit there for a couple of minutes after they’ve hit someone is probably a good idea. After he has done his time, explain why he had to sit there.
3. Or remove luxuries. Tell your child that if they continue to hit, there will be no ice-cream after dinner, or any luxury he or she has been taking for granted.
4. Hitting back won’t solve the problem. I’ve known parents who use the cane or bare hands or even belts to hit back at their child for bad behavior. Did it work? Usually no. The children these parents hit grew up to be more violent!
5. Be patient. It’ll take time for the child to learn or readjust to a new behavior (of no hitting).
** Surfingmama Invitation: Showcase your blog articles to millions of internet-surfing mums through the Surfingmama Blog Carnival. Make a difference to mums all over the world. Submit practical, humorous & informative articles that mums would appreciate!
Related links:
Secrets to child discipline
11 tips for talking to your child
Parenting: 5 tricks for child tantrums
Parenting: 8 ways to avoid conflict with your child
Parenting: Top 10 rules for child-taming
